f a loomis
 

yesterday evening late i got the old 8 ga loomis that destrey let me have out of the corner and decided to put a few rounds thru it...my target was the famous turkey head dr pepper can....range for first shots was 70 steps shot size used was steel bb s 1 3/4 ounce of them...first 2 shots fired there was no hits in the can at the 70 step mark...decided to close my distance now to the 45 step line..the shot at this distance was 5 hits in the can and what big holes a bb makes.... even such a small thing as ateal duck could not fly thru this at even ranges out to 50 steps...or even a squirl cutting a hickory nut on a limb...some of the loads i used shot collars some of the loads i did not use shot collars..i could tell no difference in the shot patters at the 45 step mark but makes a big differance in the patterns at the 70 step mark... now the barrels on the gun are fine damascus the bores are slightly pitted from chambers to the end of barrels...there has been no evendence of any damage to these barrels at all no streaking has been seen...i wish i had kept count of the number of times ive shot the steel loads it has to be several hundred now... im not telling any body its ok too shoot steel shot thru there guns but this is my findings on useing steel shot...all my guns used in testing have been at least modified choke... the old big bores can hold enough big shot in steel to make them very effective on game at even long shots..the steel bb will penetrate a plastic 5 gallon can thru both sides at 70 steps with lots of hits in it...these are my findings so far... charlie

Charlie I have lots of squirles at the new house. I may never have to shoot a Dr Pepper can again. PS Just kidding about not shooting Dr Pepper cans. To much fun.

Charlie:
While you may have had limited success with steel... it is NEVER wise to shoot steel shot through an old double. And especially now that steel substitutes are easily available.

These guns aren't being made anymore... and putting one at unnecessary risk is not something I'd care to do.

kensal i will have to admit i have never took live game with the steel shot...but all i load is bb size steel and it patterns and has very good penertation at up to 70 yards..all this testing has been done on paper or 5 gallon plastic buckets..it does kill crows i forgot i ve took a few of them with bb s... i have shot a lot of steel bb s thru 3 differant 8 ga guns and one old american arms double barrel 12 ga it has regular steel barrels with modified chokes. i ve seen no harm to the barrels on any of these guns...my guns are just barely safe to shoot most people would hang them on the wall...but this is my opinion that large steel shot such as bb size andif shot thru at least modified choke that it has done no damage to my gun barrels...if my guns were very nice or if they were full choke i would not fire steel shot in my guns...i would be shooting lead bb s if i could get them reasonable but i cannot ... i have had 2 bad issues with barrels in my life both were steel barreled gun..one was a 28 ga rem. auto. barrel blowed outabout middle ways then had a 20 ga single barrel i was shooting slugs and iut was full choke and the barrel bulged at the end.. i think no matter the steel type or shot used be it steel lead or other shot that from time to time there will be barrel failures from some source...the next gun i try useing the steel shot in may harm the barrels but so far i ve seen no evedince of it... charlie

Yup, I shot 3 1/2" 1 3/4 ounce steel twos and BBs out of a ten gauge AYA lightweight Matador for some time with no damage. It has about .040 of choke. The steel BBs will kill geese at obscene ranges. I killed a double on geese at about 75 yards and killed an already shot goose at about 95 yards. I don't normally shoot them that far but these guys needed to be shot.

I just think of all the modern 870 and 1100 fixed choke guns I saw in the mid to late 80's with deep grooves cut in the barrels from the early steel loads. I'll never forget my high school buddy who was shooting steel through his grandfathers old Steven hump back pump and ruined the barrel with it. Hard steel shot damaging gun barrels and ring bulging chokes is not a myth, I've seen it first hand and it's not pretty. The modern factory loaded shells with full heavy plastic shot cups are probably less dangerous but I still wouldn't shoot them through tight fixed chokes, that steel doesn't compress like lead does guys.

Destry

The above is wise observation. And, it meshes perfectly with an old English double I bought just this weekend. It is in VERY good outer condition... but both barrel bores have deep scores ahead of the chambers from shooting STEEL shot. I have no way of knowing if these loads harmed the chokes. I hope not.

Again, why shoot steel in a good gun if there are safe alternatives now available!