Can i use steel shot in a remington 870 wingmaster full choke 30 inch barrel. the shotgun is in great shape and about 20 or 25 years old probably. thank you. the steel shot i have got is 12 gauge 2 3/4 in 1550 velocity 1 1/16 oz 2 shot winchester xpert high velocity steel shot
A full choke is not recommended for most steel shot. That gun was made before steel shot was popular and the barrel probably will not hold up to the hard steel shot. You have two options. Both will cost money. You can get the soft heavy shot and use that. Or you can buy a newer shotgun and use steel in it.
The biggest problem is the FULL choke on the end of the barrel. Steel pellets are harder than lead, so they find it hard to squeeze through the tight full choke. If you do it, you WILL either bulge or crack the muzzle end of the barrel. That is a fact. Newer model 870 shotguns with RemChokes can fire steel, but you have to use a lead MODIFIED choke to send a full pattern down range. Again, for the same reason I mentioned earlier - that the steel does not deform and squeeze itself through the tighter chokes as well. See photo link below at what your barrel will look like after a box of steel shot.
Because of environmental concerns steel, bismuth and tungsten is replacing lead shot, for bird hunting. The problem with steel shot is the hardness, which can cause damage to the bore and choke in older shotguns. Unlike lead there is no give to steel and it can damage the bore especially if the choke is on full. Tungsten is also very hard, but it is often alloyed with other metals making it softer causing less damage in older models shotguns. Bismuth falls in between tungsten and steel, being the softer of the two by far.
