Nickel or copper plated buckshot

[Super-Dave]

I assume that nickel plated and copper plated buckshot helps prevent defromation of the pelets once it hits the target.

How much of a differnce does this make in terms of penetration?

Does the nickel plated or copper plated pellets really penetrate much more than non plated pellets?

 

[Will Fennell]

patterns, not penetration

Plating pellets helps keep the pellets from deforming during the trip down the barrel and through the choke, thus giving[ in theory] better patterns[The plating helps the pellets "slip and slide" around each other in the shot column]. The plating is not thick enough, nor hard enough, to effect how much the pellet deforms in the target.

My experience shooting wild hogs and deer with buckshot, plated and unplated, did not show a noticeable difference in penetration between the 2 types of shoot.

Some brands, with plated pellets did seem to pattern a bit better, but there are so many variable induced with different loads, wads, pellets, etc. it was hard to isolated what caused the improvement.