Non-toxic alternatives

[Gill-T]

After handling a new model Browning A-5 and thinking what a piece of junk, I walked over to the used gun side and bought a Belgian-made Browning A-5 with a date stamp from 1957.  I have always wanted an A-5 so I was stoked to find one in mint condition.  So here is the problem.....I am reading that I should not shoot steel shot thru the modified barrel.  The other problem....its 2 3/4" so finding non-toxic loads like hevi-shot are not easy to come by in that length shell.  Questions I have are which are a better brand Hevi-shot vs Kent Tungston matrix?  If I only shoot waterfowl 2 or 3 times a year, could I just shoot steel shot without worry about damage?

[WoodieBoater]

_{Congrats on the new browning. I felt the same way about the new a-5. I shot quite a bit of steel through my 1954 a-5 without any visible or measurable damage (I'm super paranoid about gun care and I measure my bores after every season)... but that's not to say that you should get into the habit of doing it. I always preferred to shoot Kent from that shotgun, but ill tell you a short story about why.}

 

_{I have another a-5, a 1964 Magnum 12 that USED to have a 32" aftermarket Hastings barrel with screw in chokes. Here's what happened. I bought a couple boxes of Hevi-Steel, the mid range steel shot made by HEVI-Shot. I went up north to hunt geese with my new box of shells and relatively new to me shotgun. A few birds came in, I pulled the trigger once and thought huh... i was pretty sure i had that bird dead to rights. Pulled the trigger again and heard a strange phwumpp. I had a look at my barrel and 2 inches from the end, right where the choke started there was a very large disturbing goose egg lump.}

 

_{Now i was pretty depressed and upset with myself thinking it was user error, i stuck my barrel in the mud or something right? I brought the barrel to pro-gun and had them cut it and rethread it for new tubes. Three weeks later i got a formal letter from HEVI-Shot stating they had a defective batch of wads (which i had purchased and shot). The wads were shattering on ignition, causing low pressure, in turn causing the shot package to get stuck somewhere in the barrel. The representative was more than happy to work with me as i wasn't missing an eye or a finger or anything. all she had to do was pay for barrel work.}

 

_{Now as you could understand, I was pretty peeved and have vowed not to shoot or purchase another HEVI-Shot product in my entire life. Call me stubborn, call it over-reacting, maybe i should take it easier on the folks at HEVI-Shot. But I'm sticking to it.}

 

_{I went to Kent and never looked back. I think Kent products are reasonably priced and they preform very well.}

 

_{So take that story for what its worth to you. You could shoot steel out of that old a-5 for the rest of your life and not have an issue, or you could have a freak (luckily not too damaging) accident like i did.}

Edited December 29, 2015 by WoodieBoater