Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Non-toxic shot hardness a danger here?

This spring I shot some of Federal Heavyweight 3" 20 ga turkey loads out of my Beretta 471. This load pushes an ounce and a half at 1300 fps and certainly got my attention in more ways than one. Out of either of the IC or the IM fixed choked barrels I got killing patterns at 40 yds. For me that has usually been 100 hits in a ten inch circle.

But I wondered if I'm putting my SxS barrels in jeapardy. Some non-toxics (HeviShot being one) are not only harder than steel or iron shot, they are harder than some barrel steel. Special shot cups are meant to ameliorate that but still....

IIRC, by the DPH scale steel shot is about 85 with some non-toxics starting at ~120 (barrel steel) and running well north. With general looking around all I've been able to find in the way of a warning in regard to any of the non-toxics is they are "ok" if your shotgun is approved for steel shot.

The Beretta 471 is certainly not a old vintage gun but..any light to shed here?

I would think it's fine, I shoot it from my 870 20 gauge with a .570 choke. That super thick FCW should keep any shot off the barrel steel and you don't have enough choke to really squeeze it down much.

George, I have always remembered that steel shot does not compress like lead does. I refrain shooting steel in my doubles because of the fear of having barrels seperate. It is not likely to happen, but having work done on double barrels can be quite expensive. I am probably too careful with my doubles.

I wouldn't put them or any steel through a fixed choke decent sxs. It is hard on the rib joints and even harder on the head of the stock. When that gun was built no one ever thought someone would try and push an 1 1/2 ounce load of steel/tungsten at 1300 fps through it.

I don't hunt turkeys but ducks and geese and find 7/8 oz. of ITX or Nice shot 4's and 6's at 1200fps work extremely well.

The MV on those shells is 1100fps advertised and proved to be spot on over my chrony. I've dissected dozens of the 20ga Federal HW #7 loads, which consist of a 3" Federal Hull, powder(a ballish looking powder that is approximately around the burn rate of H Lil Gun), the 20ga Fed Flite Control wad, 1-1/2oz of 15g/cc #7 tungsten alloy shot, plastic filler beads above shot, star crimp, and clear crimp seal. You've probably picked up wads from this load while doing range work and found that the FCW is very different than a standard hard shot wad as it fully contains the shot upon exit and the fins slow the wad away from the shot column down range. The FCW in these loads is relatively thick and no shot should touch the inside of the bbl. The small size of the #7 pellets also allows the shot to flow much easier when constricted, unlike larger hard shot.

I personally would not worry about it damaging a fixed choke modern shotgun, but you will have to decide if you want to take the chance in your gun. Your only other option at turkey loads that give significant range with hard shot in fixed choke guns is to load your own. 18g/cc shot of size #9 in a low pressure load comes to mind. The extra protection available as components as well as the use of proper buffer will make the loads much more easy on the bore of your gun. Not to mention the smaller volume of the shot colum itself.

loder

I save my SXS shotguns for civilized bird hunting and stick to modern repeaters for the heavy stuff such as waterfowl and turkey.

Reloader7Rm and cra1948, I think I'm ditching the idea of using these shot shells in my SxS in spite of the obvious superior patterning relative to more traditional lead loads and the lack of any warnings. It's just not worth worrying about a bulged barrel or a sprung rib.

Interestingly, with the first round I fired, I saw an oblong 3" hole appear in the target at thirty yards. The wad never slowed up and pulled free. It acted like a very long slug though obviously was tumbling.

These things are 12ga-like in payload and velocity--a great load in a 20 pump or autoloader.

Good idea. We tend to have many fewer problems and much less damage to firearms when we don't try to push the performance envelope of a particular style/design/intent.