I have to agree with you that heavyshot and Bismuth indeed out-perform steel. Hard to believe you can sometimes find exit wounds on a goose shot at thirty yards! A gentleman we took out on a guided hunt put it to me this way, you can spend the money on the new hybreds, or you can spend less money on steel, but in the long-run you end up spending about the same amount of money. The reason he said was simple, you shoot a duck or goose (especially over water) with Heavyshot for example and you're liable to kill the bird with one shot. On the other hand you use steel and you might have to take several shots to take out the cripple. his comparison makes sense, but I'm stubborn and refuse to give into that kind of monopoly. I have heard that prices will come down when the patents run out on these hybreds. We can only hope! Good luck this season. Wings cupped, Pete.