HEVI-Shot® Announces 2007 World Record Target Challenge

During the 2007 National Wild Turkey Federation Still Target Championship finals on 6 October in Edgefield, South Carolina, ENVIRON-Metal, Inc., makers of HEVI-Shot® products – and particularly makers of the World Record holder shotshell in every category, HEVI-13® – will pay any person who shoots a new world record with a HEVI-Shot® product in any class $10 per pellet for the target. These classes will include 12-ga. Men’s Open., 20-ga. Men’s Open., Lady Hunter 20-ga., Jake’s Hunter 20-ga., and Muzzleloader.

We know that our new HEVI-13® shotshells will set many new world records during the lead-in to the championships this year. Our many days of development and testing have demonstrated this very clearly. We wished we could afford to reward every shooter who posts a new World Record at a sanctioned competition during the year.

But in order to keep the lights on in the factory, and to keep producing World Record shells, we’re going to raise the stakes for payouts only to competitors in the final round at the biggest event of the year.

We appreciate the support of the many fine shooters who have posted World Records during the past seven (my how time flies) years by shooting HEVI-Shot® products when performance was on the line. We will continue to support your efforts, individually and collectively, during the coming year.

See you in Edgefield,

Ralph Nauman
President

FUR-FISH-GAME MAGAZINE
May 2007 Gun Rack column from Ed Hall

The new Hevi-Shot 3-inch magnum load may change the way turkey hunters view 20-gauge shotguns. Just how good are these loads? For pattern density, I have never seen anything else make such an improvement. While it is tough to get 20-gauge loads to beat 70-percent patterns, in my test shooting, the new Hevi-Shot 3-inch magnum No. 6 turkey loads averaged better than 90 percent with Full choke and extra-tight turkey tubes.
Many shooters think a 20-gauge turkey gun performs the same as a 12-gauge, only with a smaller payload. Almost, but not quite.

A Full Choke shotgun in either gauge should put about 70 percent of its pellets in a 30-inch circle at 40 yards. Because magnum loads deliver more pellets, in theory, at least, the total number of pellets hitting in the circle at 40 yards should go up proportionally. However, magnum loads seldom provide so tight a pattern percentage as do the lighter loads in express or high-brass loads, likely due to more pellets squashing together during the trip down the barrel and through the choke. When deformed pellets leave the muzzle and encounter air resistance, they tend to spin away from the core of the pattern.

Soft lead pellets deform the worst during firing, especially the pellets at the bottom of the shot column that squish into the air spaces between them. Plastic wad cups, copper and nickel plating, and buffering material that takes up these air spaces all serve to keep the pellets as round as possible, but plenty of badly out-of-round lead pellets still leave the barrel.

The end result is apt to be a bit less improvement in hit count than the extra pellets in a magnum load might seem to indicate. Still, while the pattern percentage may suffer a bit, the many more pellets in the 12-gauge magnum load more than overcomes the percentage loss. But this isn’t always true with 20-gauge shotshells.
Regular 20-gauge shotshells barely reach the standard Full choke pattern of 70 percent, and 20-gauge magnum shotshells almost always turn even poorer pattern percentages. With a 3-inch magnum shell adding but an extra 1/4-ounce of shot to the load, it sometimes struggles to get even the same number of pellets in the 30-circle as did the non-magnum load. Switching to magnum shotshells can actually reduce a 20-gauge turkey gun’s effective range.
Hevi-Shot’s new 20 gauge, three-inch magnum turkey loads are different. An attribute of Hevi-shot is that it does not deform in its trip down the barrel, leaving it the same more or less round shape. Detractors of the high-density pellets point out that they are a bit out-of-round to begin with, and, yes, lead pellets are more nicely round in the shotshell. But compare them after a trip down the barrel, and Hevi-Shot wins the roundness contest by a wide margin.

This seems to make a big difference in pattern density, especially with tight turkey chokes in 20-gauge shotguns.
For my testing, I used a couple of fairly typical 20-gauge guns I had on hand. One, a Mossberg 500 pump, is my wife’s rabbit gun. I had the barrel cut and a Poly-Choke installed several years ago, so for this testing, I borrowed a friend’s full-length barrel that still had the threads for screw-in chokes. Mossberg sent me two of their tight chokes, X-FULL and the vented X-FACTOR turkey choke, both measuring .584.

The other shotgun was an older Winchester 1300 pump, also using screw-in chokes that, interestingly, matched the same threading as the Mossberg. The chokes fit in both shotguns. Winchester’s regular Full Choke tube measured a tight .581 while the Winchester bore dimension was just .002 tighter than Mossberg’s .618.

The slightly tighter Winchester standard Full Choke didn’t turn in quite so tight patterns in either gun as did the Mossberg vented tube, which gave me 90, 92, 92, and 89 percentages in the Mossberg and 86, 90, 91 and 96 percent in the Winchester.

The tight Winchester choke provided 89 and 82 percent in the Mossberg and 86 and 84 percent in the Winchester. Mossberg’s X-FULL shot 88 and 90 in the Mossberg and 82 and 87 percent in the Winchester.
Impressive numbers, but only part of the story.

That 30-inch pattern-measuring circle was settled on ages ago, as a way to measure effectiveness for hitting moving game. Full choke, or 70 percent of a load’s pellets in the circle, indicated a very tight pattern for long shots at game birds or waterfowl.

Modern turkey chokes and shotshells are better than that. The goal is to center a tight core pattern on a target that isn’t moving, and the pattern from a good turkey gun and load (excluding the occasional stray pellet) is often noticeably smaller than 30 inches at 40 yards. Circle diameters from 6 to 20 inches are commonly used to appraise the vital core of the pattern with turkey guns and loads; I prefer 15 inches because it is small enough to show the pattern’s potential, but still large enough to reveal any unevenly dense or thin spots. A hunter should be able to center a gobbler’s head and neck in that size circle when he pulls the trigger.

My pattern checker is a Plexiglas doughnut, 30 inches in diameter with a 15-inch diameter hole in the middle. I center this over the pattern, draw both the 15- and 30-inch circles, and then start counting pellet hits. The 30-inch circle gives me the standard measure for pattern density, but the 15-inch circle is a better indicator of a turkey pattern’s true long-range potential. While 90 percent of the pellets in the 30-inch circle indicates a really tight pattern, putting 50 percent of the load in the 15-inch core circle indicates a terrific turkey load. A 15-inch circle has half the diameter but only a quarter the area of a 30-inch circle.

And looking at those core patterns revealed even better performance with the new 20-gauge magnum Hevi-Shot loads. The poorest core pattern was a respectable 41 percent, with most scoring around 50 to 55 and a single high of 60 percent. That one best pattern put 154 No. 6 pellets in the 15-inch circle.

Since shotgun patterns always vary, and even good guns and loads occasionally throw a low count, a hunter should probably discount the best patterns and instead look at the worst patterns when determining guaranteed effective range.

Just how many hits in a 15-inch core circle is needed to guarantee lethality? Enough that there is no “hole” in the pattern where a turkey’s head and neck might not be well-hit.

I’d not quite trust the 20-gauge at a full 40 yards, because at that range there were a few holes in the average core patterns where a turkey’s head and neck might not take enough lethal hits. I’d likely set a limit of 35 yards. But that’s not bad, and who knows? Your gun might pattern even better.

Shot size is the other limiting factor when considering 20-gauge turkey loads. When asked the proper shot size for turkeys, the standard industry response is to pattern the gun with shot in sizes 4, 5 and 6, then hunt with whichever patterns best, and set your maximum range accordingly.

But what about impact energy?

A size 6 plated lead pellet hits with about 2 foot/pounds of energy at 40 yards. It’s a small number, but enough to break into a gobbler’s skull. If you want more range than that, you might consider No. 5 shot. After all, a size 5 pellet still hits with about 2 foot pounds at 60 yards.

The problem is that a 1-1/4 ounce load of No. 5 shot has fewer pellets than the same weight load of smaller No. 6 shot. If there are 281 pellets in a No. 6 shell, there are but 212 in a No. 5. If 50 percent of both hit in the 15-inch core, there will be 140 hits with the No. 6 but only 106 with the No. 5, which is only marginally enough to assure enough lethal hits. What good is an over abundance of pellet energy if you can’t guarantee lethal hits?

It only gets worse with No. 4 shot. Despite their terrific energy, there are never enough of them in the core of the pattern at 40 yards. In fact, 40 yards may be out of range to guarantee enough lethal hits on a gobbler. All else being equal, loading a tightly choked 20-gauge with No. 6 shot should get more effective range than loading the same gun with No. 4 shot.

And all of this penetration data is for lead pellets. Hevi-Shot No. 6 is lethal at considerably farther distances because of its higher density. There is absolutely no question that these pellets are lethal beyond 40 yards—that is, if the load patterns tightly enough. The only way to tell that is to test the gun at the range.
Two other manufacturers have introduced 20-gauge magnum shotshells with heavier-than-lead pellets, but these shells are offered only with No. 5 shot. Maybe next year they’ll bring out the No. 6.

RNT Calls, Inc. the World leader in custom waterfowl calls is proud to announce the debut into Outdoor Television…RNT-V.

RNT-V is a reality based TV show featuring the lifestyles of the RNT family and their friends. RNT-V is presented by Mack’s Prairie Wings, and sponsored by Avery Outdoors, Greenhead Gear, Natural Gear Camouflage, War Eagle Boats, Beretta, Hevi-Shot and PatternMaster. RNT-V is produced by RNT Calls, Inc. Stuttgart, Arkansas in conjunction with Power House Promotions of Hot Springs, Arkansas.

With exciting hunts, life on the road, building and designing cutting edge waterfowl calls and winning championships; RNT-V will have something for everybody.

Beginning Friday June 30th, RNT-V will air twice a week on the Men’s Channel, (218 on Dish Network) Fridays at 12:00 Noon est. and Sundays at 3:00 pm est. with a new episode every Friday.

For more information contact Jim Ronquest or John Stephens at RNT Calls Inc.
888-768-2255 or check out RNT-V on the web at www.rntcalls.com

Turkey Shoot Press Release
20 October 2005

HEVI-Shot® Begins In-house Production of World Champion HEVI-13™ Shotshells

HEVI-Shot® began 2006 production this week in its Sweet Home facility of the World Champion HEVI-13™ shotshells that swept the Outdoor Connection Still Target Championships on October 7¬–9 at the National Wild Turkey Federation headquarters in Edgefield, SC.

Since announcing its independence in August, HEVI-Shot® expanded its production capacity, qualified its shotshell loaders, refined its quality assurance system, and setup the line for the HEVI-13™ worldbeater. The company is rapidly expanding shotshell production in its new role as an independent ammunition company.

HEVI-13™, the radical new turkey ammunition from HEVI-Shot®, won all five classes of the Still Target competition, and established 5 world records. Although shooters were free to choose any ammunition from America’s foremost ammunition companies, all of the winners and record holders chose HEVI-13™ shotshells.

The unique Still Target competition pits scattergunners against a 3-inch diameter red circle on a turkey target, shot at 40-yards. The winner puts the most #6 pellets into the 3-inch circle.

Shooters compete in the 12 gauge men’s open class (which allows customized guns), the 12 gauge men’s hunter class, the 20 gauge men’s open class, the 20 gauge women’s open class, and the 20-gauge Jakes class for youngsters.

Gunsmiths, choke manufacturers, scope-makers, and ammunition companies all vie for the honor of getting into the hands of the winning shooters. “We were pleased by the way people switched to HEVI-13™ during the course of the competition,” said Pancho Fulton, director of Sales and Marketing for HEVI-Shot®. “We always aim for a product that gives the best hunt, and we love to see it working for people.”

Results of the competition are available on the NWTF website.

“HEVI-13™ pushes the state of the art in everything from pellet to propellant,” said Ralph Nauman, president of HEVI-Shot®. “It’s a good example of how we apply material science for a better hunt.”

“Production is going well,” Nauman added. “The 2006 shells have a few improvements over the World Record shells folks shot earlier this month. We’re excited about those advances. And we will have plenty of this benchmark product ready for turkey hunters by Spring.”

More information is available from the company’s website at www.hevishot.com.

HEVI-Shot® Launches An Independent Ammunition Company

ENVIRON-Metal, Inc. – makers of HEVI-Shot® pellets, and ultraperformance shotshells under the HEVI-Steel®, HEVI-13™, and Dead Coyote!™ trademarks – will become a performance ammunition company, effective 1 October 2005. The company will develop, manufacture, and market the popular HEVI-Shot® shotshells for the traditional distribution and retail channels.

ENVIRON-Metal is taking this step to speed the introduction of its many new HEVI-Shot® products to hunters. “We always focus on innovating for the hunter,” said Pancho Fulton, Director of Sales and Marketing for ENVIRON-Metal. “We’ve learned during the past 4 years that we can get our new products into the hands of hunters much more quickly by manufacturing on our own.” ENVIRON-Metal will allow its HEVI-Shot® co-branding arrangement with Remington Arms Company, Inc. to expire on 30 September 2005.

ENVIRON-Metal invented the HEVI-Shot® brand of extreme-density shot materials that are the benchmark of performance in the industry. “HEVI-Shot® pellets are the clear leader in the performance sector of the market,” said Ralph Nauman, President of ENVIRON-Metal, “and HEVI-Shot® has emerged as the preferred brand of performance shotshells for waterfowl and turkey enthusiasts. This success results from our constant commitment to build the best hunt.”

“For 2006, we will use our material science capability to raise the performance standard substantially through an entirely new class of proprietary shotshell components and alloys,” said Mr. Nauman. “The revolutionary process technology required to do this is unique and makes manufacturing our logical next step.”

Ron Petty, a principal in Outdoor Sales Solutions LLC and the former Senior Vice President for Sales and Marketing at ATK, will advise the company during its transition. “We are pleased to have Ron sharing his industry expertise to assist in the transition,” Nauman stated. “We look forward to working more closely with our many friends in the industry.”

ENVIRON-Metal will showcase the new shotshell and bullet technologies at the SHOT Show during February 2006. Until then, contact Pancho Fulton at 541.367.3522 for more information. The company’s Website, www.hevishot.com, will also feature new developments as they are announced.