My take on all of this. Steel works. I have been using it for a good while, both down on the foreshore (high speed steel, and in my game guns - mostly 2 1/2” standard steel in 12,16 and 20.
I think we have four major cartridge manufacturers in the UK, Gamebore, Lyalvale, Hull Cartridges and Eley Hawk Ltd. Their accounts are all available on companies house, albeit not all publish full accounts. Those that publish full are showing between £15 and £22m turnover with £1 to £3m additions in the retained profit line on the balance sheet in the most recent sets of accounts filed. So they all look to be making good money and in pretty good health.
Together they account for £70m odd in sales from the factory gate. Then you add in the likes of Fiocchi etc which are imported.
Going back ti the accounts, they don’t split sales of lead and non lead cartridges, although one did mention that the major cost was lead ingots, whilst steel shot and bismuth was insignificant. I would guess that at most in 2024 steel accounted for 10% of their turnover. Happy to be proven wrong.
All have a good range of steel cartridges already developed.
Given the proposed lead ban, all of the above manufacturers face a significant challenge to their businesses. They either switch over to steel or go out of business, and that’s a choice for the shareholders and directors to take.
I think there is one UK manufacturer, the Steel Shot Company
Steel Shot Company- The Lead Free Alternative that already makes and supplies steel shot in various formats, to the trade and direct to reloaders - via clay and game website. I suspect they have a bright future.
There also seem to be a number who make steel shot for industrial applications such as shot blasting. Haven’t a clue whether or not these can shot of specifications for shotgun use.
Wads - The key with using steel is a decent cup type wad so that there is no contact between the barrels and the shot itself. Plastic wads in all guages have been used for a long time. They offer many advantages over traditional round flat, fibre type wads which are mid 1800s technology. But you have the very real problem of plastic pollution.
There is a lot of ongoing work in eco friendly wads that combine the benefits of plastic wads with the natural ability to breakdown of cardboard, paper, fibre. There is a lot going on at a material science level within the packaging sector and this will filter through.
There are however already several products being loaded into cartridges that are being used in the field.
There will be a requirement for investment from the industry. But given the current levels of profitability the money is there, and the money is there for the future. A significant proportion of developing new product and technologies can be supported by schemes such as Research and Development tax credits. And depending on which part of the country they are in, there are CAPEX grants for new machinery etc etc.
As regards Bismuth, Tungsten, Hortonium etc - such materials are and will be of interest to those who do not want to use steel for whatever reason. They are expensive and always will be. I suspect that developments in wad technology will give users the confidence to use steel in the older guns.
And time will also take care of things. I do use an Alex Martin Sidelock 12bore built in 1921 with Eley Grand Prix Steel. It is already 104 years old. It’s a beautiful gun to use, but I use it sparingly. I am not so much worried about the barrels, but it broke a swivel that links the main spring to the tumbler. That was a £250 + VAT repair. 25 years ago there were several gunsmiths here in Edinburgh that could easily have made a new one. Now it’s a 60 mile plus drive to a gunsmith who can do this work, and most already have their free bus passes.
I see old guns, like old cars and old boats. They are things of utter beauty to be used sparingly cause when they break down you either have to have the skills your self, or pay through the nose to have them repaired.
Or simply accept that the gun you use has a finite life - just like any other tool, and when it gets beyond economic repair you change it.
Most modern guns are perfectly capable of shooting non toxic ammunition all day and everyday. And most shooters, shooting high volumes are shooting modern robust guns that are built for the job.
I think we will look back on the transition to steel as just another development on the firearms. 1860’s, 70’s and 80’s - huge discussions on the demise of muzzleloaders and the introduction of breech loaders. Breech loaders treated with huge suspicion, with many different designs, many of which are now lost in mists of history. Hammerless guns again treated with great suspicion- many viewed them as unsafe etc.
