I load Nice Shot myself. I'm not a man of means by any stretch of the imagination, and find that shooting the stuff doesn't break the bank. If you're poor, and fire hundreds of shots per year at waterfowl then maybe cheaper steel loads make sense- but maybe not if you factor in the cripples caused by pass shooting distant birds and/or simply missing because you have developed a flinch from shooting heavy loads that you are either ashamed to admit to or are too macho to admit to. The birds deserve to be killed as cleanly as we can manage.
It kills me to hear guys who own expensive shotguns cry about the cost of premium non steel non-tox loads also (not saying you do, but I have heard that particular rant). What's the cost of $20-30 worth of shells for a day's hunting, when you factor in all the other costs that we cheerfully ante up to engage in our sport- clothing, decoys, gas to get there and back, meals eaten out, boats, the trucks we need to haul our junk there and back, ad nauseum.
In the end, if more guys stepped up and made the switch to these (admittedly) expensive shells, prices would drop as sure as death and taxes. Simple law of supply and demand.
