Shooting steel shot through a turkey choke is generally not recommended. Turkey chokes are designed for lead shot loads which are softer and more malleable than steel shot. Forcing hard steel shot through an ultra-tight turkey choke can potentially cause dangerous choke failures.
Why Steel Shot Can Damage Turkey Chokes
There are a few key reasons why shooting steel through a turkey choke poses risks
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Turkey chokes are extremely tight constrictions – Most turkey chokes constrict down to .665 or 670 inches This leaves little room for error with hard steel shot.
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Steel shot does not compress like lead – Lead shot compresses and deforms as it passes through the choke. Steel’s hardness causes it to retain its shape, increasing pressure.
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Steel shotshells operate at higher velocities – Many steel waterfowl loads drive shot at 1400-1550 fps. Slow-moving lead turkey loads are 1100-1200 fps. The faster steel increases friction and pressure in the choke.
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Steel shot bridging – Steel pellets can sometimes “bridge” across the choke and transfer concentrated force to the barrel, especially with larger steel shot sizes.
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Steel shot work-hardens the choke – Repeated hammering of steel shot through a choke can deform the constriction, gradually opening up the pattern.
These factors make shooting steel through a tight turkey tube risky. The steel shot essentially acts like a bore-obstructing plug, creating excessive pressure spikes that can bulge or rupture turkey chokes and barrels.
Documented Turkey Choke Failures with Steel Shot
There are many reported instances of turkey chokes being damaged by steel shot loads:
- Stripped or bulged choke threads, rendering the choke useless
- Choke tubes blown completely out of barrels
- Bulged areas in barrels near the muzzle
- Widened/deformed constrictions leading to open turkey patterns
In one thread, a user reports replacing 20+ barrels after shooters ignorantly fired steel through turkey chokes, usually stripping the threads out completely.
Best Practices with Steel and Turkey Chokes
The safest practice is to only shoot lead or tungsten-based turkey loads like TSS or Hevi-Shot through turkey chokes. Never fire steel waterfowl loads through a turkey tube.
If you must use steel shot and want tighter patterns, stick with a modified choke or steel-rated full choke. Be aware that some steel shot Hulls may still produce pressure issues in very tight chokes. Also, keep velocities reasonable – no magnum steel loads.
Lastly, know your equipment. Some specialty turkey chokes like Kick’s Gobblin’ Thunder state they are safe for certain steel loads. But the typical lead-only turkey tube is a no-go with any steel shot. When in doubt, contact the choke manufacturer before firing steel.
The Difference Between Steel Shot and Tungsten-Based Loads
Tungsten and other alternative turkey loads do not pose the same risks as firing steel through turkey chokes. There are a few key differences:
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Smaller shot sizes – Tungsten turkey loads use very small shot, typically #7s, 8s or 9s. Smaller shot lowers pressure. Steel duck loads are larger shot.
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Lower velocities – Tungsten turkey loads push shot at 1100-1350 fps. Steel waterfowl can be 1400+ fps.
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Softer shot – Most tungsten is softer than steel and deforms more easily. This reduces friction pressure.
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Plastic wads – The oversized plastic wad in tungsten turkey loads helps prevent shot “bridging.”
Due to these differences, quality tungsten-matrix turkey loads are less likely to damage turkey chokes than improper steel loads. Still, shooters should use the recommended choke tubes and loads whenever possible.
Shooting steel shot through a lead turkey choke is extremely risky due to increased pressures and bridging. Documented instances of choke and barrel damage are common. For best results, only shoot recommended loads like lead, tungsten, or blended turkey shot through extra-full turkey chokes. Avoid firing steel waterfowl loads through turkey tubes to prevent safety hazards and equipment damage. Follow manufacturer guidelines and when in doubt, contact the company for clarification before shooting questionable loads.
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Consider these results when buying your next choke tube.
Whether it’s working on my calling, learning new e-scouting techniques to locate potential hunting ground, or reevaluating my kit and finding the best new gear available, I try to find ways to improve my turkey hunting skillset every off-season. This year, I decided to try out a variety of different choke tubes—an easily overlooked tool in the turkey hunter’s arsenal—to find out which one functioned the best. Let’s face it, that overpriced box of super-charged TSS won’t mean anything if the pellets aren’t patterning appropriately.
Whether you’re shooting the latest and greatest TSS load or an old classic 3-inch with lead #5s, you need those pellets flying in a lethal pattern. For this test, I took seven of the top chokes on the market and put them head-to-head against each other. The test: Three shots through each choke tube with three different loads (one shot from each). The test gun is my tried-and-true 12-gauge Benelli Super Nova that’s been with me across the country on many a turkey hunt. Winchester’s Longbeard XR #5, Federal’s Heavyweight TSS #9 and HEVI-SHOT HEVI-18 Turkey #9 seemed to be appropriate loads to test as they—or similar loads—are commonly used by many turkey hunters. Atop the shotgun sits a Delta Point Pro from Leupold that is sighted-in appropriately. Every shot was taken from a bench using a Caldwell Lead Sled to mitigate human error. My goal was to see which would put the most pellets on a 10×10-inch paper target at 40 yards.
The author used his 12-gauge Benelli Super Nova topped with Leupolds Delta Point Pro red dot to perform this test
First up, the Trulock Pinhoti .650 nonported choke. With the Longbeard XR, the .650 put 123 pellets on target, 189 pellets from the HEVI-18 landed on paper and the Federal load had an astonishing 335 hits. This comes up to a total of 647 pellets. With the Federal TSS, the pattern was very evenly dispersed, whereas the majority of Longbeard XR pattern hugged the right edge of the target, and coincidently the Hevi-Shot did the opposite and had the majority of it’s pattern on the left. This illustrates how important it is to re-sight in your turkey gun when switching between loads.
Next up is the JEBS Head Hunter .660 constriction. This choke put 693 total pellets on paper across the three loads. This choke landed 149, 257 and 287 with the Winchester, Heavyweight TSS and HEVI-SHOT respectively. Though it didn’t come out on top for most pellets, I’ll give it kudos for sending each round downrange with a well-dispersed pattern. I’ve been impressed with JEBS over the years and have killed quite a few birds using their chokes. Advertisement
The Carlson’s Heavyweight TSS .640 constriction was the tightest choke used in this test, but tighter doesn’t mean it’ll always perform the better. As its name implies, it is optimized for the Federal load. With the Longbeard XR it put 122 pellets on paper, though a good portion of the pattern was on the lower right-hand side of the target. The HEVI-18 didn’t perform much better with only 158 pellets recorded and similar pattern density. Regardless of those other two shots, it put a total of 699 pellets on target with an impressive 419 coming from the Heavyweight TSS. The pattern was extremely tight to the center of the target, and I was very impressed with its performance.
Trulock offers multiple constrictions with both ported or nonported options. Naturally, I gave each the opportunity to prove themselves. For the Trulock Pinhoti .660 ported choke, it put 785 pellets on target. The overall patterning was much more even during this round. The Longbeard XR shot 165 pellets, the HEVI put 295 in there and the Federal ended up with 325 pellets. All of these numbers were drastic improvements from the aforementioned Pinhoti choke.
Now we’re getting into the “nitty gritty” and the top three performing chokes of this test. Primos’ TSS Jellyhead put an impressive 810 pellets on paper. Nearly 20 years ago, I bought an original Jellyhead choke, and it always seemed to shoot Longbeard XR like a dream. For this test, it only put 154 pellets out of the Longbeard XR on paper. The HEVI-SHOT had 287 pellets hitting the target. The Federal Heavyweight TSS topped it out with 369 hits downrange. Advertisement
Beating out the Primos choke by a thin margin was the Kicks Gobblin’ Thunder .660 which had 835 pellets connect. The Winchester load produced 184 hits, the Federal landed 250, and the HEVI-18 put 401 pellets on paper. The Longbeard XR did want to hold the right edge of the paper, but overall performed well. I also noticed a bit of a reduction in recoil/muzzle jump when shooting it.
The top spot might surprise you, and to be honest, the overall numbers blew me away as well. The Carlson Longbeard XR was the top performer, beating out the closest competitor by a landslide of nearly 150 pellets. The Longbeard XR put 984 pellets on target at 40 yards. As its name suggest, this choke was built for shooting Winchester’s Longbeard XR and it put 168 pellets on paper with that specific load. But what impressed me most was how well it shot both TSS loads. With the Federal Heavyweight TSS it put 383 pellets on paper, with a good majority being on the right half of it. Finally, the HEVI-18 connected with a crazy number of 433 hits. The Carlson Longbeard XR is the clear-cut winner of this choke tube test.
So, there you have it, seven choke tubes with three shots a piece from different loads, and the results do not lie. I performed this test to find the best plug-and-play choke for the average turkey hunter. Let’s be honest, each of these chokes would easily kill a gobbler standing at 40 yards, but a well-dispersed pattern helps leave room for error. Now, I will recommend that no matter what choke you have, to at least do your own pattern test before going afield. If you do have a red dot on your turkey gun, adjust it accordingly. If you are looking for a new choke tube to help tighten up your shots this coming season, give one of these a try. Each one of these can help make that moment of truth a breeze when you’re staring down the barrel at a strutter this season.
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Can you shoot steel shot at full choke? – GunTech 100
FAQ
Can I use steel shot with a turkey choke?
Never shoot steel shot larger than #4 through any turkey choke. Lead, Copper, Nickel, Bismuth, and Hevi-Shot can be used in any Carlson’s Extended Turkey choke.
Is it okay to shoot steel shot through a full choke?
- Barrel damage: Steel doesn’t compress, so it can damage the barrel and choke as it passes through a full choke.
- Pattern: Full chokes pattern too tightly, which can result in a “blown” pattern.
- Older barrels: Steel shot is not recommended for older barrels with fixed chokes.
What size shot can you shoot through a turkey choke?
5 or No. 6. Sure, there are some off brands with off-sizes, such as No. 7s or duplex loads with a mix of 4s and 6s, but generally we are talking about one of those first three when it comes to buying turkey loads.
What can I shoot out of a turkey choke?
Hunters favor this choke for shooting doves, ducks, or geese with a steel shot – and it is pretty effective on turkeys (provided you can get them in close enough). You can also opt for an improved modified choke, which is slightly tighter than modified and allows for a reasonably quick spread.