woodsmaster,
For your needs steel works fine, but in my experience even the best of today's steel loads don't work for the average guy.
That's not me, since I shoot a shotgun a lot, though far more on wild birds than clays, including pretty frequent trips to places where more wild birds, from doves to waterfowl, are shot than most American hunters can legally take.
But my profession involves providing advice to average shooters. To do that I try everything myself, and also shoot alongside average shooters a lot. My wife and I regularly try most of the available factory non-toxic loads, including steel, often in places where guides see a lot of waterfowl shot. A couple years ago we were trying several new loads, including steel, softer shot for doubles and harder shot for tougher chokes. Our guide, a guy we'd shot with before, didn't know what we were using the first morning, but after half an hour and 3-4 flocks of geese, said, "You're not shooting steel, are you?" He deduced this from the high percentage of birds that dropped dead from one shot, rather than requiring two as most steel-shooters needed--if they hit the bird on the first shot.
The other factor is that the average waterfowl hunter doesn't buy the best steel loads, and in fact wouldn't know what they are--or won't pay for them. Maybe most wouldn't do better if they bought higher-density non-toxics, but in my observation when they do, they use fewer shots to bag more birds. The cost-per-bird is higher, but the satisfaction ratio is far higher.
The reason is that smaller-size, higher-density shot results in more holes in birds, with plenty of penetration, especially beyond the range where steel's most effective, common with average hunters even if they're not "sky busters." Of course, they still have to hit the birds, but when they do the results are noticeably more sudden and certain.
