if the shotgun you have is stamped 12 ga and the ammo you're shooting is 12 ga and the length of ammo is the same as the length of chamber (or less) you can shoot it!!! Most folks advise against shooting steel shot thru full choke barrels however.
You're talking about a bolt action gun....not a winchester model 21 or 23 or 101!
Go grill some geese guy!!!
BTW...this does not apply to older double barreled guns that have damascus or twist steel barrels!!
Everything I have heard and read says that choked-barrels need to be rated for steel shot to use steel shot without damaging the barrel. Same goes for Federals Tungsten-Iron and Remington's New Hevi-shot. However, Bismuth is an non-toxic alternative that is safe for old shotgun barrels.
Most old bolt action 12 gauge shotguns are not worth a bunch of $$......and for the # of shots your grandfather will put through the old gun I doubt he would cause damage serious enough to alter the bore noticably. Take it to a gun shop and have a smith tell you what its worth and whether a couple boxes of steel shot would hurt it significantly.
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