I need to be schooled

[mranum]

I guess I need some education from the forum/ panel of experts here.  I've been out of hunting for quite a while which was always fall hunting whether it was deer or small game.  Work schedules don't let me do that anymore and with the abundance of turkeys here figured I should think about trying a spring hunt here one of these years.

When I talk to locals around here every one has told me I need a 12ga at a minimum which I don't have.  I find this forum and find a bunch of you guys use 20's,which I have a couple of. Needless to say I was shocked.  Now, all I know about chokes are, full, modified, 3/4, or smooth bore.  Heres what I have, I have a Mossberg 500 with a 28" vented rib & modified choke and an old Montgomery Wards Western Field(Savage) hammerless single shot 26" with a full choke.

Would I need to pick up a different barrel for the Moss with interchangeable chokes?

[hookedspur]

No new barrel, all you need to invest in is either some 3" Fed HW 1.5 oz #7s with the choke you have, or purchase you a .570 or .555 Pure Gold or .555 or .560 Indian creek choke, and get you some 3" H-13 1 1/4 oz #7s, and you will be ready to get after those birds.

Right on the nail head

[mranum]

Thanks guys!

[redarrow]

If I read correctly you shotgun doesn't have a screw in type choke now. Is that right ?

[dawei]

If the gun(s) do not have choke tubes, thus having a fixed choke; I WOULD NOT use any of the HTL loads such as Hevi•Shot® RemingtonHD®, Federal® Heavyweight®, or Winchester® Xtended Range®. Limit your shooting for patterning and hunting to Pb only. OTOH, if your gun has choke tubes, then my all means try HTL loads.

[mranum]

Yes your right the guns I have do not have interchangeable choke tubes.  Thats why I was wondering about the need for a different barrel for the 500.  I wondered about the safety aspects of running high power turkey loads through a "modified" or "full choke" barrel.

[dawei]

Yes your right the guns I have do not have interchangeable choke tubes.  Thats why I was wondering about the need for a different barrel for the 500.  I wondered about the safety aspects of running high power turkey loads through a "modified" or "full choke" barrel.

The issue isn't about "High Power" Turkey loads, it's about the hardness of the shot. ANY LEAD (Pb) Turkey load will be fine. Steel and HTL/Tungsten loads MAY be OK in your MOD choked gun. If you shoot Steel or HTL/Tungsten loads through your FULL choke gun you will IRREPARABLY DAMAGE the choke and barrel after just a few rounds. I've seen this happen many times to folks who wouldn't heed this advice. Shoot, pattern, hunt with any 20ga LEAD Turkey load and you will be fine. My wife turkey hunts with a fixed choke (MOD) 20ga single shot, and, cleanly harvests turkeys out to 35yds with the Remington® Nitro-Turkey 3" 1¼oz #5 (NT20M5). I harvest turkeys with 20ga 3" Mag Winchester® Supreme® 1 5/16oz LEAD #4 (STH2034) with no problems out to 45yds.

If you have further questions just give me a call as I sent you my tel# in a PM. I will help you in any way I can.

I'm guessing that your Mossberg® pump has a 3" chamber. One question if I may ask, does your 20ga Savage® single shot have a 2¾" or 3" chamber?

[mranum]

Got the pm.

The Moss is the modified and the Savage SS is the full.  Actually I'm most likely going to end up with a sister to the Savage from my Dad's estate, that is modified as well.  All are chambered for 3".

[joeyc]

We have been shooting HTL through my son's Rossi 20 gauge with a fixed modified  choke with no problems. Manufacturer states safe for steel.

[surehuntsalot]

you can shoot all the HTL you want through the fixed choke
I've been shooting it through a fixed full choke Rem 1100 for 9 years

[R AJ]

Also you hav ethe option of using the H-13 loads designed for Classic Doubles as these are softer  shot. If you are just shooting a few turkey loads a year I would not worry about it.

[dawei]

Also you hav ethe option of using the H-13 loads designed for Classic Doubles as these are softer  shot. If you are just shooting a few turkey loads a year I would not worry about it.

Classic Doubles® are NOT Hevi13™ (13g/cc)! IIRC it is 9.6g/cc which is much closer to the specific weight  of steel. It certainly IS NOT Hevi•Shot® (12g/cc) or Hevi13™ (13g/cc). Don't take my word for it, check w/Environmetal® as I did.

[dawei]

That has got to be the biggest bunch of BS I have ever heard. How is shooting HTL through a fixed modified or full going to hurt your barrel, it is no different than shooting it out of a modified or full interchangeable choke, and plus, HTL is shot out of even tighter turkey chokes every day. All of the barrels are made of the same materials. Also HTL is shot out of fixed barrel guns for waterfowl hunting every season, with no ill effects. PLEASE EXPLAIN.

First because we disagree doe not mean what I said was BS. I will not shoot Steel (which is harder than Pb), or Hevi•Shot which is harder than Steel, through any fixed Full choke gun. The reason for this is that Steel and Tungsten/HTL loads ARE NOT malleable like Pb. Because of this bulging and damage occurs to the choke and it becomes misshapen or worse. I have seen two vintage SxS, one a Philadelphia Fox®, and the other a Ithaca® Flues have the barrels split because of using steel shot. Since current tungsten/HTL loads are even harder than steel; it makes no sense for me to use it in a fixed choke, especially a double gun. The effects of pressure are cumulative. While one shot, or the 10th shot e.g. may not damage a choke/barrel; the cumulative of numbers of shot will.

I choose to heed and follow gun/barrel manufacturer's recommendations concerning not using steel and HTL loads in vintage guns. Because you have thus far suffered no ill effects of using these loads in a fixed choke gun(s); doesn't mean you will be so lucky with continued use.

Our personal experiences are different, which means neither of us are wrong, or right.

What you shoot in your gun(s) is your business; just as what I choose not to shoot in mine is my business.

[joeyc]

The original post didn't have any mention of vintage guns and when dawei stated he has seen damage many times there was no mention of vintage guns. So have you actually seen damage many times or two times in vintage guns using steel.  Have you actually seen damage using Hevi-13 in the typical smaller shot sizes assciated with turkey hunting?  Just curious.

[dawei]

The original post didn't have any mention of vintage guns and when dawei stated he has seen damage many times there was no mention of vintage guns. So have you actually seen damage many times or two times in vintage guns using steel.  Have you actually seen damage using Hevi-13 in the typical smaller shot sizes assciated with turkey hunting?  Just curious.

Yes, I have on a 12ga H&R® 28" fixed FULL choke barrel using the original (12g/cc) Remington® Premier® Hevi•Shot®. The gun was my own! The choke was bulged/ringed and now patterns Pb somewhere between CYL and IMP CYL.