For at least the last three decades, waterfowl hunters in the United States have been forced to use non-toxic shotgun shells. The “good old days” of shooting lead shot for ducks and geese have been over for quite some time. Still, the search goes on for the ultimate replacement for the knockdown power and performance that was available with lead shot. Sure steel shot has improved drastically in the past decades, yet it required a more open choke and it lost velocity and energy quickly once fired.

Thus, many hunters continued to grumble to industry experts about the possibility of a new, better material for non-toxic shot pellets. Well, it seems that Fiocchi USA listened and put pen to paper so to speak. Quietly, they began to test numerous materials in hopes of developing a metal that would contain the pros of lead shot without being toxic to the environment. Several years were spent in research until finally they devised the key component, a tungsten composite material, that they aptly named Tundra.

Once the material reached the prototype stage, the trials began. First, it had to be tested both in the field and in the lab. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service conducts extensive testing on all shot material to be used for waterfowl hunting and it is not a simple process. Fortunately, the new offering from Fiocchi passed the intensive evaluation with flying colors. In fact, the Tundra has one of the lowest concentrations among all non toxic shot materials, making it just about the “greenest” shot on the market. Additionally, Fiocchi’s Tundra nontoxic shotgun shells are paired with non-toxic primers, unlike many competitors.

The benefits of Tundra are many. Obviously, it is an improvement over steel, but it comes as close to lead as any nontoxic material on the market. First and foremost, Tundra allows the hunter to utilize any choke constriction. By comparison, steel has warnings that advise hunters not to use full choke when shooting steel shot shells. Thus with Tundra, that old favorite, family heirloom shotgun with the full choke can now be safely fired in the marsh again! Tundra retains its softness and does not get brittle like normal tungsten, bismuth or steel. Since it deforms (due to being soft) it will not damage barrels even those constructed from Damascus steel no matter what the choke (even full turkey chokes). Now imagine using that old side by side shotgun of grandpa’s and crushing ducks at sixty to seventy yards.

Another by product of Tundra is that it is denser than all other shot material, thus it carries more energy and retains that down range as well. This makes longer “killing” shots possible, a great option on late season educated birds. Besides having more energy or knockdown power, the density of Tundra shot helps create a more effective pattern in most guns. Mike Love, Fiocchi area manager, gave a good example of the characteristic of Tundra shot. Mike explained that common steel shot is very brittle as are other non toxic shot materials. Yet, he advised that a Tundra pellet can be easily deformed by pressing on it with a common ink pen. No more damaged teeth when eating cooked meat should the hunter miss a pellet when cleaning birds!

The engineers at Fiocchi knew they were on to a great discovery with the Tundra composite material. During the R & D process, they developed two different weights or densities of the material, 9.5 and 12.5 g. For comparison, the 9.5 g density is 123 % heavier than steel, while the 12.5 g version is 160% heavier than steel and 115% heavier than lead! Now imagine the improvement that will have on your hunting success!

It goes without saying that since Tundra is denser or heavier in weight than steel, it will not have the blazing muzzle velocity advertised by steel loads. Mike Love stated that typical velocity in the Tundra 9.5g, 2 ¾ inch, 12 gauge load will be approximately 1340 fps. The Tundra 12.5g version lists 1350 fps in the 2 ¾ inch 12 gauge shell. Moving up to a three inch 12 gauge load, the Tundra 9.5g has a velocity of 1350 fps, while its denser brother the 12.5g offering lists 1280 fps velocity. The 12.5g is simply a purer material, thus more dense in composite than the 9.5g. Currently, only twelve gauge loads are offered, although twenty gauge ammo is expected in 2011.

“Hunter reaction so far has been favorable,” advised Mike. Sales initially exceeded production, thus production has been increased at the Fiocchi plant in Ozark, Missouri. Although, demand is still high Fiocchi has met the sales quotas, so that Tundra is currently available from coast to coast. Obviously, the Tundra shotgun shells are not in the same price category as steel shot. Yet, when a hunter compares the various premium non-toxic shotgun shells, i.e. bismuth, tungsten, etc… Tundra shells are competitively priced. Still when a hunter compares performance between the competition and Fiocchi Tundra, everything else falls by the wayside! Impress your hunting partners and your Lab, shoot some Tundra this season!