How Do I Know if My Shotgun Can Shoot Steel Shot

Let us know if you take whatsoever questions, such as will my gun shoot steel – we accept the experts to respond them

Your dirt shooting experts

Richard Atkins: Clay Shooting'south resident technical adept, Richard has decades of experience reviewing guns, cartridges and accessories. He's well equipped to solve problems on everything from shot sizes to stock dimensions.

Becky McKenzie: One of our top lady Sporting shots and the current English Open Compak Ladies Champion, Becky is a clay shooting motorbus. She writes well-nigh guns, kit and technique for Sporting clays.

Will my gun shoot steel?

The fleur de lys marking indicates that the gun has been proofed for 'superior' steel loads

Q: I own a Sporting O/U which I bought for clays; it has multichokes and 28-inch barrels. It doubles up quite nicely for the odd session of dove shooting with a pal when fourth dimension permits. With the announcement that nosotros are all supposed to be transitioning to non-lead shot for live quarry shooting, I am a bit worried about shooting steel shot through the gun. I'm wondering now whether I volition demand to buy another gun in lodge to carry on shooting both clays and live quarry. Tin you aid?

Stuart Farr says: Yous don't say how onetime your gun is but, by and large, well-nigh modern guns are proofed to fire 'superior' steel shot cartridges and then in that location shouldn't exist an consequence.

Since your gun has multichokes, you will exist able to select the about suitable chokes for the chore – you will probably find that you need to use slightly more than open up chokes when shooting steel to achieve similar patterns to what you're used to with lead shot at equivalent ranges.

Older guns may have been nitro-proofed but non accept the proof marks for steel – wait for the word 'steel' and the fleur de lys mark alongside the other proof marks on the barrels. If your gun isn't proofed for steel, you should still be able to use 'standard' steel loads.

As a guide, guns which are proved to 'nitro' (930 bar) will be safety to handle standard steel loads. To shoot 'superior' steel loads, your gun needs to be proofed to at least ane,320 bar.

Either way, you should be able to carry on using your gun for both clays and pigeons, with the right ammunition. Equally more people switch, a variety of steel loads will become more widely available.

If yous're in whatever doubt, take your gun to a reputable gunsmith or gun shop and ask their advice. They will cheque the proof marks and tell you what loads you tin can safely shoot.

Communication on loopers delight

Becky uses a clock confront organisation to explicate how to shoot a looper

Q: I struggle with loopers, and wondered if you could offering any advice on the best method to approach them.

Becky Mckenzie: Whenever I'm coaching a client on loopers, I adopt to utilise a 'clock face up' method in gild to help the shooter visualise where they need to be. Imagine the clay looping effectually the outside of the clock face, with the peak of its arc equally being the 12 o'clock point.

Don't follow the clay along its curve. Instead, accept a point on its upward path as your agree point, nigh ten o'clock. As the target comes, swing in a straight line across to ii o'clock.

The precise hold bespeak and kill point will depend on the speed and angle of the target, but I definitely recommend this method rather than trying to follow the dirt around its curve.

Which choke to use?

These two patterns show the difference choke tin make – both shot at 20 yards, one with a Skeet asphyxiate, the other with full choke. At this range the more open choke would be the sensible choice

Q: I have been shooting a couple of years now, after originally having a few lessons with a friend at a clay society. I hear talk of using different chokes from various other shooters and, although my gun is fitted with interchangeable chokes, I don't really change them much. Of course like all of us I've been unable to become shooting recently, just whilst stuck at habitation I have been reading up on chokes and patterns. I understand the full general idea that chokes affect patterns, simply I am no nearer knowing when to use which asphyxiate. Is there a uncomplicated way to work out which chokes I should use?

Richard Atkins says: The bailiwick of chokes and patterns is probably the most intriguing and frequently misunderstood aspect of shotgun shooting. The debate has been running since asphyxiate boring was invented, then I don't await it to end any time shortly! The answer to your question is easy: No, there is no simple, single correct answer that covers all situations – but that's not very helpful!

At that place are some simple guidelines that volition help you lot go started. Once you lot understand the basic principles, you can build from in that location with applied feel, which in turn will give y'all greater confidence in making the right choices.

The key thing is not to go too bogged down with thinking near chokes. Overthinking information technology will but distract you from the important aspects of your shooting technique, and cause more bug than information technology solves.

Unabridged books accept been written about patterns, chokes and cartridges, and the subject is as well big to cover fully hither. However a few fundamental principles volition give yous a good starting betoken:

Information technology'southward pellets that break targets, not chokes
Fairly dumbo patterns ensure enough pellets in pattern to consistently break targets
Choke helps produce a sufficiently dense pattern at a required distance
Select the choke that provides adequate design density for the target's distance
Too much choke at short target distances gives overly tight patterns with spectacular breaks but reduces room for aiming fault.
Too little choke at long range tin can mean that some targets will skid through patterns unscathed
Premium grade cartridges will tighten patterns and break longer targets merely are not essential for the majority of shorter to mid-range targets
Some time spent testing cartridges and chokes, at various distances, on a pattern plate will testify enlightening and help you empathise what is going on

To proceed things elementary, open up chokes (like Skeet and Improved Cylinder) are adept for closer range targets – Skeet is practiced to around 25 to xxx yards; quarter asphyxiate takes you some other five yards and half will comfortably take you to xl yards, with quality ammunition and full size clays.

Today, with meridian form cartridges, y'all are unlikely to demand three-quarter choke and higher up on a typical Sporting layout. When you lot practice run across a midi target a long fashion off and quartering away then that's the fourth dimension to think near going tighter.

But such targets are the exception and can be difficult to read anyway: concentrate on the target and its flight! Concentrate peculiarly on making life easier for yourself on the vast majority of Sporting stands you will encounter; the tougher ones will get easier equally your shooting technique improves.

Great britain No.8 shot (Italian 8.v) will break the majority of targets upward to 40 yards too (equally I take recently had chance to confirm once more). Get up to seven.5 shot for longer targets. All that remains is for you to put your patterns in the correct identify! I promise this brief synopsis helps – bask your clays when you lot can go dorsum to it!

Contact lenses not cutting information technology

Prescription shooting glasses tin exist a better solution than contact lenses

Q: I use monthly contact lenses and have found my vision gets less precipitous equally the month goes on. I also seem to see ameliorate in my glasses than my contact lenses, merely the frame gets in the way of my vision when I mount the gun. All in all, neither my contact lenses nor my glasses are really ideal for shooting, and I wondered what y'all could suggest. I'g using Purevision contact lenses, with a prescription of -2.00 in both optics, and I've been told I have astigmatism too.

Ed Lyons: Pure vision is quite an former lens design, and being a monthly disposable may also suffer from poly peptide and lipid deposits as the calendar month goes on, not to mention general handling wear and tear. There is likewise an enhanced take chances of infection with this type of lens which is why the vast majority of my patients are using daily disposables now.

The astigmatism is interesting – your current lenses exercise not correct this at all, which is why your glasses give yous sharper focus. In that location are daily lenses for astigmatism simply the fitting of these is very important – if the lens rotates on the middle, which is a common problem, then the vision in that eye may blur.

All in all, you lot may find that a pair of prescription shooting spectacles is a better pick, equally every aspect of the prescription tin exist corrected. Daily contact lenses will be a more cost-effective option, however, so yous may want to effort that route first.

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