Shotgun help please? Chokes, shot, ect... And a judgment call

[jeepster]

So, I just picked up a baikal side by side 20gauge with a 26.5 inch barrel today... great little gun for money. I was planning on a wetside pheasant hunt in the morning, but totally forgot about that lead shot ban.

Fortunatley I have a box of black cloud no.2 steelies Instead of no.5s in lead

But my chokes say "lead"

Just lead..... Not lead only, no steel, or anything like that...

Just lead...

 The ic can do steel I found out...
I'd be using a ic and modified choke....

Do you guys and gals think I could eek by a day pheasant hunting...?

I hear the penalty for lead shot is a 1000$ fine, your gun, and 2 years w/o hunting


Orrrr.... Should I just get out the acetone and take all the labels off the shells and put em in a steel box... Lol yeah right......

Thanks guys

[hillbilli]

from the EAA website..
2) Will my Baikal shotgun shoot steel shot?

All Baikal shotguns are steel shot rated. You must have the proper screw choke tubes for steel
shot. Call Customer Service at 321-639-4842.

the above question is in their customer Q&a on their website.. call them.. I would say you should be able to shoot steel in the IC choke with no problem, so for now- maybe just load one (IC) barrel? beats not getting to hunt, or risking a bad fine if you get caught with lead- but hey, call them, maybe order a steel mod choke..

[12Gauge]

You can use Accetone all you want, but if you get check by a GW and he has a magnet, you probably may get screwed.  AND they will cut a shell open just to check.  I have had this happen to me.  Your money, license & gun, your call.

[CP]

 The ic can do steel I found out...
 

So you have a single shot.  Go shoot some birds with it.  One shot is all you need.

[Stilly bay]

almost all the major after market choke manufacturers make chokes for Baikals, they might have em at cabelas but they can be spendy

some chokes are compatible with several brands. you could see if what baikal will work with and maybe drum something up a cabelas. with a little research you might find that a cheapo Rem choke for $20 might fit.

or what I would do is buy a box of soft non toxics and load your second barrel with that. that way you have it if you really need it but won't be burning through the spendy stuff quite as fast or at all depending on how well you shoot.

[thinkingman]

You can shoot steel out of Mod and IC.

[Stilly bay]

You can shoot steel out of Mod and IC.

Unless the choke is marked otherwise - which is the case with OP's situation.

You might be able to get away with it, but I wouldn't chance it. Anything could happen: from nothing, to having hopelessly stuck-bulged choke tubes, to having the end of your barrel grenade right in front of your face.

[jeepster]

Ugh.......

Yea yea....   

I know how this works, if I gotta ask, I already know the answer.....

I ordered an entire steel choke set from carlsons last night, unfortunately they don't have super rush delivery..... So ill be able to go hunting next week some time.....

Non toxic lead like shot would work, maybe somebody between home and mid whidbey has shells or tubes....

I want to use my new gun! I got new gun fever.......

[Bob33]

If you don't need to shoot many shells go buy some bismuth shot. It's more expensive than steel but won't harm an older barrel.

[jeepster]

If you don't need to shoot many shells go buy some bismuth shot. It's more expensive than steel but won't harm an older barrel.

28$ for a box of 10

[jeepster]

Gun: 600
Dog: too much
Shells: what the hell is another 30 bucks
Blowing a bird to bits because you accidently left the full choke in the gun, then having to chase down the dog to get the remains, and being that guy

Priceless

[Bob33]

If you don't need to shoot many shells go buy some bismuth shot. It's more expensive than steel but won't harm an older barrel.

28$ for a box of 10

Right. But less than $9 for three pheasants. Not bad as a stop gap until he gets new chokes.

[Stilly bay]

FYI regular Hevi shot is harder than steel so you want to stay away from that.

Hevi shot classic doubles is soft enough to shoot through your gun.
Bismuth, tungsten matrix, and nice shot are all safe too. good luck finding them locally.
Skagit arms in Mt vernon might be your best bet.

[jeepster]

FYI regular Hevi shot is harder than steel so you want to stay away from that.

Hevi shot classic doubles is soft enough to shoot through your gun.
Bismuth, tungsten matrix, and nice shot are all safe too. good luck finding them locally.
Skagit arms in Mt vernon might be your best bet.

Yes this is all true, classic doubles is what to get. Supprisingly enough the ace hardware in oak harbor had 2 boxes of 20 ga no6 shells.... I snatched them up and still got in 2 hours of hunting.....but no birds, not surprised tho, with a town the size of oak harbor 10 min from a release site......but I still had fun, and the dog behaved excellently and it was sunny.....can't ask for much more than that.....