RustyOlRanger4x4

ok i bought a barrel for my mossberg 500 several months ago and it came with a full mod. and imp. chokes and ive noticed a few people mention there chokes were steel mod. or steel imp. and it got me wondering can i shoot steel out of my cokes or do i need a special choke for steel? i think mine are fine but i wanted to check before i blow my self up or something

thanks,sean

bigbulls

The factory chokes are not designed to be shot with steel shot. They constrict way too fast. Steel does not compress like lead does when constricted by a choke and there fore you need a much longer and more gradual constriction. If you look through the catalogs you will see that all of the steel shot chokes are much longer than O.E. chokes. You need to get an after market choke to shoot steel shot.

It will probably not happen immediately but if you shoot much steel shot with the factory chokes you will eventually bulge out or blow out the end of your barrel and it will need to be cut off and rethreaded for choke tubes.

Briman

I have to respectfully disagree with you Bigbulls.

The difference in markings is because steel shot doesn't deform like lead shot and tends to pattern much tighter than lead.

A choke bored to shoot a modified pattern with lead shot, will shoot a an improved modified or full choke pattern with steel. An I.C. lead choke will shoot roughly a modified pattern with steel. You do not want to use a Full choke made for lead shot with steel- it won't harm anything, but the patterns will likely be terrible.

If steel shot bulged barrels with chokes made for lead, there would be hundreds of thousands of older (pre-screw-in-choke) shotguns out there with bulged barrels from shooting steel shot through them, and this isn't the case.

bigbulls

You can do what you want to but when you bulge out or split then end of a barrel don't complain. Like I said it won't happen immediately but if you shoot a lot of steel shot it ups your chances signifigantly of this. It will also give you a pressure spike just as the steel enters the choke tube.

I guess all the manufacturers put warnings "LEAD SHOT ONLY" just because?

If you don't believe me give Briley a call and ask them. Or take a look through Brownells and read the descriptions of all the choke tubes. A short, rapidly constricting choke tube, like what comes with a Mossberg 500, is not designed to shoot steel unless they have been specifically hardened for steel shot. And even then you can only shoot steel with certain constrictions.

About three weeks ago I cut about 6 inches off an old double barrel gun that the owner shot steel shot through and split the ends of one of the barrels. Now he doesn't have any choke at all on that gun.


I am not trying to sound like a jerk here I just want to make it clear that it is not a good idea to shoot steel through a choke not designed for it.

bigbulls

Here is a quote from Trulock Chokes

Briman

The only chokes I've seen marked "lead only" are full choke lead choke tubes.

I would take what aftermarket choke makers say with a grain of salt- they are in the business of selling chokes- at $20-50 a pop, they are going to say whatever they need to get you to try their wares over the factory made stuff by the gun manufacturers.


Yes, older, as in much older shotguns don't handle steel well. If a shotgun was made in the last 30 years, I would shoot all the steel in the world through it and not have a worry.

Briman

I'm not trying to be one either, but if there were problems with choke tubes splitting because of steel shot on anything other than a very rare basis, it would be common knowledge by now- Steel shot has been madated for waterfowling for about 25 years, yet the only problems I have ever heard about steel shot, besides the lack of energy it carries down range, is that it can and will damage grandpa's old shotgun.

To me, it sounds alot like the old wives tales about how your firing pin is going to break on your brand new rem 700 if you don't use brand X's snap caps while dry firing

westbronco

My six or seven year old Browning Citori came with choke tubes marked differently for steel and lead. This is because steel shoots tighter then lead out of the same choke as I believe we all agree. When Browning supplies a choke marked "Lead-Modified / Steel-Imp. Modified" with their shotgun, I would think it would be safe to shoot steel shot thru it for the life of the gun. A lead full choke tube should not however be used with steel shot as it is too tight a constriction and can cause barrel bulge. As I understand it, that is the only restriction on using steel shot in a modern shotgun.

BENOUTHUNTIN

Wow, this one is real interesting. I think we need more imput from others on this one. The way I understand it is, if the shotgun is pre steel shot era then you could damage the barrel. If your shotgun is made after the lead shot ban then you are okay as long as the choke tube is not stamped with the words "lead shot only", or "do not use with steel."

RustyOlRanger4x4

i agree ben i havent shot steel out of the gun yet but the barrel is only a few months old so it should be ok none of the cokes are maked lead only or steel or anything ive just seen some in catalogs that say steel and it got me wondering but i have a friend with an old remington 1100 i think and he shoots steel out of it and its a old factory full choke barrel and im sure the guns older then me and im 21 and his guns doing just fine