choke for steel shot?

[migrant hunter]

I have been looking at a couple of used shotguns, trying to find a duck/goose gun. I have almost no experience with steel shot, and the best gun I have looked at so far has a full choke.
I have read where some folks are useing steel in a full choke, while others say that it can"t be done, gun will blow up etc.
I don"t want to spend a lot of money(threading and choking), so my other option is to buy this gun and chop 2" off(it"s 30" now) making it a cylinder.
I am leaning more to geese than ducks, so i"ll be using large shot.
Any opinions based on actual experience?

 

[t-star]

i've got an 1100- circa 1975- when the steel shot "thing " came in, i went to remmy and they said no shot larger than no 2 for the full choke- or you could just replace the barrel with a new one for about 300 that has interchangable chokes and is compatable for steel- it depends on the shotgun itself as well as age- i can tell you when i ran no 4 steel through the full choke, it went from full to super full- almost like a slug gun with about 10 more yards range- far too tight for ducks and geese- there's a whole lot of full chokes out there, and that steel thing is the reason why- i even know one guy that sold his 1100 for an 11-87 for just that reason

 

[xtremacanuck]

Choke selection for steel shot is a subject that could be debated for hours on end, but let me share with you what I have learned in the short time I have been waterfowling.

1. Buy a good, reliable gun. (I shopped around for the best price on a pump gun combo with two barrels, three chokes, etc., turned out to be a piece of crap, bought a pricier Italian semi-auto and never looked back.) If you want a nice pump gun, I carry a Benelli Nova as the back-up for the hunting group, bought used (about the same price as "piece of crap"), smooth as silk, great quality. Had I bought that one first, I wouldn't have looked for another.

2. You want to hit that bird with a wall of steel, not just one pellet. I use extended chokes that make a tight pattern, tighter than a lot of guys feel comfortable with. Check out www.wadwizard.com Ask someone who uses the same gun what choke they use and how well it works for them. I consider good, clean kills to be the ones that drop dead first shot, no finishing required. I use BB and #2 shot for geese and ducks respectively. Ask what they use.

3. Practice using your gun. Shoot some clays. Fire at big pieces of cardboard to see how the pellets pattern at 20 yards, 30 yards, 40 yards (you get the idea). See what it does in real life. Some guys shoot patterns that a bird could fly clean through and not get hit. They figure if it covers a six foot diameter circle at 30 yards they have a better chance of hitting the bird. Not so.

There are a whole lot of other variables to be discussed, but this should be a start. Hope it's helpful.

Good hunting.

 

[Crazy.kayaker]

For the choke I wouldn't feed steel down a full but that's just my personal choice. I'm working on getting a BPS pump I can use on Waterfowl. I want the Interchangeable...Extended chokes preferred but not required as I like the looks of the extended chokes. As for the pattern for me I pattern it out from 20 yards every 5 yards till I find the max distance. Max Distance where less then 3 hits are in a 2" area with the choke I'm gonna use. Like mention above. I want to hit the animal with a WALL of Steel. That's just me. I'm sure people will say other wise. Pick what your comfortable with and go for it. Though make sure your making your choice well informed. Best of luck and Have fun the last is the most important...just make sure your always having fun.

 

[Ruffed Grouse]

I have a friend who puts small steel #4s down his full-choked win model 12. He really only shoots at short range over decoys, and it seems to work well for him.

I would advise against opening something up to cylinder. As steel doesn't penetrate all that well, you have to hit them with a lot of it.

So while a cylinder choke might be a poor idea pattern-wise, I think the full could be just as bad. Steel responds differently to chokes than lead, with steel generally making a tighter pattern than lead. So a choke that says 'modified' on it will generally give pretty much a 'full' pattern with steel. Only patterning a particular gun, choke, and load can tell you for sure, but likely a full choke could make too tight a pattern with steel to be much use.

What sort of gun are you looking for and in what price range?

RG

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[Woodsman]

Steel stays round and doesn't get deformed like lead does, so the patterns stay tighter. Modified to improved cylinder works fine. Try patterning your shotty at different ranges and see.

 

[ironnose]

If you shoot steel size BB (for geese) in a full choke shotgun you probably will have a bulged barrel where the choke starts. You can easily have the choke opened by a gunsmith at a reasonable cost. For steel BB I stongly recommend the barrel be opened to a Light Modified or Improved Cylinder; that works extremely well in my guns.

 

[syecod]

I bought an older remmington model 58 mag 3 " with a full choke. I have shot 9 or 10 flats of 3" Kent steel with no sign of any troubles. Just pattern your gun with different shot size and stick with what works.