Old Shotguns and Steel Shot

1
Ok...I'm looking to get a shotgun I can use for trap and also home defense (using two barrels).

I am currently considering a Remington 870, Remington 1100 or an old Winchester Model 12.

I don't know how much longer we will be able to use lead shot at the trap ranges here in California, so being able to have the option of using steel shot is a must.

I know that old shotguns and steel shot don't mix, but how old is "old"? Would a Model 12 from 1962 hold-up to steel shot?

Signed,

Concerned in California
Image


"Person, woman, man, camera, TV."

Re: Old Shotguns and Steel Shot

2
senorgrand wrote:Ok...I'm looking to get a shotgun I can use for trap and also home defense (using two barrels).

I am currently considering a Remington 870, Remington 1100 or an old Winchester Model 12.

I don't know how much longer we will be able to use lead shot at the trap ranges here in California, so being able to have the option of using steel shot is a must.

I know that old shotguns and steel shot don't mix, but how old is "old"? Would a Model 12 from 1962 hold-up to steel shot?

Signed,

Concerned in California
I have an old 1148 in 16 guage. I've used it for well over 50 years. I hope the plastic shot cups give protection to the barrel, cause I see no reason to not use the gun as intended. If it wears out, it can be buried with me.
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.
- Ronald Reagan

Re: Old Shotguns and Steel Shot

3
http://www.chuckhawks.com/steel_shot_barrel_damage.htm

"Hold up" is a matter of degrees. I will say that Richmond does not allow anything but steel shot at their skeet range- which is unfortunate, they should also be selling some of the other lead alternatives like bismuth- I don't really want to run any steel through my fairly new CZ over under. It may be modern metal, but it'll definitely increase barrel wear and as is pointed out in the article, even the steel shot proof barrels get damaged.

So maybe use lead when you're doing trap if they allow it, bismuth for hunting, and steel only if you have no other option? Doing a round or two every now and then probably won't do too much damage, but doing a couple of rounds every week for a year might well bulge and otherwise damage the barrel fairly quickly.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
- Maya Angelou

Image

Re: Old Shotguns and Steel Shot

7
:no:

is the short answer. 1962 is not new enough.

The longer answer is that it depends on the choke. Steel shot acts as in the barrel as if the choke is 2 sizes tighter because, unlike lead shot, it does not compress while passing through the constriction. Instead, it causes the constriction to expand. Too much expansion and the barrel is bulged. Putting Steel shot through a full choke old barrel is guaranteed to at least bulge the barrel. If you're unlucky, you'll get a flower barrel like in the old Elmer Fudd cartoons.

Lead or Bismuth - only. And as someone who only owns a ~1935 shotgun and can't afford bismuth, that reality sucks. I've studied this problem for awhile because I'd like to go chase ducks but I'm not going to be able to afford the $75 per box of 20 rounds of #2 to do so.
Live like you will never die, love like you've never been hurt, dance
like no-one is watching.
Alex White

Re: Old Shotguns and Steel Shot

10
http://www.theliberalgunclub.com/phpBB3 ... ng+shotgun
Here's some info on opening up the forcing cone. I do it to all my shooters that aren't auto. It cuts the recoil big time.

Tapering the forcing cone decreases the beating and pellet deformation caused by the sudden transition of the shot hitting the barrel. I wonder if that opening up would minimize the whacking that steel shot gives to an older gun. :hmmm:
Image
Image
Image

Puffing up is no substitute for smarts but it's a common home remedy

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests