How good is steel shot compared to lead shot? In a ballistic experiment, Wayne Martin compares an ordinary 32g lead five-shot cartridge with a comparable 32g steel three-shot load using feather and fur dressed ballistic gels to replicate real game at different ranges. Each gel disc is designed for multiple pellet strikes to give an average penetration depth across different ranges.
Joined by Tim Pilbeam, Wayne investigates:
- penetration differences between lead and steel
- how range affects wound channels
- limitations of static targets vs moving birds
- what happens with magnum 3-shot steel at 50 yards
This isn’t pro-lead or anti-steel—it’s about Wayne’s shell choice for ethical shooting.
For more from Wayne, visit CattyShack.co.uk
More from Wayne here:

Ballistic bunnies and birds – Wayne’s steel shot performance test
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyskuMA7r9g How good is steel shot compared to lead shot? In a ballistic experiment, Wayne Martin compares an ordinary 32g lead five-shot cartridge with a

Hunting rabbits with an airgun under a full moon
It is a windy, moonlit night, and Cattyshack’s Wayne Martin is out in the fields of Hampshire controlling rabbits with his FAC-rated FX airgun and

Wayne’s pest control patrol
Cattyshack’s Wayne Martin is back, shooting crop-munching rabbits with his FAC-rated airgun and HIKMicro Alpex A50 scope. This time he is out walking the fields

175-yard rabbit with an airgun
Wayne Martin has a big rabbit control job to do on a farm near Winchester in the south of England. He is using a FAC-rated

Can a shotgunner shoot a rifle?
Wayne Martin is good with a shotgun – he proved that in our earlier film where he shot bolting rabbits on Gotland in Sweden. Rifle

Bolting bunny bedlam
www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0cNpzi1TmM Catapult supremo Wayne Martin is pretty handy with a shotgun too – and he’ll need all his skills when the ferrets go underground and


