HTL in fixed full

[FLINT]

Hi all,

I'm sure this must have been addressed, but I did a search and didn't find anything that directly addressed it.

Is it safe and/or advised to shoot HTL in a fixed full choke barrel - say from a gun made in the 80s - so not that old. 

Specifically, I'm thinking about the federal heavyweight flight control.  Trying to get better patterns from the fixed full than I'm getting with the lead. 

Thanks for any help!

[Skeeterbait]

That is exactly the intent of the flight control wad.

[allaboutshooting]

Hi all,

I'm sure this must have been addressed, but I did a search and didn't find anything that directly addressed it.

Is it safe and/or advised to shoot HTL in a fixed full choke barrel - say from a gun made in the 80s - so not that old. 

Specifically, I'm thinking about the federal heavyweight flight control.  Trying to get better patterns from the fixed full than I'm getting with the lead. 

Thanks for any help!

I don't know what kind of gun you're shooting or what the barrel length is but generally, a full choke is about .690 e.d. Although not a lot of work is being done with the Federal Flitecontrol Wad shells these days, a lot has been done in the past.

We've learned a lot about what allows the wad to work and what will allow you to produce good patterns. That's not always the same thing, again as we've learned.

If I were going to try some HTL from a factory full choked bore, I'd go with Hevi-13 shells.That's a simple, straight forward wad and those shells are very consistent in performance. I think you'd see a  marked improvement over lead with them.

I suspect that part of your question was about possible harm to your barrel if you use HTL shot. Manufacturers have gone to great lengths to produce wads that, for the most part, shield the bore from the shot which in many cases, is harder than the steel used in barrels, especially older ones.

For the most part, those wads work and very little if any shot touches the bore, until it reaches the choke and the wad is separated from the shot charge. The choke slows  the wad and the shot goes before it to the target.

Some shot can escape any wad, for one reason or another and some streaking of the bore can happen. Normally, that's just cosmetic and causes no real harm.

Lastly, whatever shell you plan to use but especially if you plan to use the Flitecontrol Wad shells, I'd start with a very clean, "deep cleaned", bore. Sometimes that shell will do just fine with a clean bore and sometimes it likes one that is slightly fouled but my experience with that shell/wad is that more often than not, it works better in very clean bores.

Thanks,
Clark

[Longshanks]

Yup, I have been thinking about sending some HTL down the barrels of my Browning Citori, Fed HW Flight Control 7's, but I have yet to do it out of the chance of damaging the barrel. I have a fixed .685 full and .705 mod.  Been trying to get an affirmation that its ok to shoot the FC 7's. A little nervous about doing it..sure would like to hear some results in terms of patterns and possible damage to gun.

[FLINT]

Thanks Clark, that's some good info.

The gun is a 10ga Stevens 9478 with 36" barrel with fixed full choke, which is about .740.

And yes, the primary concern would be I guess destroying the barrel, although the gun has no real value, so I'm not sure why I'm so concerned. 

If it was a 12ga, I would try the long beard ammo, but there are significantly fewer choices for the big 10.

My only other shotgun is a 12ga slug gun that I was going to get threaded for choke tubes, but was just told today that this was not possible because the barrel is not remove able, so I'm back to the 10.

[surehuntsalot]

I been shooting steel 2's and 4's through a .690 fixed full choke for several years,hasn't hurt it one bit.
Still throws a great pattern with lead 6's,5's, and 4's also.

[crow]

I talked to Federal yesterday, they said it was fine to shoot the hwt flight control wad out of a savage 20 ga. full choke from the 1970's

[allaboutshooting]

The gun is a 10ga Stevens 9478 with 36" barrel with fixed full choke, which is about .740.

I don't know much about those guns and have never seen the 10 gauge 9478 model. Older shotguns did not have barrels that were made to stand up to steel or tungsten-based shot. I don't know when Savage/Stevens would have changed to harder, more durable steel barrels. I have seen the fixed chokes on some older shotguns open up from using the harder shot but I've personally never seen one burst or fail in some other way.

The Flitecontrol Wad used with the larger gauges of Heavyweight shot is much harder/thicker than the one used in their lead loads.

If I were going to try those shells, and assuming that your gun is in excellent condition, very tight and solid, I'd "deep clean" the bore and fire one shell, then check it thoroughly.

Thanks,
Clark

[FLINT]

Thanks guys!

I'll give it a shot and see what happens.

[FLINT]

Should I try the 6s or 7s?

[allaboutshooting]

Should I try the 6s or 7s?

I would go with the #7 shot.

Thanks,
Clark