Not that bad
My load back in the day was 1 5/8 oz of lead 6's in a 3" shell. Murder on ducks and pheasants. Hated steel for a long time, but there's no going back, boys. I usually laugh when hunters whine about steel because most haven't been around long enough to have used lead. BUT, some of you guys have used lead and know what you speak. I find steel today very effective when shooting a good load through a good choke tube. Last week I crushed two Canadas using Kent 3" 2's @ 1560 fps. Speed of your shot and pattern density kills birds. Bottom line is that steel isn't so bad if you know your load, pattern your gun, practice and only shoot when the birds are in range.