steel shot

[kinwahkly]

I have an older Barretta over under 26 inch barrells, fixed chokes at full and modified, could I shoot steel out of this?

[Dick284]

But will it pattern very well, and not cause problems down the road?

Steel shot is particularilly funny in that it does'nt not act like lead shot, it does not distort or compress, often it requires a looser choke than many really suspect, especially if larger sized shot is used. (Improved Cylinder giving full choke patterns)

If it were me I'd religate the fixed choke gun to upland and purchase a new shot gun, there are lots of low cost options on the market today, often cheaper than having a shotgun retro'd with screw in chokes. No I'm not a fan of just opening chokes, I've seen to many lousey patterns and no options to change them once you find out.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by kinwahkly

I have an older Barretta over under 26 inch barrells, fixed chokes at full and modified, could I shoot steel out of this?

If you look at the proof marks, there should be a fluer de lis stamping there.
This is the Italian proof house mark that designates that the gun is proofed for steel shot.
If the proof mark is NOT there, do as Dick suggests - choking aside, some steel in the barrels of the older made guns is not designed to to handle steel shot.
The bores may also be chromed, and although I have heard of some gunsmiths that can open up the chrome lined bores, according to Ballistic Products, the lining in time will start to flake off in the bore.
I would not want to take the chance of ruining a nice shot gun like that when there are many good guns built today that will handle steel .
Cat

[kinwahkly]

Thanks