Steel shot damage?

[Keith Doty]

I have a light 12 Belgian A5 from the 50s choked full. It was my favorite pheasant and duck slayer for years until steel shot came along. I called Browning and was told "bad idea". I put the gun op for several years until I came across what Cabelas said were genuine Browning replacement barrels for about $300. Called Browning again and was told the barrels were indeed from Browning, of recent manufacture, and would fit my gun with no gunsmithing needed. I bought a MOD, it fit perfectly, and have fired many hundred rounds of 2 3/4" steel #4 out of it for years no issues, no "ring bulge" and lots of ducks that got to meet my dogs.
Not recommending this, never measured the bore on this barrel. Just my personal experience!

[Bill Murphy]

I shot many 3 1/2" 1 3/4 ounce ten gauge steel loads out of an AYA Matador with .045 chokes, without any damage. I'm not a waterfowler, but this gun gave superior results in the waterfowl shooting I have done. Kevin is right in stating that steel loads are not useless as some proclaim.