Buckshot in a full choke shotgun

Hey guys and gals, I have a remington 870 wingmaster it has a 30 inch barrel in full choke. I have debated,
this with several old timers,and now come to the experts. The old timers say shooting buckshot in a full choke barrel will ruin it. And that it will not pattern as tight afterwards. Is this true? What say you? And have any of you ever done this.? Thanks.....

Think of the choke as a funnel. Small media will pour through it with out a problem,but larger media will tend to be too restricted and get hung up. Now imagine that going on at around 1200fps...



I agree with the old timers on this one.

i personally wouldn't use anything tighter then Modified with buckshot or slugs.

Shotgun Choke Yardage Shotgun Choke Restriction
Cylinder < 20 0
Skeet 22.5 .005 of an inch
Improved Cylinder 25 .010
Light Modified 30 .015
Modified 32.5 .020
Improved Modified 35 .025
Light Full 37.5 .030
Full 40 or More .035
Extra Full 40 or More .040

Thanks guys, I had been using my 870 in modified with good results , and have downed several deer. I will stick with it.Thanks again.

is it ok to shoot slugs thru a mod choke tube ? my shotgun has a tube system nerver ran a slug thru it ,but i have some. not to sure how slugs and tubes would work.

Depents on the slug type you would like to shoot. Forster type slugs should work ok but I would never do that with massive slugs like the Lyman Sabot slug or something else. The slug must be able to deform.

When I have shot slugs through my 1300 Winchester pump I have always used the modified choke and it shoots great.........kicks my azz but shoots very accurately.

+1 on the old timers they are right about buckshot, although I have shot it through a full choke because I forgot to change it, but don't make a habit of it. You will eventually get bulging near the muzzle and while pressures may not be a problem, it will turn your full choke into a modified with lots of shooting. Same with other shot that may not just be buckshot but some of the new harder material they are using will do the same thing over time because it's not soft like lead which will squish when constricted, tungsten, ITX, Bismuth, steel, ect. will not squish because it's too hard.

Thanks guys . I knew I could count on you all to keep me honest.Since my
last posting on this subject, I purchased a improved cylinder for one of my 870,s Since my full choke 30 inch barreled wingmaster is excellant turkey
medicine,I want dare run any thing through it bigger than #4 Hopefully I can
still find this in lead shot. Otherwise I will be shopping for a reload set up.
Thanks again...

Mohunter wrote:When I have shot slugs through my 1300 Winchester pump I have always used the modified choke and it shoots great.........kicks my azz but shoots very accurately.

Same with other shot that may not just be buckshot but some of the new harder material they are using will do the same thing over time because it's not soft like lead which will squish when constricted, tungsten, ITX, Bismuth, steel, ect. will not squish because it's too hard.

I have never done it but my extra full turkey choke tubes for my 10 and 12 ga says to use only lead shot. So if they are telling me that must be something to it. My grandpa made it plane that i had better not ever shoot a slug trough his shotgun he must have thought there was something to it.

infantryjohn49 wrote:
Thanks guys . I knew I could count on you all to keep me honest.Since my
last posting on this subject, I purchased a improved cylinder for one of my 870,s Since my full choke 30 inch barreled wingmaster is excellant turkey
medicine,I want dare run any thing through it bigger than #4 Hopefully I can
still find this in lead shot. Otherwise I will be shopping for a reload set up.
Thanks again...

I shoot #2 shot through my xtra full turkey choke and haven't noticed any problems, but I don't shoot it all the time. Mostly #4's is what I use for turkey, the #2's are for coyote and I'm still on the same box that I bought 10 years ago. If I were to shoot many of those I would probably switch to a modified choke same as I use for slugs.