Can a Winchester Model 50 full choke be used with steel shot?

Answer 1

"Can a Winchester Model 50 full choke be used with steel shot?" I have a Winchester Model 50, 28in steel barrel, 2 3/4 in chamber and full choke. I also shoot the Remington 1100 with an Improved Cylinder. Generally you do not want to shoot "steel" shot out of a full choke unless the gun was designed for that, which the Model 50 I don't believe was. The reason being, steel does not compress like lead and the uncompressed steel can cause stress on the barrel when the shot tries the cram through the full choke, it causes more restriction and the barrel can crack or even blow apart. I have used 2 3/4in #4 steel shot in my Model 50 and have not seen any streaks on the interior of the barrel, no obstructions and no barrel stress. I have put a lot of shells through it too. I the #4 seems like it has more room to move then a #2 shot so I am sticking with that. My Remington 1100 however is made for steel shot, has an Improved Cylinder and has actually shown signs of barrel obstructions using 2 3/4 #2 steel shot. So the table has totally flipped on me. The full choke is doing great with steel shot and the IC almost blew on me. Maybe the steel grade barrel on my Model 50 is making the difference, I don't know, but it looks great still, looks a lot better than my 1100. I am thinking of selling the 1100 and buying the Nova Pump from Benelli, I hear great things about that gun but have never duck hunted with a pump. I hope this helps a little.