Steel Shot in Parkers

[Bruce Day]

A person who is open minded might want to look at the Tom Roster article about using steel shot that is in the latest issue of Shooting Sportsman.

Some time ago, I had cited Roster's determinations about steel shot being fully encapsulated by modern shot cups and prevented from barrel contact. To put it mildly, my statements about the Roster findings were not well received and were met with comments about mental competance and whether I should be institutionalized , but now we have Roster making the comments himself in public print rather than me saying what he had said privately.

My earlier comments were limited to the barrel wear/erosion issue, and not whether a person could or should shove the extreme heavy high speed sky buster anti aircraft cartridges in his precious Parker.

Food for thought.

[Dean Romig]

I haven't read the article yet but does he address the issue, not of barrel scrubbing that most people seem to worry about, but of the fact that steel and other hard shot will not compress where it contacts other shot (as lead will) as well as the constriction of the choke and is only cushioned by the (maybe too thin) shot cup as the shot ball is forced into that constriction? It seems to me that this would be (over the short term) the matter for greatest concern and is the premise upon which the fear of bulging at the chokes (ring bulges) is founded upon? (was that a question?)

[MarketHunter]

And here we go again......

Bruce you just don't know when to shut up.

[John D.]

To quote Mr. Tom Roster in context, one must understand there was much more to his statements. To quote the passage (and emphasis added where applicable to Parker and other vintage, fixed choked shotguns). Reference: Nienke Beintema, UNEP/AEWA Secretariat (2002)

"There is no longer any issue concerning bore erosion as long as any pellet type harder than lead is contained in a properly designed shotcup system," explains Tom Roster of CONSEP, the internationally active Cooperative North American Shotgunning Education Program. "As far as slight bulging 'damage' to chokes or choke tubes is concerned," Roster says, "only steel shot, cheap steel, tungsten-iron shot, and Hevi-Shot are issues. Even here the so-called damage is either cosmetic or avoidable by proper use of the gun." The risk of this barrel expansion, or ring bulge, is larger with increased tightness of the choke, increased shot size, use of very old or light-barreled guns, and use of High Performance Shot (which increases shot velocity).

Hope this helps...

John

[Dean Romig]

Thanks John. My thoughts are that in an older gun such as our Parkers, Foxes, Smiths, Lefevers, etc., we would be wise to heed that highlighted caption. Some of the barrel wall thicknesses we've read of on the forum here might not fare very well under such steel shot loads in the conditions mentioned there. Just my take anyhow...

[MarketHunter]

What all this really means is that anybody with good sense won't shoot steel in a vintage shotgun unless it's just some old beater piece of crap they don't care about. Notice I said, anybody with good sense......

Destry

[Autumn Daze]

Yup, We can move on now.

[John D.]

As quoted in an article authored by George Trulock and Jerrod Trulock (Trulock Choke)

"...However, the fact that steel shot exerts much more stress on choke tubes has not changed. The problem is that steel shot is much harder than lead. It will transmit much more energy to the choke when it strikes the conical portion and if the tube is not of sufficient strength it will cause it to deform...

And - he was referring to MODERN CHOKES IN MODERN GUNS - not vintage shotguns...

I'm guessing the Trulocks should know...

[Bruce Day]

No, you need to read the whole article. I think Roster addresses many issues. As I said, my initial statements about steel were limited in scope to the barrel erosion and scratching issue. My point is to view the issue with an open and inquiring mind. Obviously, as indicated above, some people are not able to do that and they bring up issues beyond the narrow issue. Each of those can be addressed in my opinion if a person has an open mind.

The problem is discussing matters when people launch personal attacks. I've found that when people are unable intellectually to consider other views or matters outside their thinking, they react by personal attacks.

[Big D]

I have never met anyone who has witnessed the bulging of any gun barrel (old or new) with current steel shot size 5 or smaller, shot through a modified or looser choke. I continue to believe that the warnings put out by the gun companies were by the same lawyers who now insist on 10 pound trigger pulls on rifles