# Blind Side Steel Shot by Winchester



## Calling all ducks (Apr 22, 2009)

Just wandering if any one has shot this Blind Side and if it's worth the money.


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## JuniorPre 360 (Feb 22, 2012)

Calling all ducks said:


> Just wandering if any one has shot this Blind Side and if it's worth the money.


I've read a few other reviews that have had the same experience we did. My buddy shot these for a season. Each and every duck he shot had both feet and wings broken, larger holes, and the bb's usually traveled all the way through the ducks. I don't think blindsides are that necessary. I think a good choke tube on a gun will be the best. I shoot Xperts and Federal blue boxes with a full Carlson's choke and I have had better results as long as I am shooting right on. I don't have too many cripples anymore. You can do what you want, but I personally try to avoid in getting caught up in the newest latest and greatest type of shotgun shell. The cheap garbage I've been using the past 14 years has been doing fine.


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## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

If you mainly like shooting them close, don't even bother. The shot pellets will destroy a lot of meat on your close-range kills.

That being said, my dad (who is prone to occasional skybusting tendencies) used it on a few hunts last year, and he was pounding some very high flyers (at least 45-50 yards). The shape of the pellets allows them to stack a lot of shot in the cup, which improves pattern density, and I think that helped his cause. 

If you buy it from Rogers and take advantage of the case rebate, you can get it for around $14-$15 a box, which isn't much more expensive than many loads on the market. That's not a bad route to go if you test it out and decide that you like it. I personally wouldn't pay the $18-$20+ per box they ask for at Sportsman's Warehouse or Cabelas.


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## Hoopermat (Dec 17, 2010)

I love them. But I bought 4 cases for 110 a case. So I hoard them aswell. I use them for late season sucks and geese. And I can tell you nothing works better. BUT you need to know don't use in a wad stripping or ported choke. They will not pattern in them. Use a standard choke or a specific blind side choke or black cloud. The wad is designed to work a certain way. 
What I have seen if the duck or goose doesn't drop dead. You flat out missed


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## stick&string89 (Jun 21, 2012)

It is awesome but pricy. I use it though.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

That shell puts some holes in the birds.


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## paddler (Jul 17, 2009)

I never paid much attention to these shells because I have so much ammo on hand. Couple of questions. How are they sized? Is a #3 BS pellet the same volume as a round #3 steel pellet? If so, then the pellets per ounce should be the same. Also, how does the ballistic coefficient of a BS pellet compare with a round one? One can see that under perfect conditions they may pack better than round pellets, but I doubt it's a significant advantage.


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## Hoopermat (Dec 17, 2010)

paddler213 said:


> I never paid much attention to these shells because I have so much ammo on hand. Couple of questions. How are they sized? Is a #3 BS pellet the same volume as a round #3 steel pellet? If so, then the pellets per ounce should be the same. Also, how does the ballistic coefficient of a BS pellet compare with a round one? One can see that under perfect conditions they may pack better than round pellets, but I doubt it's a significant advantage.


Most of them have more shot weight at the same velocity. So yes there are more pellets. I have shot them in bb, #2,3,4. At 1 3/8 oz. Last year every goose we shot was dead before it hit the ground. No cripples. That is what changed my mind about them. My favorite for ducks is the 3" 1 3/8 oz #4. Like some others have said if shooting over decoys they do so much damage you get less meat. But those days the birds won't decoy and you are shooting 40+ yards they drop dead. 
Most people I know that tried them and didn't like them were shooting out of the wrong choke style. The choke is very important. No patter masters or ported chokes. And have you ever seen a shot go through a goose. At 20 to 25 yards. Pretty impressive.


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## Hoopermat (Dec 17, 2010)

I cleaned the walmart a out when they were on clearance for $11 a box


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## JuniorPre 360 (Feb 22, 2012)

Hoopermat said:


> I cleaned the walmart a out when they were on clearance for $11 a box


I did the same when Xpert hit just under $9 a box.


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## Pumpgunner (Jan 12, 2010)

I haven't tried them but I really just don't see the point-you can't beat physics, and a cube-shaped shot will have more drag, and therefore slow down faster, than a round pellet. They get around this by packing the shot in a long-range wad that keeps it together longer, which seems to me to be a complicated solution to a problem that didn't really exist in the first place. I can see that they would be deadly under 30 yards or so, but so will regular steel at that range. Personally I think that the ammo companies pretty much perfected the steel shot load about 15 years ago and they just keep reinventing the wheel in order to stay current in the marketplace.


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## JuniorPre 360 (Feb 22, 2012)

I'm actually extremely skeptical on the shot stacking they way they claim. I'm wondering how they get it all to align perfectly. I'd be interested in someone cutting the top off of one.


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## Hoopermat (Dec 17, 2010)

JuniorPre 360 said:


> I'm actually extremely skeptical on the shot stacking they way they claim. I'm wondering how they get it all to align perfectly. I'd be interested in someone cutting the top off of one.


I was to. So I cut one open. It was just like it showed


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## JuniorPre 360 (Feb 22, 2012)

Hoopermat said:


> I was to. So I cut one open. It was just like it showed


Like what showed? Like the advertisements?


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## paddler (Jul 17, 2009)

Agree. They show pretty pictures of shot perfectly stacked, but that's not going to happen during the normal manufacturing process. It would be interesting to weigh a given size BS vs round pellets to see what the actual volume is size for size. Cubes will have a lower BC, too, so I don't think there is a net gain in effectiveness. I've been shooting geese with 2 3/4" 20 gauge 4s, so increased range doesn't matter to me. Last year in Canada I shot a triple and one quadruple with the Federal 4s.





Warning. The following photos are a bit gruesome. They show what happens when you shoot a goose at close range with a 20 gauge:



The head landed about 15 yards beyond the rest of the goose:



Range is everything in waterfowling.


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

That last picture reminds me of a hunting trip at age 14 with grandpa. He shot at a mallard drake and missed his follow up shot dropped the drake. When we picked him up the front half of his head and beak area were missing, he shot the front half of his head off on the wing....obviously the drake was closer than we thought....however not a pellet in the body which was a plus.


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## Hoopermat (Dec 17, 2010)

The one I cut open the shot looked like a solid block. It was packed so tight. You could see how the shot filled up every part of the cup.
I didn't take any pictures of it because it was for my own curiosity. 
Now this many posts in I should have started saying they suck. Now the chances of seeing them on the walmart clearance rack have gone down.


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## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

From what I have heard on a number of forums by users is that the shot tears up birds and meat much more so than round shot. I don't understand why anyone would use them if the birds are being torn up so badly. Get them in close enough for regular round shot and be ethical about it. Like I've posted before, using #3 shot at 1550 fps is more than adequate for 40 yard shots on any size duck. If you're shooting 50+ yards then you just don't realize how many birds you're wounding and that's never a good thing.


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## BigMac (Feb 12, 2012)

I have heard of several reports of these shells bulging barrels!


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## Hoopermat (Dec 17, 2010)

BigMac said:


> I have heard of several reports of these shells bulging barrels!


I have had the hyper sonics bulg my barrel. Now I stay away from anything over 1500 fps


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## 1BandMan (Nov 2, 2007)

Unless shell company's incorporate some kind of "goose or duck seeking" technology as part of their "magic shell" lines they promote they aren't going to perform much differently than anything else on the market.
The biggest performance maker or breaker in regards to which shells perform the best is the person shooting them.....period. 

The only difference is that if you shoot a "magic shell" and miss, you wasted a $1.00 rather than $.50.

Like many other things, waterfowl hunting has become so commercialized, people involved in the marketing side of things are capitalizing on people's gullibility and competitiveness.
If you've got the cash, go ahead and shoot whatever makes you happy, whether it be Blindside, Blackcloud, or Rio. Whatever blows your skirt up.


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## cootlover (Sep 26, 2015)

I have shot ten cases are more of fast steel 1550 thru my m2 20 ga no problem Hooper what gun did they bulg your barrel and how tight of choke P.S that sucks can you still use it?


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## Hoopermat (Dec 17, 2010)

cootlover said:


> I have shot ten cases are more of fast steel 1550 thru my m2 20 ga no problem Hooper what gun did they bulg your barrel and how tight of choke P.S that sucks can you still use it?


It happened to my A5 last year and my friends benelli. Both had to get new barrels. I talked to a bunch of gun smiths about it and they love the hypersonics. Repeat biz for them. What it does is swells the choke tube so bad it cannot be removed.


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## cootlover (Sep 26, 2015)

That's to bad you had to buy new barrels.


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## ram2h2o (Sep 11, 2007)

All ammunition manufacturers are looking at new ways to get hunters to purchase their ammo. Blindside, Black Cloud, Hyper, etc.. Some are good, some are gimmick's, but use what works best for you and your shotgun.


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