Steel Shot in Parkers

[John D.]

What Browning says about using Steel Shot in any of their older (Belgian) A5s, Superposed, Leige, and other Belgian Over/Under models, Double Automatic, American-made A-5 regardless of fixed choke:

DO NO USE ANY STEEL SHOT LOADS

[John D.]

Originally Posted by John Dallas

....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

I don't believe Tom Roster was a lawyer or a "gun company". I'm pretty certain Nienke Beintema is not either, either. I am fully certain that neither Mr. George Trulock and Mr. Jerrod Trulock are neither lawyers, either - but do manufacture chokes for multiple manufacturers firearms, so probably might know a "wee bit more"?

Hope this helps,

John

[MarketHunter]

But the point is why run the risk? You might shoot 1000 rounds and not have any trouble, then one day....

I still think of the family LC Smith that a friend bulged behind the choke shooting #4 shot. And all the other old guns I saw absolutely ruined by shooting steel. Sure it was years ago, but if you'd seen some of them you still wouldn't do it even today.

There are too many other options, maybe a lot more expensive, but still workable. I probably shoot more shells at ducks in a season than any other regular on the BBS and I'm just a poor working stiff. Yet I still never have had to resort to shooting steel shot through any of my vintage guns and I've been shooting ONLY vintage guns at waterfowl for over 15 years now.

When I think of sliding my big #3 frame, 34 inch, DHE with those tight long range chokes out of the case and dumping a couple steel shells in it I just cringe. Not going to happen, at least while I'm still breathing and own the gun.

What really cracks me up is that this has become this huge bandwagon for Bruce to ride on. He's not even really a duck hunter, he's said on here that he probably doesn't shoot maybe a couple boxes of shells at ducks in a season. Last year I shot three cases at least, maybe more! And Bruce is a lawyer of some kind, so I'm sure he makes a lot more money than I do. Why is he so worried about spending a few more bucks on a couple boxes of shells anyway? It's not about getting information out there, it's about Bruce feeling like he was beaten in a conversation and wanting to continue to spread bad information out of spite.

All that being said, I don't care if anybody wants to shoot steel out of a vintage gun. If you want to do it, more power to you. But don't say it's perfectly fine on a public vintage gun forum where any novice might read it and think you actually knew what you were talking about.


Destry

[Bruce Day]

It might be helpful for people to actually read the current Shooting Sportsman Roster article before saying what it says and doesn't say. I may be wrong , but it just seems to me that is a way to have a more enlightened discussion.

[John D.]

Folks can read what they want - and shoot whatever they want in their own Parkers... From my end - and I'm no lawyer nor gun manufacturer.. To John Dallas - I've seen a lot of barrel bulges in vintage firearms where they thought shooting steel was "OK"..

So - sure - shoot whatever you want, read whatever you want, believe whatever you want - it's fine by me and you sure don't need my permission to do so...

If you want enlightened discussion about the effect of steel on barrel erosion - well, then that's another thing.. I could add to that, but frankly - when folks brought in their wreaked vintage shotgun with a bulged barrel where the choke started constriction - I really didn't take the time to notice if steel had eroded that tube in addition to wreaking the gun...

Or - I could tell you about the time someone else walked in - who had a FULL choke in a MODERN gun - and shot a steel load out of it? Stripped the choke right out of the barrel - and bulged what was left of the barrel 1/2" from the muzzle... BUT - what the heck do I know..

Shoot what you want - they are your guns!

John

[Opening Day]

Bruce this is what I have said before:

"All that being said, I don't care if anybody wants to shoot steel out of a vintage gun. If you want to do it, more power to you. But don't say it's perfectly fine on a public vintage gun forum where any novice might read it and think you actually knew what you were talking about."


Destry is right, saying this on a public forum where some novice goes to Walmart and buys the cheapest steel shot available (I know you wouldn't) who don't any know better and shoots it and possibly ruins a fine vintage gun. You want to shoot steel fine but don't go out and say it on a public forum

John D I do know of a very nice light framed Lefever 16 ga that got ring bulged shooting number 6's in a light Mod. barrel, it can happen, and yes they were cheap loads but he was told it would be ok .....

[ch]

I just bought some nice shot its harder than I expected. I couldn't dent it with my teeth. How do the gamewardens check realoades for lead or no tox?

[MarketHunter]

Calvin,

Really premium magnum lead shot is hard to dent with your teeth too. NiceShot is fine in old guns, been lots of testing on that account.

Wardens use an electronic tool that tests the density of the shot in the shells. They drop the shell in there and it tells them what type of shot it contains. NiceShot is almost exactly the same density as lead and will sometimes read lead with the device. I had a fairly tense discussion with a warden in Canada when I had some of the experimental NiceShot loads from RST out to test them. He was a reasonable man and everything ended up fine, I later ran into him again and he'd actually gone to the trouble to do a little online research. He'd read up on it in case he ran onto the problem again.


Destry

[Bruce Day]

I understand that the possibility of ring bulges exists in any barrels , particularly thinner barrels, if large diameter hard shot is used with tight chokes , regardless of the composition of the shot. I've seen ring bulges from lead and I'm sure they can occur with steel also.

I would not be surprised to learn that many Parker ring bulges resulted from lead buckshot loads.

Bursts and bulges can occur for all sorts of reasons not attributable to the composition of the shot material. I witnessed a barrel burst from a light lead RST load and I have also witnessed barrels not burst or ring bulge even when grossly overpressure loads were used. The issue to look into the issues in a careful and rational manner. I thought the Roster article was interesting, but each to his own.

[CSL]

Originally Posted by Bruce Day

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.

---------------------------------------------

This is about the time when Bruce indirectly starts referring to people who don't agree with his opinions as Pigs & Skunks and then he exits.... How that recent Bruce comment and personal insult/attack to several people on another thread was allowed to stand when others were removed is still a mystery to me...

CSL
______________________
.