Understanding Plated Shot

From our January/February 2026 Issue

Judging from reader input, there is one shotshell issue that keeps coming up over and over, and that is: What are the real effects of plated shot on shotshell performance? We’ll look here at shot plating in detail.

From the 1960s through ’90s, the availability of plating on shotshell pellets was relatively rare. Today there are myriad US shotshell manufacturers offering so-called copper-plated lead-, bismuth- and even steel-shot loads. For reloading, besides one source of copper-plated lead shot, there are now two sources of nickel-plated lead shot. Reloaders also now have both copper- and zinc-plated steel pellets plus tin-plated tungsten-based pellets. Either in their advertising or subtle marketing language, many shotshell manufacturers and retailers of plated shot make bold claims concerning performance enhancement and added lethality from plated pellets. So what are the facts?

Fact One: Many claimed shot platings are not platings at all but rather just washings of the core pellet metal with another coating metal. Since SAAMI does not have performance standards for the word “plated,” nor is there any truth-in-advertising laws in the US that apply to shot coatings, all of these pellets can legally be referred to as being “plated” in advertising and product-listings language. In fact, however, the word “plated” in metals manufacturing generally refers to an electrolysis application of the coating metal to the applied metal, because electrolysis (electroplating) results in the highest-quality, most-durable coating.

Fact Two: All shot-plating deposits are super-thin, as in paper-thin or thinner. In my testing using water-tank projectile-recovery systems and necropsies of hundreds of waterfowl and upland bird carcasses, washed coatings (those not applied by electrolysis) exhibit a high rate of flaking-off from bore scrub, set-back in the barrel and contact with hard bird tissue. This has been echoed by readers’ experiences. And if the “plating” flakes off in whole or part, it can do nothing for pellet performance and lethality. My research has found that this does not happen with electrolysis-plated pellets, which by and large retain their plating during bore passage and upon contact (even with bone) and penetration into bird tissue.

So in light of these facts, those buying factory shotshell loads or shot for reloading advertised as containing “plated” shot based on their belief that said “platings” are going to offer a big leap in pattern quality, penetration and lethality performance need to direct their attention to electrolysis-plated pellets only. Pellets that are merely washed offer little more than cosmetic differences and are not going to provide any claimed ballistic enhancement. And remember: All so-called plated pellets, whether by electrolysis or some other means, are significantly more expensive than unpalted pellets. An example is so-called copper-plated shot. Currently copper-plated lead shot for reloading is about twice as expensive per pound as unplated lead shot. And shotgunners might despair to also learn that all current copper-plated lead shot available for reloading in most factory loads is copper-washed, not electrolysis-plated.

Now how about nickel plating? From the standpoint of reducing deformation to soft pellets such as lead or bismuth, nickel is a better metal than copper, because nickel is harder. As such, nickel plating resists in-barrel bore scrub and set-back pellet deformation better than copper plating. The next part of the puzzle is: Which nickel-plated shot is electrolysis-plated versus merely washed? Happily, all currently available nickel-plated lead shot in factory loads and lead shot sold for reloading is applied with electrolysis.

There are currently two sources of nickel-plated lead shot for reloading: Ballistic Products and Precision Reloading. There are also two current sources of nickel-plated lead shot in factory loads: Fiocchi and Remington. But there is a big difference among these pellets in the hardness of their lead cores and their ballistic values. The nickel-plated lead shot sold by Ballistic Products and in factory Fiocchi loads have proven to have relatively soft lead cores in my hardness tests. In contrast Precision Reloading nickel-plates hard (5% to 6% antimony) lead shot in its finishing-lure-components-making factory, while Remington’s plating process of hard lead pellets is proprietary. These two nickel-electroplated hard-lead-shot sources offer superior products insofar as patterning goes. As with copper, though, despite advertising claims, plating with nickel offers undetectable advantages for penetration from my extensive necropsy work.

What about using copper or zinc to coat steel shot and copper to coat bismuth shot? Both are available in some factory loads and as zinc-coated steel as a reloading product. From my testing, neither copper nor zinc plating does anything for steel-shot patterns or penetration into bird tissue. The same is true for copper on bismuth pellets. But both copper and zinc coatings make steel pellets significantly more oxidation-proof, as does copper coating on bismuth shot. This is advantageous in any saltwater or freshwater hunting environment, albeit at a higher price point.

Which brings me to a common misnomer used to refer to copper-coated shot, and that is the longstanding term “copper shot” when referring to copper-plated lead shot. Let’s be clear: There is no pure copper shot available in factory shotshells or for reloading, and if there were, it would be illegal for waterfowling. Pure copper shot was tested long ago for toxicity on ducks by several state fish-and-game agencies and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. In dosage studies pure copper shot was proven to be toxic to ducks and thus has been illegal since the 1960s. So is copper- or nickel-plated lead shot, because no matter how applied, the platings are so thin that they would quickly be ground off in the ducks’ gizzards, exposing the toxic lead cores.

There is one recent form of nontoxic shot that comes close to pure copper, and that is the CIC (Corrosion-Inhibited Copper) shot originally made by Environ-Metal (HEVI-Shot), now called the Kinetic Group. CIC shot is ≥ 99.9% copper with benzotriazole and thermoplastic fluorescent powder coatings. But at 8.9 g/cc density, CIC shot offers only slight ballistic improvement over pure steel and none over bismuth, especially factoring in its higher cost than both.

Lastly, coated tungsten-composite pellets are now also available, especially for reloading. The coating metal of choice thus far has been tin. From my testing, tin plating does nothing for ballistic performance of tungsten-based pellets and increases cost. But tin does greatly aid in protecting these pellets from oxidizing.

In summary, much of shot plating, despite performance-enhance,ent claims, tests out to be not much more than marketing hype. It succeeds likely because plated shot has such a beautiful cosmetic appearance. But in the final analysis of the ballistic performance of shot, only the roundness and faithfulness to diameter of pellets can be visually associated with performance. The most important ballistic performance of shot is not visible and largely lies within the density, hardness and resistance-to-deformation characteristics of the metal core of any plated pellet. My testing has always revealed that unplated high-antimony (5% to 6%) lead and high-tin-content (5% to ^%) bismuth pattern and penetrate just as well as any copper-washed lead or bismuth shot. The only exceptions I have found are the hard-lead-shot offerings nickel-electroplated by Precision Reloading and Remington, as they really do show improved patterns and penetration. And finally, in the case of all shot types that are vulnerable to oxidation, platings, whether applied via electroplating or by washing, do make them significantly more resistant to corrosion.