Program, Formula or Graph for velocity loss over distance of lead & steel shot

[300magman]

I'm basically looking for the equivalent of a ballistic calculator designed for shotgun pellets.

My interest is in which hits harder at long range, (for use on coyotes) steel shot such as Remington Hypersonic Steel @ 1700fps or Federal V-Shok Heavyweight @ 1350fps (lead)

Both are in size BB which should give me a much tighter pattern than larger buckshot which obviously hits harder but has very very thin patterns at 40 to 70 yards.
Also, I'm just not ready to spend 4 to 6 dollars a shot on the "hevi" shot and similar products, hence my wondering about good old lead vs new super high velocity steel.

[BigD_in_FL]

Lead being denser will have more retained energy downrange than an equal load of steel. Since your loads are NOT equal, this is a good question. Since shot loses it velocity VERY quickly, and steel loses it even faster, i will suspect that the lead will be the better choice

Personally, though, I found a 223 to be the best for long range, and a 6mm in any of the common cartridges to be better yet

[300magman]

Since your loads are NOT equal, this is a good question

Lots of variables make it a tough choice without any info on rate of deceleration of the pellets.
I know the lead pellets of the same size weigh considerably more and loose velocity at a slower rate (I think I can even find a very good estimate of the weight of one steel BB vs one lead BB)
But with such a wide margin in initial velocity, I wonder if the steel retains its advantage over any significant distance ? (as I'm sure the lead does have an eventual advantage) I just don't know if it starts at 10 yards or 100 yards.


BTW a 22-250 and 55gr pill is my usual prescription for coyotes but depending on the terrain I like to sit the shotgun beside me for close/mid range running shots and I also hunt other small game with the same shotgun and having a heavy load in my pocket for incidental coyote sightings is just another fun opportunity to lower the local population.

[Virginian]

On geese, it used to take steel T to equal lead BBs in downrange power, and it took a 10 gauge to get an equally dense pattern. Since tungsten, I don't shoot steel. Hevi-Shot dead Coyote is the shell of choice.

[Dreaming100Straight]

For a shotgun simulator with a ballistics calculator try http://www.blackbartsoftware.com/shotgun.htm