Using steel shot

[Trapper 0]

Hi

 

Just looking for a bit of help,i brought a second hand rizzini over under just for doing a little rough shooting and have some land where there are hundreds of geese and i want too go at them ,but i am unsure if i can put steel shot through my gun.would any of you be able to tell me if i can or not.I can send pictures if that would help.

Thanks

 

Ash

[wag 13]

hi, trapper what chokes are in the gun ? you dont want to be shooting steel shot through no more than half choke .put some photos up of the gun if you want, but as long as the barrels are not pitted there should not be problem as long as its no more than half choke.

 

 

 

regards wag

[Guest john5]

Hi

 

Just looking for a bit of help,i brought a second hand rizzini over under just for doing a little rough shooting and have some land where there are hundreds of geese and i want too go at them ,but i am unsure if i can put steel shot through my gun.would any of you be able to tell me if i can or not.I can send pictures if that would help.

Thanks

 

Ash

where abouts are you mate ?, i could load you some ITM shot that would be much better for geese ,deppending what part of the country your in

send me a pm if you dont want to post your location on here

Edited November 4, 2007 by john5

[Trapper 0]

Hi

 

I'm in lincolnshire. Here are some pictures of the gun ,and i am unsure of what chokes the gun is , if this is to do with the chokes ,the top barrel has two stars on and the lower barrel has 3 on it ,i also have a pair of skeet barrels which have a c on the lower one and 4 stars on the top barrel . Thanks for your help guys,its much appreciate.

 

(not very good pics of the barrel but you can just make out the stars i am talking of)

 

Wag,could i ask what you mean by pitted?

 

 

 

 

Ash

[macberran 2]

your a standard 1/2 , 1/4 , I would not make a habit off steel depending on the age off the gun mmmmmmsingle shots on the top barrel are a pain on a flight. What age gun etc are you multichoke and at geese too be honest you need a good load on minimum yards, they are biggar than you think and without the weight shot can be heard too "bounce " of the bird, honest.i go for 40g no4 min. what do other members think ? It should be a clean kill........here we go

[wag 13]

hi, trapper just check inside the barrels and make sure they are clean and not got any bad bits or rust like things in them that could be pitting mate. p m me because im in lincolnshire mate and if your close i can have a look for you if you want .

 

 

 

regards wag

[Trapper 0]

Hi

 

Thanks for the reply's.its a help.

 

I'm going to the gun shop in woodhall spa too have a look around ,sometime this week so i'll take this gun with me and ask a bit about it .

 

Some of the geese i will be shooting at will be close range because they let you walk up too them , and then they get up.They fly off when they are about 20 yards away,they farmer wants me too shoot them because they eat alot of the grass, there is a flock of about 200-300,mostly canada's with a few greylags.

 

what do the stars mean on the barrell then? is that what cokes they are? and does the c mean cylinder?

 

sorry for all the questions ,i've shot for a year on and off but only just got my own gun so more interested now!

 

Thanks

 

Ash

[John Nolan 0]

We were forced by political forces to use steel shot here in the US for a number of years. My results with it were horrific; especially on geese. Steel shot wounded and crippled enough waterfowl (not recovered) that I finally gave up until a better alternative became available. I've used and reloaded bismuth shot for the last two years and am reasonably satisfied with it. I can't speak to how well tungsten shot may or may not perform. I still not comfortable using bismuth cartridges at longer distances over bigger water but they perform well when jump shooting or decoying inland waters.

 

My advice would be to forget about using steel in any shotgun - whether compatable or not. Go with an alternative non-toxic shot. And don't be deceived by steel's ability to shoot a tight pattern - it'll punch through paper but not through feathers and flesh.

[Trapper 0]

Hi john

 

Thanks for that

 

My relative in canada told me the same about steel not being as "good" as lead i'll have too try and find some other shot for them ,but i should think the range that i am shooting these geese at it wont really matter,but when they become used too me walking them up and shooting them as they break, then i'll need something more substantial when i'm calling them in.Thats the next lesson,calling them in!

[John Nolan 0]

Hey Trapper,

I'll assume you just really want to try steel shot but before you spend any money, compare the prices of steel vs. bismuth/tungsten. If they're similar, I'd recommend you buy the alternative non-tox cartridges.

We jump shot the backwaters of a good size lake years ago - Canada geese took flight and we hit one on the rise with #2 steel shot from a 3" cartridge at 20-25 yards. It crumpled and hit the water, out of sight. We spent 15-20 minutes searching for the bird (we had 2 experienced springers with us). No success. We got in the boat kept looking.

No success. As we were loading the boat and heading out, one of the locals mentioned they had heard our shots earlier. He saw the goose hit the water and swim about 300 yards to his dock. The goose was still there. We walked down to his dock and found a goose, very much alive with a broken wing. None of the steel pellets had penetrated its body, but they did break its wing.

Steel shot was a really bad idea that should have never been developed and marketed.