The Brits say steel shot and vintage guns is OK

[mobirdhunter]

I'll keep shooting lead and bismuth as long as I can. I have no reason to shoot heavy or super fast loads out of what I consider to be a piece of history. Not sure what I'll do if Missouri bans lead for all shooting, as they continually hint at doing.

[Ken Hill]

From the article "The catch is, the cartridges have to be “standard steel.” Standard steel cartridges contain no shot larger than English 4 (our 5s), no pressures in excess of 10,733 psi, and no velocities higher than 1400 fps in a one-ounce load or about 1250 fps in a 1 1/8 ounce load. Anything heavier, faster, or loaded with larger shot than that is classified as “high performance” steel. High-performance steel is recommended only for guns designed or proofed for steel shot. In England, guns proofed for high-performance steel bear a fleur-de-lis proof mark. Over here, practically any gun made since the late 80s was made with steel shot in mind."

What steel shot loads are available over here that meet those specs?

The Brit shell manufacturers are working on steel shot and biodegradable wads. They have come up with some 2 3/4" loads, but I haven't heard of any 2 1/2" loads developed yet. At least the shell manufacturers are working on lighter steel loads.

Ken

[John Allen]

I have found that with choke constriction of .020" or less there is enough compression in the steel loads to pass through the choke with no stress or damage to the barrel. Over .020" the chance of damage increases significantly. As mentioned earlier,the modern steel loads are much better on the guns than the early loads. Shot wads have been improved and pressures adjusted to make modern loads more effective and easier on the guns.