Anyone ever pattern steel shot loads through various chokes? My impression, using Kent Fasteel loads, is that steel doesn't disperse like lead or bismuth.

That's been well known from the beginning of steel.

Bismuth is similar. My Benelli threw the same patterns IC,M,F.

Tungsten matrix does respond to choke. Some.

There are other non-tox wonder pellets but I quit duck hunting a long time ago and never used any.

Curious; I hunt geese and ducks in a place that also has ptarmigan. I don't hunt them at the same time, but have given thought to using the same gun. I use Mod and Mod chokes in my O/U Beretta for waterfowl. These pattern F/F. Don't want to shoot little birds with this setup. So, I wonder if using cylinder and skeet tubes would teach the steel shot anything?

Likely not much.

Wonder why nobody sells cubical steel shot for just this application.

Or maybe somebody does and I'm just behind the times.

But, man, I gotta believe non-round steel is going to slow down in one big hurry and be kind of useless beyond 25 yards or so...

Has anybody tried any kind of 'spreader' steel loads?

Inquiring minds are mildly interested....

Winchester blind side steel shells are cubes. They are neatly stacked inside the hull. I have no idea how it patterns but I did use it once on a goose at 40 yards. It worked well.

In one word blind side “sucks”. My 391 duck gun hates them. IC and mod huge holes in the pattern. I have been using Kent 4s and 5s with great success.

I use my Beretta 686 O/U and a 3091 semi for hunting Canada's in MD and ducks in LA. The goose hunting is from a pit, I use I/C and skeet in the 686 and either skeet or I/C in the 3091. I use Kent Fast Steel in both guns, the 686 with #1 steel the I/C and #2's in the skeet tube. In the swamps and marshes of LA I use the 3091 with the steel, usually Winchester #3's but adjust the shot size to the game. For teal, 6's or 7's. I find that my guns with Beretta chokes pattern at least 1 choke size tighter than lead. In fact, they pattern pretty well to the choke size Beretta lists on the choke tube list for steel.

It patterns tighter because there is no shot deformation from setback or bore scrubbing. Those steel pellets leave the muzzle as round as they were when loaded. No deformation means drastically reduced flyers, which means more pellets stay in the center of the pattern.

Roundness matters!

SRH

A number of years ago, concerned that some day we might need to shoot nontox at relatively small and fragile birds at close range, I patterned both steel and lead target loads at 15 yards (not overly close for grouse and woodcock, especially early in the season) through a 20 and a 12 with open barrels both choked IC (.005 in the 20ga; .007 in the 12ga). 1 oz loads of Win Expert steel 7's vs Rem Gun Club 8's in the 12. Results were slightly more spread with the lead load, but not by all that much. Using Kent Fasteel 7's and STS lead 8's in the 20ga (both 7/8 oz) I found that I got more spread from the steel load, which really surprised me--but convinced me that I would not be disadvantaged by overly tight steel loads if I had to shoot nontox at woods birds.

I don't intend to shoot steel (or other nontox loads) unless I'm required to do so. For pheasants, unless there are more restrictions on lead in the next few years, I probably have what for me amounts to a lifetime supply of Kent Tungsten Matrix 5's and 6's. 2 1/2" 12ga. I'd likely repeat my short range/open choke test with guns I now own and through which I'd shoot steel just to verify what I observed previously with steel and lead target loads, should--for example--the feds put in place a requirement to use nontox on woodcock. (Which, since they're migratory, the feds have the authority to impose.)

Years back I patterned several brands of steel shot through my factory Bennelli chokes and several aftermarket extended chokes designed for steel shot....I came to one conclusion all steel shot patterns like crap and offers terrible killing power.

The three brands of factory loaded bismuth shells I patterned shot almost as good as lead and appeared to have as good a killing power as lead shot on squirrels and ducks.

When steel first became the law for duck hunting I was afraid to use it in some of my guns because of the choke. That, plus I couldn't hit anything with it.

I had a Stevens 311 police model with 22" barrels and no choke. I tried that gun with steel and began having great luck with it. Close shots and long shots both.

So, I would have to say that steel can be managed with choke restriction...Geo

When goose hunting with steel I have learned to have a handful of steel 6's or 7's in an easy to reach spot. I use them to clean up cripples and it's much easier to get a pellet or more in the critical spots with so many more pellets available. I use my tighter choke for that.

Don't lose that private ground because lots of the public is requiring nontox even if not ducking.

The only choke tubes I have seen shoot good patterns at 40 yards with coarse steel shot are Briley Extended I MOD chokes. We tried C, S, IC, LM, and Mod and the result was cat sized holes in the pattern. The reason for the test wasBrowning would not warrenty the barrels with T's. The choke in Briley's extended chokes is outside the barrel.

bill

In response to Bill Schodlatz, I have been called on to repair two guns with screw in chokes that bulged due to coarse (T) steel shot.In each case the damage was @ 2-3" back from muzzle in the choke cone section where the choke is at its thinnest. It's not an easy fix and not always successful.Suggest you examine your Briley tubes to make sure they put the cone outside the barrel profile.

In response to Little Creek's original post I did do research in to the effects of choke restriction vs shot dispersal @ 15 yrs ago. I received from Italy a number of 10ga O/U's, in the white, with fixed chokes F&F of .042" restriction. Utilizing 3&1/2"Remington shells in #2 steel shot I proceeded to pattern at 40yds from Muzzle. Initial results gave a pattern of 68%,it was noted that the pattern was somewhat patchy. I then proceeded to open the lower barrel in .003" increments noting the gradual increase in density. End result was that opening,balancing and final polishing to a restriction of .018" gave an 84% pattern. The intermediate results were progressive and clearly indicated a steady trend.
With regard to "balancing" I usually cut chokes on Mr Greener's principal of equal length cone and parallel section, this however was based on lead shot with e density of 11.xx. For steel shot with a density of 7.3 I increased the ratio to make the parallel section @ 50% longer ie 1:1.5
Summary.
Both 10 & 12ga guns choked as above .018" & .008" will throw patterns of Xfull and Mod performance. I did a number of guns like this and the owners (myself included)have been well satisfied

Hugh, my inside-the-barrel chokes from Briley came with the expressed instructions to never use any steel larger than 4s in steel. And only the IC and M chokes are labeled for steel - they are a slightly different color than the other tubes. Obviously made from a different alloy. I've followed those two rules and and never had a problem.

Right. There's one public area (upland habitat) I hunt in Iowa, not far from private ground to which I have access, that requires nontox. I got lucky and took a limit there season before last. 1 oz Bismuth 6's.

Stan Hevi shot proved that roundness doesn't matter years ago...

I sold the Citori 3.5 inch used for snow goose hunting In the time I owned it I shot at least 15 flats of 3.5 inch T's and a flat of F's. If you were luckey enough to hit a 90 yard goose it would break them down. I do not know how many flats of 3 inch steel 2's I shot but I would guess 50. Always used the briley extended I MOD that Briley sold me at their Houston plant. I told them 3.5 T's and they gave me the chokes of their choice.

Bill

Not hard to take a limit on public this year. I may even do it.

Perhaps tomorrow.