Older shotguns

kwackr

If you install a choke system on older guns (A5s, 1100s, etc.) and use open chokes (Mod and IC) will it damage the barrel to shoot regular steel through it? I've heard arguments for yes and no!
Thanks for your input!

bobski

welcome to the boards!
when you say install a choke system im assuming you mean screw in chokes?
if so, you must use chokes rated for steel shot to protect the choke.

what you may have heard is that steel shot in a bbl not chrome lined will scratch the bore.

kwackr

Yes i did mean a screw in system rated for steel. Does that stop the damage or does the rest of the barrel get damaged? With tungsten so high priced now, i am nervous about using my older rem. model 11 with steel shot but i will if a choke system prevents damage.
thanks...

bobski

bottom line, if the old gun bore isnt chrome lined, it will get scratched with steel shot.

only winchesters

Hello kwackr, (cute): Welcome to the forum!

Think about this standard choke tubes are approximately 2 inches long, your barrel is somewhere between 26-30 inches long. There is only 2 inches rated for steel shot, the tube itself.

Now there are various grades of steel loads, with different components the most important being the "shot cup". Cheap steel loads the shot cup does not run the length of the shot colume, it's about 1/8in. short, so the leading edge of the shot colume comes into contact with the barrel. More expensive brands of steel shells use a shot cup that does run the entire length of the shot colume.

Being an avid waterfowler, shooting steel sucks! You have a 12ga. gun, with a 2 3/4in. chamber wich means you basically have 2 choices, a 1oz load or 1 1/8oz load. Not what I would recommend in general for waterfowling. Yes Tungsten/Matrix is expensive, Bismuth if you can find it, isn't cheap either. But in reality how much are you going to use an old Md 11 for duck hunting? 1-3 trips a year? Buy the shells. Or: Plenty of old Md 11 barrels out there with a Poly choke, or Cutts Comp. that have been added, buy one, probably cheaper than having your barrel tubed.

What makes a barrel safe to shoot steel shot is how hard it was heat treated period. Older guns the steel was not heat treated to a hardness to withstand steel shot period, even if you do have an open choked gun.

Chrome lining barrels has two purposes, one it becomes more corrosion resistant, good for duck guns, and they are harder to foul, (plastic, burnt and unburnt powder, corrosive primers etc) If you shoot enough large steel rounds through a chrome lined barrel, (BB,BBB,T, and F shot size) you will scratch the chrome lining, and maybe break through it. It's only about a 1 mil thick.

When I use to shoot steel after it was mandated, I scratched steel barrels that were "safe for steel shot", and wore out Cylinder and Imp/Cyl choke tubes. You wear them by shooting a lot to where the surface finish gets so rough, it interfers with the performance of the shot cup.

Again if you are only talking about using the Md 11 a few days each season, buy other shot shells, you will shoot less in the long run.

Regards Dave

kwackr

Thanks for the info. i was thinking that the shot cup did go all the way out and as long as the choked section was steel proof it would be ok. i probably wont use it anymore which sux. i have shot 80-100 ducks with my mod 11 since '99 so i have shot it a lot. shot steel the first couple before realizing what i might be doing! used tungsten since until it ran out. $30+ for 10 shells is tough!
anyway, thanks for the info...