kody Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 how can i tell if my shotgun is suitable for steel shot a winchester made in the 80s and a sxs made in the late 70s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pestcontrol1 Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 going on the age that you have put i would"t think that they will be steel proofed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AberFowl Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 Any gun with a barrel in good cond with chokes less than half will be fine with standard steel shoot. I shoot a lot of steel (4s) through half chokes in my old hammer Baikal. HP steel isn't recommended unless your gun wears the fleur de lys stamp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted September 17, 2014 Report Share Posted September 17, 2014 They wont be steel proofed but that doesn't mean they are unsuitable for steel shot. Common UK advice is not to put steel through anything tighter than 1/2 (Modified) choke. I have quite a few Winchesters all dating from the 1980's and shoot steel through all of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 british guntrade assoc suggest 1/4 or less ! with any steel. who you gonna trust? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 british guntrade assoc suggest 1/4 or less ! with any steel. who you gonna trust? Nobody because so much depends on the guns condition in all respects far more relevant than if its choked 1/2 or 1/4. If it was getting loose on its face and the bore looked like it had seen better days I shouldn't use it if it was true cylinder. My advice get the gun to a competent gunsmith for their official and unofficial view in my opinion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bostonmick Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 I would not use steel in any of my guns they are all steel proof but you are only ever one failed cup from scores in the barrels. And definitely never in an old English gun of any value.put them through semis as they deserve to be ruined. 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 (edited) who you gonna trust? Ghostbusters? Not sure about Bill Murray though; always looked a bit shifty to me. It's entirely up to the individual, but there may come a time when most of us have no alternative but to use steel shot. I put Gamebore Super Steel 32 grm 4's and 3's through my 101 Diamond Grade with 1/4 and 1/2, which are HP loads unless I'm mistaken, and am currently putting SAGA 32 grm 3's through my Winchester 1300 XTR and 1500 XTR , but again through nothing tighter than 1/2. None of these guns are proofed for steel, but steel proofing is no guarantee of steel not ruining your 'best' steel proofed gun. That depends on the cup which holds the shot; if the shot leaves the cup before the cup leaves the muzzle, then your gun could be knackered. I have also put the Gamebore steel through a Browning 2000 ( not steel proofed ) I used to own, fixed at 3/4. Didn't knacker the barrel but certainly knackered the rabbit. Definitely ferret food. Edited September 18, 2014 by Scully Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 I would not use steel in any of my guns they are all steel proof but you are only ever one failed cup from scores in the barrels. And definitely never in an old English gun of any value.put them through semis as they deserve to be ruined. Why not ask the members who use the wildfowling section how many times they have seen this? its basically what most of us shoot and have for years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bostonmick Posted September 18, 2014 Report Share Posted September 18, 2014 (edited) Why not ask the members who use the wildfowling section how many times they have seen this? its basically what most of us shoot and have for years ask the wildfowlers how many of them use a premium grade gun when fowling with their steel..with the best will in the world mass produced cartridges will have failings and it is not impossible for a cup to fail.i have seen cartridges with deformed cups where the lead was in direct contact the length of the barrel.but its everyones choice.for my money steel will not form part of my shooting. Edited September 18, 2014 by bostonmick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted September 19, 2014 Report Share Posted September 19, 2014 ask the wildfowlers how many of them use a premium grade gun when fowling with their steel..with the best will in the world mass produced cartridges will have failings and it is not impossible for a cup to fail.i have seen cartridges with deformed cups where the lead was in direct contact the length of the barrel.but its everyones choice.for my money steel will not form part of my shooting. That's true enough though steel shot cups are made far tougher. Likewise I have seen traditional lead felt wads get stuck in the bore (that's pretty bad if you fire another charge into it also). if I was shooting a gun worth maybe a five figure sum I shouldn't be bothered about paying out for bismuth or the like though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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