Large steel shot and chokes

[grahamch]

Have read the guidance in this section on steel shot and choke and some of advice is bit ambiguous. What is the tightest choke to be used for steel BBs?

 

Guidance implies half is ok then says not to use BB in half choke. Will be using Gamebore Mammoths in a Maxus.

[motty]

Some information on this subject is misleading, and some is utter rubbish.

It all depends on what choke you use. I happily shoot pretty much anything through my extra full Brileys.

[panoma1]

The more experience the reloading fraternity get with steel shot the more they seem to realise the advice given by CIP and other sources is more to do with back side covering than anything else!

[grahamch]

Planning to use the standard half choke that came with the Maxus

[TONY R]

Choke and steels response to it can vary widely, its often down to internal geometry in the choke tube this was just the case with lead too but few ever bothered to dwel on it much.

Steel and the advent of HW shot types in other forms of hunting predators and Turkey hunting threw the industry int termoil, and as mentioned above ignorance fueled by fear caused a lot of back side covering by the likes of CIP Sami etc.

If you take a more balance approach to the guidance and look at the further evidence you start to see where they were woefully shy of the mark in the guidance, but were in their defence trying to consider all gun types not typical guns used for non tox either then or now exclusively.

This in effect had them setting the bar lower if you like, and thus set the president for debate such as this the views aired here are being voiced in other similar threads the world over.

Big steel shot can often work well in tight constriction chokes but it does not nessasarily need them to work, staking your colours to the factory mod choke tube is not such a bad thing it wont perhaps perform with all loads as well as a tighter constriction suitably constructed aftermarket choke will, but it will probably perform ok with the mamoth loads at their speeds and shot sizes, its what you want the gun load combination to do thats the deciding factor on if its suitable or not.

I personaly can go either way with chokes from no choke or very little to very tight constrictions, to acchieve the leve;l of performance i want.

In factory chokes i tend to run open bored as possible, but have run browning turkey chokes in INV 10ga brownings with steel shot with good results, im running Indian creek and jebs chokes with steel in turkey chokes no issues whatsoever i have modified one choke but for enhanced performance rather than any fear of chokes becoming damaged etc.

[anser2]

I think its important to realise there are the two types of choke. factory chokes that I personaly would not use more than 1\2 choke for any steel shot size and afterchokes made for steel where its ok to go up to full choke with big shot ( BB or BBB )

[figgy]

Patterning your shot load at ranges your likely to shoot is the only way to know what works for you.

 

I found that the larger shot BB patterned better with less choke in my SX3.

 

Beretta Optima HP choke was better with half choke with most sizes.

 

Grahamch where in the north east are you from?

Edited September 27, 2016 by figgy

[TONY R]

Patterning your shot load at ranges your likely to shoot is the only way to know what works for you.

 

I found that the larger shot BB patterned better with less choke in my SX3.

 

Beretta Optima HP choke was better with half choke with most sizes.

 

Grahamch where in the north east are you from?

Invector plus tubes can apear to be running a openish choke, where in reality dependent on your acctual bore size you can be running more choke than you think, 425 waterfowl are inv plus but bores are generaly around 731 732 seldon from what i can tell do they make 735 i have never seen one myself, , sx2s and sx3soften get 735 bores it puts things out this variation in bore size, im sure other manufacturers are similar, i will stick up for remington here though the old 1100s 1187 are pretty much on 730 and i must say the rem choke systems work very well.

Interenal geometry and profile can be just as important to pattern performance as mere constriction , as you say you need to esstablish how a gun choke combination is performing and take it from there.

[Guest]

I put 31/2" mammoths thru my guns using only standard chokes what come with gun never had any trouble including bb's! 1/4&1/2

Edited September 28, 2016 by dawntredder

[Guest cookoff013]

guys,

the cip and saami are there for guidence.

 

there is a big difference between "firing a few shells off to no ill effect" and those "that know what prolonged firing of steel shot throughout the life of the firearm"

by life i`m talking 25years of use.