Table 1.

List of shot formulations unconditionally approved for hunting waterfowl and coots by U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS 2006)

Approved shot types	Composition by weight
Bismuth-tin	97% bismuth and 3% tin
Iron (steel)	Iron and carbon
Iron-tungsten	Any proportion of tungsten and ≥ 1% iron
Iron-tungsten-nickel	≥ 1% iron, any proportion of tungsten, up to 40% nickel
Tungsten-bronze	51.1% tungsten, 44.4% copper, 3.9% tin, and 0.6% iron and 60% tungsten, 35.1% copper, 3.9% tin, and 1% iron
Tungsten-iron-copper-nickel	40–76% tungsten, 10–37% iron, 9–16% copper, and 5–7% nickel
Tungsten-matrix	95.9% tungsten and 4.1% polymer
Tungsten-polymer	95.5% tungsten and 4.5% Nylon 6 or 11
Tungsten-tin-iron	Any proportions of tungsten and tin and ≥ 1% iron
Tungsten-tin-bismuth	Any proportions of tungsten, tin, and bismuth
Tungsten-tin-iron-nickel	65% tungsten, 21.8% tin, 10.4% iron, and 2.8% nickel

This includes steel shot coated with a thin layer of copper or zinc