doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com steel shot

Always hear that you should not shoot steel through old barrels even if they have been opened up. BUT how old is old ? Sooner or later we have to cross the line into modern steel.When did that happen and did it all happen for all the makers at the same time. I would like to know when it would be o.k. to use steel in older guns if the barrels are choked properley

I always figured any gun made after the mid-70's was probably ok for steel if it wasn't choked super tight. Some gun companies have an actual cut off date that they'll tell you if you ask. Years ago I called Browning about a BSS I was looking at and they said it was fine for steel since it was made after a certain year. I can't remember the year unfortunately. I believe Remington has the same kind of thing as well.

DLH

Far as I know, Browning is the one outfit that issues a blanket warning: No steel in any of their Belgian-made guns. OK in all the Japanese-made guns.

Dagnarble, you actually have two issues here, although we usually only focus on one of those issues: the hardness of steel shot. But we also need to focus on the other issue, which is the pressure generated by the shell in question. (This is true whether you're talking steel or lead.) If you have an old American gun made with chambers shorter than 2 3/4", then it was proofed at a lower pressure than that required of modern guns. That means you should avoid BOTH steel AND modern American lead loads in such guns--because of the pressure, if not because of the harder shot. The pressure issue eliminates (or should eliminate) a lot of guns made prior to WWII from use with steel.