Anyone familiar with a Winchester 2200 12ga?

[Kurt505]

I have one in 3" magnum full choke. Can I use this gun for waterfowl or not? I haven't hunted waterfowl since the 80's when lead was legal and I'm not sure about shooting steel out of this shotgun and I don't want to blow anything up, other than some wings.

Any help in the matter will be appreciated.

[fps plus]

Strongest lock up of any pump shotgun . Should use modified choke . Or have changeable chokes installed.

[Bergerboy]

The choke can be reamed to modified by a gunsmith. I have the same shotty and I have a friend currently using it for duck hunting and successfully shooting #2 steel out of the full choke with no issues.

[midgetwaiter]

The 2200 is A Canadian version of the 1200. It's a fantastic gun with a barrel that has a modern removable choke, far nicer than the current models. I have a 1200 of similar age but it has a winchoke barrel.

The fixed choke could be an issue though. You will find an awful lot of copy-paste style advice on the subject of safely using steel shot in that barrel. Most of this is useless and seems to be an inference from a lawsuit filed against Remington over bulging barrels many years ago. I have used steel in a late 70s Wingmaster without safety related problems. Your gun is of a similar age and I imagine would be made of similar steel, personally I would worry about it.

The reason I don't use the Wingmaster for waterfowl is that I couldn't find a steel load that patterns worth a turd out of it. This seems to be a common problem with these older guns.

[Dick284]

Tight chokes and steel shot= lousy patterns.

I know it's counter intuative but sometimes, especially with larger steel shot(BB and larger), your improved cylinder tube or choke may just give you a full choke pattern.

The problem with reaming the choke out is you are still pigeon holed as to what type of pattern you may or may not get from the reamed choke.

[Kurt505]

Originally Posted by midgetwaiter

The 2200 is A Canadian version of the 1200. It's a fantastic gun with a barrel that has a modern removable choke, far nicer than the current models. I have a 1200 of similar age but it has a winchoke barrel.

The fixed choke could be an issue though. You will find an awful lot of copy-paste style advice on the subject of safely using steel shot in that barrel. Most of this is useless and seems to be an inference from a lawsuit filed against Remington over bulging barrels many years ago. I have used steel in a late 70s Wingmaster without safety related problems. Your gun is of a similar age and I imagine would be made of similar steel, personally I would worry about it.

The reason I don't use the Wingmaster for waterfowl is that I couldn't find a steel load that patterns worth a turd out of it. This seems to be a common problem with these older guns.

You said personally you WOULD worry about it. Was that supposed to read wouldn't? Or I should not shoot steel from this shotgun?

[grizz 700]

Ream to Modified. All good.

[3blade]

Have the same gun, fixed full choke. When I looked into it, there were three issues. Dealing with the choke would cost almost as much as a new pump gun, the barrel is not rated for steel and therefore at risk (how much risk is debatable), and it may or may not shoot well once modified. Bismuth shot is available but expensive, but might be an option if you just want to shoot a few. Serious waterfowl hunting requires a dedicated steel rated shotgun.

[midgetwaiter]

Originally Posted by Kurt505

You said personally you WOULD worry about it. Was that supposed to read wouldn't? Or I should not shoot steel from this shotgun?

Sorry, you’re right I meant to type wouldn’t.