shot question
 

My question is can you use alternative shot such as steel, tungsten, bismuth in older shotguns that were developed for the use with lead shot? Will it damage the barrel or the choke and is it safe?

All I know is that you should only use steel shot in a shotgun that has a choke that is "modified" or bigger...or a choke that is made for steel shot.

if it was not tested or rated for steel you should NOT use steel in it
you can find lots of articles on the internet that go into much detail why you shouldn't. You should also use the proper chokes that are made for steel what I mean by that is there are IC, Mod, Full ect... that are made for steel & others for lead I think the steel chokes will be marked with an S or will say Full steel, Mod steel ect... do a search for this Randy Wakeman steel shot was a good article