what to change for steel shot?
- Thread starter sayler001
- Start date
savageshooter565
Member
- Location
- West Kootenays
sayler001 said:
For upland birds you can still use lead. ie. grouse, turkeys etc.
For migratory birds, ducks, geese, you need to use steel or other non-toxic shot. Depending on the age and existing choke in your 870 you might be able to shoot steel.
If it is older and has a fixed full choke, as so many had then it is probably not safe for larger steel shot.
To make the older 870's safe for steel you will need to have the choke opened up and should have the forcing cone extended as well. This will give steel shot more time and space to fit through the forcing cone and then through the choke. Lead is soft enough where it could actually deform thereby being able to pass through the full chokes. Steel shot is too hard and will not deform, but your barrel may if large steel shot is forced through a full choke.
As always best to take to a good gunsmith for review and possible work.
SS
sayler001 said:
This is what I recommend:
SHOTGUN BARREL ALTERATIONS FOR STEEL SHOT
Forcing Cone Alteration:
Factory shotgun barrels usually have a fairly short and abrupt forcing cone. The forcing cone is the tapered area just ahead of the chamber where the shell is contained. Altering the forcing cone, so it is one and one half or two inches in length, reduces recoil and improves the pattern density. Trap shooters and skeet shooters have been doing this for many years. It is a good benefit to the steel shot user as well.
Choke Alteration:
Choke designation from the tightest to the most open are:
Extra Full, Full, Improved Modified, Modified, Skeet II, Improved Cylinder, Skeet I, and Cylinder Bore.
Steel shot does not require the constriction that lead shot needs, to produce good patterns. In fact too much constriction, causes poor, erratic patterns, and in some cases, permanently damages the barrel. I have seen barrels bulged at the choke, I have seen barrels where the choke split right open, from using steel shot.
For steel shot, with thin barrels, chokes should be altered to at least Skeet II. Often, over & under, and side-by-side shotguns, are best altered to Skeet I and Skeet II chokes. Heavier barrels can be left at Modified choke but may see an improvement in the pattern if opened slightly.
What birds will you be hunting? What gauge, chamber, and choke is your 870?
A replacement barrel is another possibility, with screw-in chokes.
And finally, if it's your first time bird hunting, how do you know you are going to be able to hit a moving target in the air? (hint: trap/skeet/clays)
A replacement barrel is another possibility, with screw-in chokes.
And finally, if it's your first time bird hunting, how do you know you are going to be able to hit a moving target in the air? (hint: trap/skeet/clays)
i have been shooting sheet and trap for 5 years i just haven't been goose hunting- and i have hunted big game all my life- well since i could shoot- just never tryed birds-- my 870 is 12 gauge 3inch express-- i also wonder if i could leave out the choke or would that damaged the threads
Okay, your gun is good to go, and so are you. Yes, steel for waterfowl, lead for uplands.
NEVER shoot without a tube threaded into the barrel. IC would be fine over decoys, pack along Mod if they're hanging out there.
And good luck!
NEVER shoot without a tube threaded into the barrel. IC would be fine over decoys, pack along Mod if they're hanging out there.
And good luck!
