<P>Since you are one of us, with limited money to spend on shells, steel shot is your most likely choice. However, use of steel shot can present problems in guns made before 1990, which are not rated for use with steel shot. The barrels tend to be made of softer and thinner metal than used in barrels rated for steel shot. Using steel shot can cause bulges to form just in front of the choke. This is more likely to occur in tighter chokes than in more open chokes. Usually, if it happens at all, it is just a cosmetic defect, with no effect on performance of the gun. However, although it is very, very uncommon, it could also result in catastrophic failure of the barrel at that point.</P> <P style="MARGIN: 0px">Personally, I wouldn't use steel shot any larger than #2 in the modified, but it should give you adequate performance within normal duck shooting ranges, up to about 35 yards, using the Kent 1500 fps. 1 1/16 oz. load. I would try some #3's and some #2's and see which pattern the best for you. </P>