About 25-30 years ago, I bought a plain Jane Remington "youth model" 20 ga. combination with the 28" & 20" rifled barrels. I'm not a duck hunter and I bought it for deer and upland game. My question is, is it okay to use steel shot in it?
20 Ga. and steel shot question
- Thread starter LawrenceN
- Start date
madtrapper143
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Steep Rock Lake NWO
I am guessing by it's age that the gun has Rem Chokes. If so you are good to go with the MOD or IMP CYL tube it came with. You could even use the full tube with small shot and lower velocity loads. I recommend Kent's 3" steel #3 load for the 20 gauge.
Darryl
Darryl
Thanks Darryl. I have a box of #4 Federal Ultra-Shok 2-3/4" that I was thinking of using for turkey with an after-market extra full choke. I don't want to beat the hell out of my barrel. My best bud has a Stoeger Condor O/U as well as a side by, and he was wondering if he would harm his shotgun with this stuff.
madtrapper143
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Steep Rock Lake NWO
The #4 Federal load you mentioned won't hurt your buddy's Stoeger. I would try it first with the MOD tube in place on paper. You may be surprised how tight it patterns.
Darryl
Darryl
I wouldn't be shooting steel through an extra full choke. Most turkey chokes aren't rated for steel either.
Any off the shelf load with shot sized from #4 thru #6 will kill a turkey. No steel shot required. Keep in mind you need to use #4, 5 or 6 on turkey in Ontario.
I posed the question because I was given 2 boxes of 20 ga. shotshells, 1 box of #6 lead shot and 1 box of #4 steel. I'm very familiar with the lead shot since I've hunted upland game for some time, but I have no experience with steel shot and it's characteristics. BTW, Cintax, I'm well aware of the shot size requirements for turkey, I only needed some clarification on the steel. To all of you, thank you for your input. I'll pattern the shotgun with the mod. choke and steel to see if I'm content with the group, but I will use the extra full with the lead shot.
the spank
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Planet Earth Wearing My Tinfoil Hat
Use the #6 lead you have for Turkey. Save the #4 steel for a waterfowl hunt should you find yourself invited on a hunt or deciding to give waterfowl a go some time. If your chokes are not marked "steel shot" I would contact the manufacturer for verification. I have a Winchester O/U from the mid 80's. No indications on the chokes so I called Winchester when non-toxic shot became mandated. They asked for the guns serial # and within seconds gave me an answer. They gave me shot size and choke restriction maximums. Thousands of rounds later and never an issue by following their recommendations.
- Location
- Muskoka, Ontario
Contacting the manufacturer is your best bet, but a general rule of thumb is that steel shouldn't be used with a choke any tighter than modified upto #2 shot. BBs and larger should be used with imp.cyl. or more open choke. Even shotguns built today such as the A400 have steel stamped on mod. choke tubes but not on the full choke tube. Due to steel being harder than lead, it doesn't give when passing through the chokes so shooting steel through a mod. choke will generally give a pattern more equivalent to shooting lead through a full choke.
