Wingmaster problem

[Booger]

Say,

I bought my kid a 20 ga. wingmaster to get him started but its a full choke barral. I've always been told not to shoot steel through a full choke, but a buddy says it ain't a problem. Problem is he thinks he knows everything and I don't trust his advice when it comes to things like this. Anybody know if I can buy a different barrel for that gun, or do I hav to go the choke tube route? I think its a 26" barrel, so there is room to cut it off some.

Booger

[Frank Ross]

Booger, If you want to stick with Remington, they have a solution, but it's almost what you would pay for another shotgun. They have two options, a 26" and a 28", both Vent Ribbed. They come with the RemChoke, with Full, Modified, and Improved Cylinder choke tubes. The price is $219, plus shipping. You could take the shotgun to a good gunsmith and have them install some choke tubes, but there is another option.

Steel is a problem with full choke barrels, especially the smaller gauges. I'd recommend that you consider using the new non-toxic shot options, like Bismuth. It has excellent down-range energy and will not harm your barrel. It's just like shooting lead, only better. They run a little more than other non-toxic shells, but with $219 you can cover a lot of difference.

[The Shizzle]

One of my huntin' buddies went and sold his Beretta and now has only his 20 gauge 870 with the same full choke barrel you described. He had some issues but found that bismuth loads work GREAT. It's almost perfect for ducks and I've seen him bag a few geese with it too.

If you feel like you must go with a new barrel, I'd ask what kind of condition is the gun? If it's really quite nice, I'd go for a new, fancy barrel. If it's a meat gun, try Ebay or your local gun shops for a used barrel in good condition.

[Booger]

Thanks for the input. Bismuth sounds like a great solution, at least short term anyway. In a year or two he will be ready for a 12 ga. and it won't be an issue. If he has to buy his own shells that should make him pay a little more attention to making each shot count and we'll both come out a winner.

Booger

[Lanyard Stretcher]

You could also try Kent's Impact Tungston Matrix. Safe for your full choke.

Mike

[Mark]

In my opinion, the short term solution is Bismuth. Tungsten matrix is also a good short term solution, but be careful here. There is an iron matrix and also a polymer matrix. The polymer matrix is OK to use.
The reason the full choke has the reputation as being no good for steel shot is two-fold. First, as steel shot passes through the barrel, there is movement in the steel barrel. Kind of like a snake swallowing an egg. When the steel shot hits the constriction of full choke, there is more movement in the barrel steel than what the engineers have anticipated. Depending on what alloy steel is in the barrel, there may be a work hardening of the steel in this area, causing it to become brittle and crack over time. Remington has a reputation for softer steel, (at least in the past) which allows owners to pretty much get away with using steel shot in a full choke. This is why your friend says it's OK, and in some cases he is correct. In these cases, there will be a ring developed in the barrel where the full choke starts, but this ring can be called cosmetic, as it isn't worth measuring.
This is also why you can't use steel shot in older double barrel guns. The barrels may only be .025 to .030 thick and soldered together. The flexing of the steel causes the soldered joint to work harden, become brittle, and break, causing the barrels to separate.
Second, full choke has the efect of being too much choke for steel shot. When we were kids, we all played with a garden hose. You could turn or squeeze the spray nozzle to get a fine stream of water out, but when you gave just a pinch or turn too far, the stream became distorted and didn't go as far. This is sort of what happens with steel shot in a full choke. Just too much constriction, and the patterns blow.
Bear in mind, you could also have a gunsmith ream your full choke out to modified. This would be less expensive than a new barrel. You would have to take the gun in and measure the wall thickness of the barrel to see if this is feasable.
Good luck.
Mark