what ammo should i use?

[DarrenK]

Hello,

I recently purchased a Winchester Churchill shotgun in 12ga.

The gun is marked for 3" magnum shells, is it ok to fire 2 3/4" shells?

Theres no manual with the gun so I'm unsure if the gun is best used with steel or lead shot?

I am using the gun mainly for trap and skeet shooting. What ammo would you recommend?

Thanks for your input.

[GundamCL]

You should be able to fire 2 3/4" inch shells and for clay shooting, use lead shot 7 1/2 shot or 8 shot birdshot that you can pick up at Walmart. The steel shot is generally used for hunting waterfowl.

[BigDogatPlay]

2.75 inch 7, 7.5 or 8, lead shot will all work well on various clay games. There are some facilities (Richmond R&GC comes to mind) that are steel shot only. The WalMart bargain ammo will usually work okay, but be sure and pattern test your gun with whatever shells you plan to go with.

The Estate brand game loads that you can buy by the case from a number of different online vendors also works well and is reasonably priced.

[audiopro74]

Big do pretty much hit it on the head. I personally am not familliar with that exact Win model, and am to lazy to search, But I know that my older browning is forbidden to ingest steel. Swells the end of the barell. Also if you dont mind spending a little more on shells you can look for 2 1/2 or 2 3/4 dr.eq. (dram equivelant) loads wich have slightly less powder and tend to kick a little less.