Rob85 Posted August 21, 2020 Report Share Posted August 21, 2020 So I visited the local RFD today to talk about the whole steel shot thing, asked if he had some standard pressure stuff I could pattern test through my sarasketa(1/2 and full choke). He said he definitely WOULD NOT recommend putting any steel shot through my gun whatsoever because of the chokes, even after I said that I thought CIP says it should take standard steel. So he recommended getting rid of the sarasketa and getting a 3inch chambered gun instead. Sadly all in stock were prohibitively expensive(been furloughed since march) apart from a couple of Beretta semi autos, a fixed choke one and a more expensive multi choke....with a shabby stock. Both these guns are 2 3/4 chamber but maybe worth a compromise because the chokes are less and can take standard pressure cartridges. So should i go for a 2 3/4 chambered Beretta 300 series or wait and get a 3inch hatsan that will be proofed for superior steel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted August 21, 2020 Report Share Posted August 21, 2020 There are plenty on this forum who have experience of steel shot; I have no direct experience, but have read/researched a lot. My immediate thought would be to open the chokes (or at least the full choke) on your existing gun. I believe suitable weight 'standard' steel is fine in 2 3/4" chambers, but (a) - needs less choke, and (b) is advised not to be used in tighter than 1/2 choke. If you feel you need HP steel, then a suitable 'Fleur de Lis' proved gun is really needed to meet proof house advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Centrepin Posted August 21, 2020 Report Share Posted August 21, 2020 I think a Hatsan as I've a Supreme max in wood chambered 3" and fires anything from 24 gram to 66 gram, as long as its 70mm. Faultless if kept clean, easy to strip and clean. I have no first hand knowledge of the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam triple Posted August 21, 2020 Report Share Posted August 21, 2020 I had a hatstand and it coped with 75 mm size 3 steel with no problem, cheap as chips £260 new only thing I found after 18 months firing pin wasn’t striking properly which led to a few non fires and wouldn’t cycle more than 2 , 65mm cartridges as the third would jam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgsontour Posted August 21, 2020 Report Share Posted August 21, 2020 How much shooting your doing and the height of the birds you wish to kill cleanly ( assuming you can hit them ) will be the deciding factor in weapon and cartridge of choice IMOH There are cheap carts and guns to choose from if price is paramount but I recon the gun and ammo are the cheap part of a days shooting, it's the travel, accommodation, cost of the peg and not forgetting booze and tips which bump the price up if you think about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob85 Posted August 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2020 1 hour ago, JohnfromUK said: There are plenty on this forum who have experience of steel shot; I have no direct experience, but have read/researched a lot. My immediate thought would be to open the chokes (or at least the full choke) on your existing gun. I believe suitable weight 'standard' steel is fine in 2 3/4" chambers, but (a) - needs less choke, and (b) is advised not to be used in tighter than 1/2 choke. If you feel you need HP steel, then a suitable 'Fleur de Lis' proved gun is really needed to meet proof house advice. I plan on opening the chokes on my side by side to something like skeet and quarter to take the standard steel. It's a question of what to do with the over under, I'm happy to get another over under or a semi auto, it's just at the price point I'm entering the market the cheapest way to get a gun with the chokes size I want/require is to go the semi auto route. I tried another RFD and all he had in stock at my price point is exactly the same kind of gun as I have already, he didn't even have a semi auto. Ultimately the cheapest thing to do would be to bore out my over under but I would like to try moving to a single trigger over under or semi auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnfromUK Posted August 21, 2020 Report Share Posted August 21, 2020 2 minutes ago, Rob85 said: Ultimately the cheapest thing to do would be to bore out my over under but I would like to try moving to a single trigger over under or semi auto What you say makes sense, but personally I prefer double triggers (both s/s and o/u) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
London Best Posted August 21, 2020 Report Share Posted August 21, 2020 It all sounds to me like the usual dealer advice: “Your gun’s no good/not suitable for that, I recommend you buy one of these from me.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob85 Posted August 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2020 48 minutes ago, London Best said: It all sounds to me like the usual dealer advice: “Your gun’s no good/not suitable for that, I recommend you buy one of these from me.” I had thought that....especially when the first few guns he pulled out were all around the £500 mark even after i told him something like "im skint". I had thought of changing the sarasketa at some point as its so tightly choked and a lot of my shooting is no further than 30 yards so was just curious I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wb123 Posted August 23, 2020 Report Share Posted August 23, 2020 On 21/08/2020 at 22:08, Rob85 said: I had thought that....especially when the first few guns he pulled out were all around the £500 mark even after i told him something like "im skint". I had thought of changing the sarasketa at some point as its so tightly choked and a lot of my shooting is no further than 30 yards so was just curious I suppose. If skint and you like the gun you have, how much could you get for the sarasketa and how much would it cost to just open the full choke to half? It may be far more cost effective to open up the chokes and keep shooting the same gun. Once work normalises you can then treat yourself if you want... I have heard of a chap using a brake cylinder hone to open a choke but going that diy is something I’m not sure I would do now (but probably would have done a few years back when completely skint). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted August 23, 2020 Report Share Posted August 23, 2020 I'd be going elsewhere in future and buy carts from somewhere else, cip has guidelines yet your dealer knows better 🤔 watch the video on steel in Denmark where they have shot steel through Damascus guns without problems. In the USA they don't have steel proofing for guns, so all guns get it out through them, yes you hear of failures but that is usually down to homeloads that would blow up a cannons barrel. Get some carts and enjoy your gun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob85 Posted August 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2020 10 hours ago, Wb123 said: If skint and you like the gun you have, how much could you get for the sarasketa and how much would it cost to just open the full choke to half? It may be far more cost effective to open up the chokes and keep shooting the same gun. Once work normalises you can then treat yourself if you want... I have heard of a chap using a brake cylinder hone to open a choke but going that diy is something I’m not sure I would do now (but probably would have done a few years back when completely skint). For the sarasketa I would probably get nothing. It's pretty much clean as a whistle but as it's a double trigger non ejecting over under there isn't much of a market and would likely end up in the scrap bin anyway. I am planning on opening up one barrel of my yeoman so for the sake of my wallet I may just open up the full choke barrel to half on the sarasketa. 9 hours ago, figgy said: I'd be going elsewhere in future and buy carts from somewhere else, cip has guidelines yet your dealer knows better 🤔 watch the video on steel in Denmark where they have shot steel through Damascus guns without problems. In the USA they don't have steel proofing for guns, so all guns get it out through them, yes you hear of failures but that is usually down to homeloads that would blow up a cannons barrel. Get some carts and enjoy your gun. I was going to go ahead and buy what he had anyway but all he had was 32 gram number 3 shot. Which i think would be risky through the chokes as they are. Having said that the sarasketa's barrels are quite meaty with wall thickness. I was hoping to get something in shot size 4 or 5 and i would probably have went for it. Out of 3 local places none had what i wanted so ill have to try further afield Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted August 24, 2020 Report Share Posted August 24, 2020 As it's nearly Wildfowling season you may struggle to get what you want. You could always get a dealer to order you a slab in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob85 Posted August 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2020 11 hours ago, figgy said: As it's nearly Wildfowling season you may struggle to get what you want. You could always get a dealer to order you a slab in. I bought a single box of GB Rapid Steel in 32gram number 3 shot. I'm going to give them a blast through the sarasketa, the gun is essentially worthless anyway with the market here and it will be the gun I'll give up first if I'm changing. According to CIP regs they should be all good so we shall soon see! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmboy91 Posted August 24, 2020 Report Share Posted August 24, 2020 You have a pm 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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