doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Magnum Superposed for dedicated waterfowler???

Well, my superposed has digested several hundred rounds of steel with no ill effects.

I know what Browning says, and this is not a recomendation for others to shoot steel out of thier superposed, I'm just saying I haven't had a problem. I conceed that several hundred rounds is not enough to prove anyting. Maybe the next round will cause a bulge or worse.

"Don't shoot steel" is a blanket statement by Browning to cover all situations. The question to shoot, or not shoot, steel out of a gun may not always have a hard yes or no answer. What size steel shot? What chokes do you have? What vintage and brand of ammo? Wad technology has improved over the years.

I'm not endorsing a superposed for steel shot, but factory recommendations are not gospel. Browning (and everyone else) also say not to do your own gunsmithing....how many of you still do? I'm just saying......

Sure it doesn't kill as dead as good ol' lead. (Hey I'm a poet!)

But what I'm saying is that it will kill plenty good enough. I've seen some incredible long shots made with some of the new steel like Black Cloud and all that crazy stuff. These new choke tubes they make for it, the special steel shot designed guns, etc etc etc really make it 1000% better than it was in the old days.

I shoot the expensive stuff but most of the guys I hunt with day to day use steel and I don't see them loosing any more birds than I do. I myself lose one occasionally, it just happens, even with premium ammo.

I'm not one of these twice a year waterfowlers either, I make 40 to 50 days a season minimum and usually more. I start with early geese in September and hunt steady until it all goes out in January/February. I see a lot of shells fired (not just by me) and I see a lot of waterfowl killed (again not just by me). I'm not bragging on patting myself on the back, it's just the simple truth. This is the voice of experience speaking.


Destry

Treblig clearly doesnt have much experience with modern steel and the right chokes. Destry said it right and I agree. We shoot Ducks and Geese in Nebraska 30-40 days per year and dont lose many birds. I am fussing, as we speak, with a 30" Marlin 90, to make it shoot steel well. I had Scott Carlson put a choke tube in the full bbl, so I can shoot Mod+whatever is needed for whatever I am shooting that day. Like Destry I shoot older guns, and flat cant afford the cost of Nice Shot etc. in the volume I shoot. I did buy some 10 bore RSTs non tox, and it does well in my Lefever "E".

Mr. trblig1958,

You are dead wrong about steel shot. I was the one of the biggest opponents of the steel shot mandate when it came into effect many years ago. I wrote the U.S.F.& W.S. to protest their proposed (at that time) mandate. The steel shot available back then was awful, it crippled almost as many as it killed dead. I refused to use it for a long, long time. But, the stuff out there now is deadly. The combination of improved shot cups, powders, higher velocity and improved shot, in some cases, have made the newer loads all that most gunners need for modern guns. Now, you may be the next Nash Buckingham when it comes to killing ducks and geese at extreme ranges, I don't know, but if you shoot ducks at all, and shoot them at ranges under sixty yards, the better quality steel loads available give up nothing.

I'm not talking from my armchair, either. I just read back through my journal and I read that for the last 39 ducks, and two geese, they were all killed with steel, and that with NO CRIPPLES. Not one bird lost wounded. That is not conjecture, treblig, that is fact.

I don't shoot much waterfowl, but I shoot nothing but steel in ten gauge guns not recommended for steel. The patterns shot out of my unmodified AYA ten are so tight it's hard to believe. Don't drill your chokes out like was recommended thirty five years ago. The fuller the choke the tighter the pattern and the steel shot does not seem to harm the choke area in a gun with a little steel in that area. The Browning Superposed 3" gun is like a Model 12 3" gun. The tubes and muzzles are built heavier than the standard gun. Now, there are factory 3" guns that do not have extra steel in the muzzles, like the Model 21 Duck Gun. Don't shoot steel in a Model 21 Duck or Magnum Grade gun. The tubes are standard thickness. I know of three standard barrel Fox guns that have shot a bit of steel with no adverse effects with no opening of the chokes. Measure your barrels and buy the cheap steel ammo

Shooting tungsten matrix shells 2 3/4 #5, has made me a better duck hunter. I pick my shots more reasonably, I concentrate on my lead more effectively and I am less likely to waste ammo on that third frustration shot. I still have fun and the freezer is full.
duck boat, motor and decoys - $5000
duck lease - $2000
food, shots, etc for the retriever - $1000
a season's worth of non lead ammo - $250
Having that mallard fold on your first shot - priceless

Yup, the shells aren't that expensive, no matter how many you shoot, when compared to the other expenses. But you can save a bunch if you understand what gun can shoot steel without damage, and what gun will shoot steel effectively. I will put my steel tens against anyone's high buck twelves in a duck for duck shoot up to sixty yards.

I'm all for that as long as I can afford it. But I'm afraid at just over $3.00 per 2 3/4 Kent TM shell, I run through a little more than $250 a season. That's a few more than three boxes worth, I'll shoot that up in a week sometimes if I'm hunting ducks and geese both.

I've got a pretty good stock that I managed to pick up before the prices went through the roof. By the time that's gone I'm hoping there's something else out there that's reasonably priced. This new Tundra from Fiocchi has got my hopes up.....


Destry

My steel 1 3/4 ounce tens cost me about $5.00 a box and I will shoot them and only them until they are used up. They are working just fine.

I used a 3.5 Citori for years. Works fine and you don't have to shoot 3.5 shells. The Jap verson is cheaper than the one from europe.
bill