Bismuth in a lead recipe

[J. A. EARLY]

Originally Posted by Ronald Scott

Another myth probably but I've heard you should not shoot steel shot through a full choke because you could ring the barrel just ahead of the choke constriction. I am sure someone has tested this, I just haven't seen the results.

This is not a myth. Because in steel shot one is using shot two or three times larger to get the same killing power as lead. Thus if one liked BBs for geese, they now skip BBB and go to T which at 40 yards delivers 12.5 foot pounds of energy which approaches but does not quite reach the 13.8 of lead.

T steel is .020 which is approaching #4 buck of .024. When the full choke compresses the steel pellets which do not give any you can get bridging of shot, shot that is not going anywhere as they touch each other and the barrel may ring or split, especially if it is an older gun not designed for steel shot. The barrels that are designed for steel and have the thickness of a small water pipe will not ring or split.

The rule is for steel if one wants a full choke pattern, shoot modified because the pellets do not deform as lead does and the pattern will be denser.