Geese and Ducks and IC

I currently have three different chokes: full, modified, Improved Cylinder.

I have done some reading and it is recommended that you only use Improved Cylinder with Steel Shot.

I thought I was pretty knowledgable about guns until I read the above statement. Apparently, I still have a lot to learn.

Why do they recommend only using IC with Steel Shot? If you use Full or Modified, is there potential for ruining your gun? I believe it may have something to do with the fact that Steel is much harder than lead and lead tends to bend more when coming out of the barrel.

Can anyone shed some light for my understanding? Thanks.

There are two issues here: (1) Possibility of damage to your gun, and (2) obtaining the best pattern for the birds you are shooting

(1) Should not be a problem with modified choke. This could be a problem with your full choke, if it is not designed with steel shot in mind. (Your full choke is probably safe for shot size #2 or smaller)

(2) Many people have patterned their guns with various chokes and steel loads. They have also tested various combinations while hunting. Steel patterns much more tightly than does lead and also has a shorter shot string. Improved cylinder generally gives the best patterns for most waterfowl hunting situations. You might try a skeet or even a cylinder bore choke for very close shots over decoys, and you might want your modified tube for very long pass shooting. But IC is a good all-around compromise. Full choke tubes, even if they are safe to use, often result in bizarre patterns with steel shot.

Many manufacturers recommend that you not use a full choke with steel, although many now have full chokes for steel. In the past, a lead modified was referred to as a steel full choke. Since steel won't compress the was lead does, too tight a choke could cause scarring of the barrel. Now, a number of manufacturers recommend you use the IC choke because of the patterning capabilities of steel. Steel holds a tighter pattern than lead (because the shot retains a more round shape throughout its life....) so an IC choke will give the shooter a more lead-like pattern. I would expect that there are still many manufacturers telling you not to use a lead full choke with steel, but, without specific cautions from a manufacturer, all other less restrictive chokes should be OK.

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'If it weren't for my Beautiful Wife, Fantastic Children, and this Wonderful Job, I'd be hunting or fishing right now' ******************************************************* *****************

Mike

When shooting steel shot I find that there are two things to consider and they are the shot size and pattern you wish to achieve. I find that when shooting the larger shot sizes for geese, I need to use a less restrictive choke to achieve the same type of pattern that I would expect in the smaller sized steel. For example, I use T, BBB, and BB for goose hunting. I want to achieve a tight pattern on geese similar to that of a full choke when shooting lead. For these shot sizes I use the modified or improved cylinder to achieve this. More so the improved cylinder. For ducks I like to have a pattern that is less than full and more like the modified choke when using lead. I shoot 2's and 3's for ducks and have found the best results with the improved cylinder again. The smaller shot sizes and less restriction of the choke opens the pattern up a bit more. I have chokes in the improved modified (which is between full and modified) that will allow steel shot and would only use it with the smaller shot sizes to obtain a full pattern. I will list what I have found below.

choke pattern using lead large steel shot (T, BBB, BB, 1) smaller steel shot

Full Full not recommended NR

Imp Mod Imp Mod NR Full

Mod Mod Full Imp Mod

IC IC Imp Mod Mod

Cyl Cyl Mod IC

This is what I found from my experimentation and it works well in the field. Hope this comes across well and good luck. Ed