Steel shot/Broken teeth?

W

Worth Mathewson

Active member
Yesterday for lunch I had a wonderful cold mallard breast (very rare!) and cheese. About half way through...CRACK. Yep, a number 3 steel shot. Today I went to the dentist for him to tell me what I already knew: The tooth was shattered beyond aid. So I am now back at the house minus yet another tooth. As things now stand, my record is: Four chipped teeth, and two totally gone due to steel shot. Can anyone on this page better this? To a degree I set myself up for such happenings, as Marge and I eat somewhere around 200 ducks and geese per year. That greatly increases the odds of biting on a steel shot. But she has never had a problem. The reason is simple: She is a measured and polite eater. Me? I eat like a wolverine. And with ducks, I am worse. I love 'em. I approach them in front of me as if they were going to be my last meal for a week. My guess is that I will do this again. On the drive home, I rolled over the following in my mind: What will come first, me dying, or ending up with no teeth. Best, Worth Mathewson
 
I eat fast and usually remember to chew softly during my last bite of duck. Ive hit a few bb's but have more chips from biting fishing line.
 
Haven't broken or shattered teeth from steel shoot, I have certainly bitten down on shot though. I take extra care to make sure i remove shot, including cleaning out shot holes, pulling feathers, blood and damaged tissue out of wounds. My funniest shot story comes from ingested shot though. I once went to the hospital complaining about a kidney stone. After the CAT scan there was a great flurry of activity, specialists running about, head scratching, hushed conferences across the room. Finally the doc comes over to talk and he says "sure you are passing a kidney stone, but we are worried why you have these steel balls in your intestine". I wasn't quick enough to say that I'm partially bird and that I have a gizzard for grinding my food. I just said I like to shoot and eat duck. Those steel pellets sure burn bright on a CAT scan.
 
Sounds like your odds are pretty even. I've only ever broken one tooth on steel shot. Don't eat as much waterfowl as I used to, and I chew SLOWLY. Now I fillet all the meat (except teal), check it real good, and in the Wok, or Gumbo it goes. Get yourself a real good magnet, it helps. Oh, and a good pair of eye glasses.... Dentist bills come with payment books now, and are much more expensive than the old used cars I bought back in the day.
 
Several years ago after my wife chomped down on a steel BB, I bought her a magnometer that detects steel, lead and tungsten pellets and we have not had a problem since. (You scan the bird or breast before cooking.) I can't find it on the web, but I did find something called The Savertooth (savertooth.com).

Also, since I started my kids hunting with HeviShot and a 20 gauge (very impressive performance), I now almost exclusively shoot tungsten-based shot myself. I've found that the smaller, heavier pellets almost always pass through soft tissue like muscle.
 
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Several years ago after my wife chomped down on a steel BB, I bought her a magnometer that detects steel, lead and tungsten pellets and we have not had a problem since. (You scan the bird or breast before cooking.) I can't find it on the web, but I did find something called The Savertooth (savertooth.com).

Also, since I started my kids hunting with HeviShot and a 20 gauge (very impressive performance), I now almost exclusively shoot tungsten-based shot myself. I've found that the smaller, heavier pellets almost always pass through soft tissue like muscle.
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I'd pay some good money to buy a product that would offer identification and fairly fine detail on location within the meat.
 
I have always used larger shot #2 and bigger because of retained energy. As a result very few of the birds I breast out retain any shot. Chomping down on any kind of shot is not a pleasant dining experience.
 
I think one can get some type of metal detecting device at Cabelas ,or look through a wood working catalog for a wand use to detect nails in wood before running them through a planer,jointer or saw.. Or just put some birds in a backpack and walk through an airport. :)
 
down my spine....

4 Years ago, it was the eve of Kentucky's deer season, and I was at my friends farm cooking for the crew. I made up about 3 lbs of finely sliced duck breast and served burritos. The wine was flowing and cheer was had. I bit into a DELICIOUS burrito and CRACK. Out goes my back molar. It instantly made me sick thinking about what had happened. Got through the weekend, and that following Monday was the proud owner of a new crown.....

I echo the advice of a metal detector. They can be found small and they are cheaper than ANY dental work.

Best,
Steve
 
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