I remember asking the questions: Why is lead shot copper plated? Why is steel shot plated? And more recently why is bismuth and tungsten shot being plated? After years of wondering, I decided I wanted a better answer than I was finding in the marketing of most waterfowl and turkey hunting ammunition. So I began to study and I reached out to the owners of shotgun ammo manufacturing companies, professional metallurgists, and hunting ammo historians. More people answered my questions than I was expecting.

The first big question is why did they start copper plating shot? Well, long story short, about 100 years ago they were trying to find ways to keep lead shot from fusing together in high pressure loads. They eventually solved that problem with harder lead shot. But they noticed interesting performance benefits from the copper plating, so they continued doing it.

Plated Shot Improves Lubricity

The big thing that plated shot does is increase the lubricity of the shot. Just as it sounds, the platting acts as a lubricant on the shot. It lubricates the pellets against one another, against the barrel, against the air, and against the intended target.

Most shotgun shot, whether it is steel, lead, bismuth, or tungsten is not polished to a perfect mirror finish. The plating ads that finish, thus reducing the friction of the pellets. But it does even more. Copper plating, along with zinc and others have a lower dynamic coefficient of friction than say steel does. So whether you are using steel shot or firing your shot through a steel barrel, or both, the plating cuts back on friction.

So what does that do? Why does it matter?

1) Sliding Through The Choke

Less friction and more lubricity means the pellets can smoothly slide against each other as they travel through the forcing cone, barrel, and most importantly the choke tube. The choke compresses the shot, elongating the shot column trying to tighten the pattern. If the choke is too tight or shot too rough, certain materials such as steel shot in particular will crunch together instead of sliding and elongating the shot column when compressed by the choke. The stored energy of being pushed together without sliding is then released and the pellets expand immediately after leaving the barrel which ruins the pattern. That has a significant effect in both tighter turkey hunting choke tubes and looser waterfowl chokes.

Adding copper platting, or to a lesser degree zinc or nickel lets the pellets slide against one another instead of smashing together. The result is denser patterns at essentially all ranges.

2) Sliding Through The Air

The second thing plating does, particularly that polished finish it gives, is aid the shot as it cuts through the air. Polished copper plating slices through the wind easier than rough lead, steel, or bismuth shot. Less aerodynamic friction means the shot loses velocity slower and has more range, less drop, and more energy on the target. Because of this it can hit harder than non-plated shot, especially compared to cheaper rougher finished shot.

The big thing to remember with this is that the effect is null at the muzzle. At 10 yards it is almost meaningless, but at 40 and 50+ yards is when it makes the most difference because the effect of wind and friction has had time to work, slowing down the un-plated shot more. The big question here is how much difference does this make? More about that momentarily.

3) Sliding Through The Target

Plating also helps the shot penetrate deeper into the intended target, whether you are hunting ducks, geese, turkeys, pheasants, or any other fowl. The decreased coefficient of friction from the plating, coupled with the benefits of the mirror finish, help it slide through tissue to go deeper. This also means the shot has more energy to break through bones when it reaches them.

These three factors combined result in higher pattern density, which means more pellets on the target. Each of those pellets arrives at the target with more velocity and slide through the birds a little more easily.

The Best Metals To Plate

Plating is most effective performance wise for lead shot and bismuth because they are softer materials which can deform on impact causing more trauma when they impact bone compared to steel which is more likely to ricochet. A slicker harder steel pellet is slightly more likely deflect off of bone rather than break through it.

Plating on steel started mostly for corrosion resistance. Tall pallets of steel ammo in hot damp warehouses for months and years on end too often resulted in rusty shot reaching the customers. Plating solved this problem very well. The marketing is spun to make it sound like it is helping the hunter, so their shot doesn’t rust in the field, but that is not very likely to happen in most scenarios, it helps the manufacture and distributors more.

Tungsten is sometimes copper plated as well, with the intension of improved pattern, velocity, and penetration performance.

Why Is Steel Shot Not Copper Plated?

Sometimes it is, but zinc and nickel plating are more cost effective for adhesion to steel in order to protect against moisture. So it is cheaper to not use copper on steel. Because of this, the effects of plating on steel in terms of patterning, velocity, and penetration are less pronounced than with lead or bismuth. However, there do seem to still be some gains for zinc and nickel-plated steel against un-plated steel. But the primary motivation for doing it is the corrosion resistance.

How Much Difference Does Plated Shot Make?

This was not an easy question to get experts to answer. Thankfully, it is something that I am able to test. After doing many ballistic gel and pattern tests myself, I am convinced there is a measurable difference.

I have found pattern density to improve by 10%-30% when testing plated vs. un-plated shot. However, there are a lot of variables here, and no company that I could find makes the same shell with the only difference between plated vs. un-plated shot. So, I would have to call these results anecdotal. But plated shot seems to come out on top with every test I’ve done to date. But keep in mind, these benefits pale in comparison to making sure you gun is properly fitted to you. A well fitted shotgun will be more accurate and outperform any gains you might see from plated shot. For more, I did a full article on the subject here: How To Fit A Shotgun To You.

When it comes to ballistics gel penetration, I have found that plated shot penetrates about 5-10% deeper than un-plated shot.  This is a little bit more robust testing because there are fewer variables to control for. Plating and velocity are the main ones.

I was presented with documentation showing bismuth penetration and more importantly wound trauma has been seen to be 15%+ with copper plated shot vs non plated shot. I intend to test this personally in the near future and will update this article and do a video on the results.

Is Plated Shot Worth The Extra Expense?

The big question people ask next becomes: is plated shot worth the extra cost? After all my research, I would say “it depends”. The biggest benefits of copper plated shot or any plated shot are going to be potential increase in pattern density. If you try the copper plated shot with a few good choke tubes and it patterns better in your gun then it is absolutely worth it. If it patterns the same, I do not think the slight increase in terminal performance is worth the significant increase in cost.

What Are The Best Plated Shells?

I haven’t tested them all, but here are my favorite shells per category of all the ones I have tested.

1. Zinc Plated Steel: Kent Fasteel
2. Copper Plated Bismuth: BOSS Shotshells
3. Copper Plated Lead: Winchester Long Beard XR
4. Copper Plated Tungsten: BOSS Tom

Be sure to listen to The New Hunters Guide Podcast, and check us out on YouTube. If you want to learn more about hunting, check out the different hunting areas that my podcast covers, there are over 200 episodes, all organized by topic:

• First Steps
• Black Bear Hunting
• Crow Hunting
• Deer Hunting
• Dove Hunting
• Duck Hunting
• Goose Hunting
• Pheasant Hunting
• Predator Hunting
• Turkey Hunting
• Woodchuck Hunting
• General Tips and Gear

George Konetes Ph.D. – Founder and Host of the New Hunters Guide.

The New Hunters Guide is simply what George wishes he would have had when learning how to hunt; a single place to get practical hands on knowledge about different kinds of hunting, gear, strategy, and tips that can improve your comfort and fun factor in the woods.

Want More? Watch My Video On The Subject

Can the action of a shotgun actually do something to reduce the recoil? This is a common question asked by all kinds of shotgun users from new hunters to seasoned pros. I have searched the internet over trying to find a good answer for this question and I was unsatisfied with what I found. That is when I realized I was asking the wrong question and I was looking for information in the wrong places.

The right question is this: Can a semi-automatic shotgun reduce felt recoil?

What Is Felt Recoil?

Nothing can reduce true recoil, it is a function of payload, velocity, and powder charge. But felt recoil, or perceived recoil is another thing. This is the recoil force that the shooter experiences. This can be reduced by a great number of things, but is the action of a shotgun one of them? Well, instead of endlessly combing the depths of the internet looking for an answer, I decided to ask the manufacturers of the shotguns themselves to see what they had to say. And their responses were surprising. 

When it comes to recoil energy, the bigger the payload and the faster it leaves the gun, the higher the recoil. This is the equal and opposite reaction to the charge being fired out of the barrel. This energy travels through the frame of the shotgun, into the stock and then into your shoulder and cheek. After a certain level, that force is enough to cause pain and eventually tissue damage in your body.

Shells with more shot and/or more velocity create more recoil and that recoil has to go somewhere. And it will go somewhere, into the shooter. BUT what happens to that energy along the way will change its effect on the shooter. Keep in mind that shotgun fit can also plays a part here. A well fitted shotgun will help more evenly distribute recoil which mitigates some of the perceived force and discomfort. For more on that, I did a full article here: How To Fit A Shotgun To You.

Slower Recoil Is Less Damaging Recoil

One of the biggest variables in the equation of felt recoil is the weight of the shotgun. A gun with more mass resists the backward push of the recoil more. A heavier shotgun cannot absorb recoil, but rather it slows it down.  The energy has to first accelerate the shotgun and then push it into your shoulder. If the shotgun is heavier then it moves slower. The same amount of force exists but the speed the shotgun is propelled into your shoulder is slowed down, ever so slightly, and then hits your shoulder more like a firm push than a sharp crack. The shark crack causes pain and damage, the firm push does not.

Think about this example. If a pickup truck hit you doing 30 mph, the effect on your body would be devastating.  But if a much heavier tractor trailer hit you at 3 mph it would do you little to no harm. Both trucks could have the same energy, but your body is able to absorb the energy at slower velocity because it does not cross the threshold for pain and tissue damage. It causes movement of the body, but not damage.

A good recoil pad works to the same aim, it compresses when the recoil hits it, absorbing the recoil energy and then releasing it a fraction of second later. The energy is not taken away by the pad but it is spread out by milliseconds which can make a great deal of difference to the shooter.

If recoil energy is a wave, the higher the peak the more pain and damage it causes. If that wave is spread out to be a wider wave with a lower peak, it has the same total force, same energy, but it doesn’t cause the pain. The amplitude of the recoil is reduced, and the discomfort with it. There is alot of debate a well about whether choke tubes reduce felt recoil, for more check out my article on that subject: Do Ported Chokes Really Reduce Shotgun Recoil?

2 Types Of Semi-Automatic Shotguns

Now, enter semi-automatic shotguns. There are two main types of semi-auto shotguns, gas operated guns and recoil/inertia operated shotguns. Before I talk about the differences, I will cover the similarities.

Both types of shotguns have mechanisms that utilize energy from the shot to eject the spent shell, compress the recoil spring, load a new round, and re-cock the shotgun. This process reduces felt recoil in two ways. First, the compressing of springs, moving of the bolt, and recharging of the gun slows down that recoil energy as it travels backwards. The bolt goes back and then forward creating a counter balancing effect as well.  Secondly, there is some friction in the process which burns up a smaller amount of energy.

All of this has the effect of slowing recoil energy on its way to the shoulder and causing less discomfort and allowing one to control the firearm easier.

Inertial Operated Shotguns

Inertia driven shotguns use the recoil energy alone to complete the auto loading process by pushing the bolt backwards, and sometimes more parts, even the entire barrel in some designs like the Browning Auto 5. Shells are exchanged and the gun recharged. The more mass that moves backward, the more the recoil energy is doing before it gets to your shoulder and the more it is slowed thus softening the effect of the shot.

Gas Operated Shotguns

Gas operated semiautomatic shotguns utilize gas pressure from inside the barrel to move push an assembly backwards which works to expel the round, compress the springs, move the bolt, chamber a new round and full recharge the firearm. The outcomes is the same as inertia driven shotguns except that gas operated actions tend to reduce felt recoil slightly more.

The reason being, gas actions relieve gas pressure from inside of the barrel and channel it backwards, and sometimes in unique ways like with the Remington Versa Max. This does not just relieve some of force which would exit the barrel creating recoil but it redirects it in the most advantageous direction, backwards. Some say that relieving gas does nothing to effect recoil, however you must keep in mind that gas does have mass, and gas under pressure does contribute to recoil when it escapes the barrel in a forward direction. But granted, the effects of this are minimal. The moving of the bolt, slide, springs, shells, etc. provides the lion share of the benefits.

Ultimately the semi-auto shotguns that best reduce felt recoil tend to be more of a function of how that particular gun is designed rather than if it was gas or inertial driven.

The Recoil Research

Now the big question is by how much do semiautomatic shotguns reduce felt recoil. This is where my research comes into play. I reached out to many of the largest shotgun manufacturers in the U.S.  Not all of them, but many of them. Companies like Browning, Benelli, Winchester, Remington, and more.

Not all of the companies responded to me, and of those who did, not all of them gave me helpful information. But numerous companies did weigh in on the subject. Keep in mind, these are not people on forums, Facebook, YouTube, or magazine writers, these are the people who make the shotguns. Not that there is anything wrong with people in those other channels, I am one of them! But the shotgun manufacturer will always know more about their product than the shotgun user or commentator.

I ask all of the companies almost the exact same thing. How much does your semi-automatic shotguns reduce felt recoil compared to your pump shotguns? I then inserted the names of certain shotgun models they sell, aiming for the most popular in both categories, such as autoloaders and pumps. I asked all of the companies to compare two of their own guns that they know intimately, as I tried to look for patterns to answering the bigger question.

How Much Do Semi-automatic Shotguns Reduce Recoil?

The results are below. I will not disclose which companies responded and who said what because I did not approach them as a reporter looking for on the record statements.

In total I received 5 responses as percentages. In other words, their semi-auto shotguns should reduce felt recoil by these percentages compared to their pump shotguns.

1. 10% felt recoil reduction.
2. 25% felt recoil reduction.
3. 35% felt recoil reduction.
4. 40% felt recoil reduction.
5. 50% felt recoil reduction.

Averaged, we are at 32%.

Now it is possible that the manufacturers provided overly optimistic figures, and I am personally working on a way to objectively measure and report felt recoil so I can put these figures to the test. However, these results are consistent with my personal experience and expectations.

So do semi-automatic shotguns reduce recoil? No. But they do significantly reduce felt recoil and could help you shoot more comfortably and effectively.

Be sure to listen to The New Hunters Guide Podcast, and check us out on YouTube. If you want to learn more about hunting, check out the different hunting areas that my podcast covers, there are over 200 episodes, all organized by topic:

• First Steps
• Black Bear Hunting
• Crow Hunting
• Deer Hunting
• Dove Hunting
• Duck Hunting
• Goose Hunting
• Pheasant Hunting
• Predator Hunting
• Turkey Hunting
• Woodchuck Hunting
• General Tips and Gear

George Konetes Ph.D. – Founder and Host of the New Hunters Guide.

The New Hunters Guide is simply what George wishes he would have had when learning how to hunt; a single place to get practical hands on knowledge about different kinds of hunting, gear, strategy, and tips that can improve your comfort and fun factor in the woods.