Winchester 1400 Skeet question RE: barrel change and shooting steel

[bigbossman]

I have a 1967 Winchester Skeet 12 gauge semi-auto gas gun. I came out of the Winchester custom house as part of a matched pair (the other gun being a 1200 Trap). these were awarded to my best friend's father in a state match, and subsequently gifted to me. It has great sentimental value.

I have been shooting this gun since the late 70's, and it is my favorite gun to shoot. When I go hunting it is my "go to" gun - it is extremely well balanced, easy to point, and effortless to shoot. It fits me very well, and when I have it in my hands I am a very confident shooter.

Now - with the lead-free nonsense looming, unless I can figure out a way to safely shoot steel through it, I will no longer be able to take it afield. So, I was thinking - can I buy a modern barrel for it with screw-in chokes and be happy? Can I even find a "steel rated" barrel for this gun?

Here's the critical question, though - as configured, it is chambered for 2-3/4 shells only. If I buy a modern barrel that will chamber 3" shells, will the action be too short to feed the shells from the magazine tube to the breech?

[Thefeeder]

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There is mixed bags of consensus regarding Steel Shot in old guns. The first is not to do it. The other is that modern Steel loads with their thick wads are GTO as long as you have an open choke barrel and don't shoot large shot sizes.
There are a lot of barrels with choke tubes on the net and Ebay for Steel Shot for >200.00

For the 3" issue I would give Winchester a ring...They may have used the same receiver for all their 1400 with just different barrels.

[bigbossman]

There is mixed bags of consensus regarding Steel Shot in old guns. The first is not to do it. The other is that modern Steel loads with their thick wads are GTO as long as you have an open choke barrel and don't shoot large shot sizes.
There are a lot of barrels with choke tubes on the net and Ebay for Steel Shot for >200.00

For the 3" issue I would give Winchester a ring...They may have used the same receiver for all their 1400 with just different barrels.

Since I posted, I've been doing some additional Googling.

I've yet to find a replacement barrel for the 1400 in anything other than 2-3/4" chambering, so that might be a show-stopper. Also, the Winchester 1400 was discontinued a long time ago, so modern barrels designed for steel might not be available.

Calling Winchester is a good idea. I just got off the phone with them, and they said the 1400 receiver was designed around the 2-2/4" shell, so no joy there. Additionally, they said that while I could shoot steel through this barrel, it might pit the bore. The gun has too much sentimental value to me to take that chance. They do not stock parts for this gun., and suggested Midwest Gun Works as a possibility.

I think I'm SOL with this idea.