391 Posted February 5, 2003 Report Share Posted February 5, 2003 Theres a lot of talk about cartridge choice,but what chokes are people using. I personally use chokes at the tight end of the scale. I was originally an open choke shooter but found i was just not getting enough clean kills down range. These days I favour nothing less than half choke if its windy and full choke if its a still day. I feel far more confident with plenty of choke and feel its only right to despatch the birds in this way. When it comes to preparing the birds for the table its not often that a bird is not fit to eat,after all pigeon are only a fist size target and at ranges of 40 yards plus its hard to make a mess of a bird,but they do come down stone dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.223 Posted February 5, 2003 Report Share Posted February 5, 2003 Theres a lot of talk about cartridge choice,but what chokes are people using. I personally use chokes at the tight end of the scale. I was originally an open choke shooter but found i was just not getting enough clean kills down range. These days I favour nothing less than half choke if its windy and full choke if its a still day. I feel far more confident with plenty of choke and feel its only right to despatch the birds in this way. When it comes to preparing the birds for the table its not often that a bird is not fit to eat,after all pigeon are only a fist size target and at ranges of 40 yards plus its hard to make a mess of a bird,but they do come down stone dead. i always use half and three quarter when decoying but when it comes to roost shooting i use three quarter and full as they usuall come in very high and drop into the center of the woods. i have found these choke set ups work bests for me but it is really what suits you that counts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NGhost Posted February 5, 2003 Report Share Posted February 5, 2003 true or improved cylinder but 6.5 shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernyha Posted February 5, 2003 Report Share Posted February 5, 2003 1/4 choke in the auto most of the time always with Express 6. If the birds are not coming in too close,as often happens when using the rotary,will sometimes try the 1/2. No choice with the O/U as this is fixed at 1/4 and 3/4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted February 5, 2003 Report Share Posted February 5, 2003 1/4 and 1/2 for almost all of my shooting. I will use 1/2 and 3/4 on the rare occassions that I go fox shooting. I have probably shot more foxes "accidently", with 1/4 and 1/2, than when I have deliberately targetted them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billm Posted February 6, 2003 Report Share Posted February 6, 2003 1/4 & 1/2 for me, tried 3/4 did not seem much different to 1/2 at the distance I shoot at. b.m. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dead-eye-dick Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 I was going to start myown thread, but saw this one and decided to add to it. I normally put my decoys out at around 35-40 paces (35 yards??) after missing a couple of "easy shots" I thought maybe I had a problem so I decided to have a bang at one of my older decoys, (1/4 choke 30g 7). When I went to have a look it had only 2 holes in it, after 2 more goes i concluded that at 35" I could not bank on more than 3-4 hits on a stationary target. i had looked through some pigeon books/videos who all recommedned 1/4 or cylinder. I was thinking of stepping up to 1/2, has anyone tried a patten plate at 35-40", if so, is 3/4 too tight??? :X :X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranfield Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 dead-eye-****, so you proved that you couldn,t even hit a stationary target . Sorry young Chum, I couldn,t resist it. If you look at all the choke "threads", most people are using 1/4 and 1/2 with 30-32gm No6 shot for pigeons. Some swear by full choke, some by improved cylinder, you can take your choice. I suggest you get some A3 paper, put a cross in the middle, put it OFF the ground and try it at varying ranges. It might be worth trying your pigeon shooting chokes and cartridges at clays. I know its not the same thing,but it can help your confidence. (As long as you hit the clays. ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supergame Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 At 40 yards 3/4 choke is ideal for clean kills on pigeon. On down the line clayshoots the vast majority of targets are shot at this range and more. On this particular layout you are only shooting at a thin edge of the clay hence the tighter choke to gain consistent breaks. Watch Jim albones videos and listen to what chokes he uses, and see the results for yourself. I regulaly use 3/4 or even full choke for 40 yard pigeons and consider 1/4 choke not enough to get the clean kills the birds deserve. Half choke is ideal for birds arround 30-35 yards. Cylinder and quater are ideal at 25 -30 yards,but I wouldn't go beyond that range if you want consistent clean kills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dead-eye-dick Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 dead-eye-****, so you proved that you couldn,t even hit a stationary target . Sorry young Chum, I couldn,t resist it. Thanks "mate".. Maybe I should have seen that comeing - from you..... I did try the paper target trick, and put it at head height on one of the giant "paper mulch" piles in the fields, I only had 1/4 choke with me, and found the spread at this range was so wide an elephant could get through it, not that we get meny elephants in Kent anymore. :X :X i also tried my "pigeon gun/cartridge" clay shooting with Meandassy yesterday, with 1/4 choke I was able to hit one or two clays, meandassy said they were around 20". So I would think i'd need to be tighter for 30-40" but by how much I don't know. Going back to an earlyer thread I'm going to have to agree with Cranfield (I try to do this as infrequantly as possible, gives the old begger a big head) but at 40" something the size of a pigeon is very small, so I can't imagine seeing a bird on the move at 60-70 yards let alone shot it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NGhost Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 Speaking of hitting sitting birds.... I just cant do it; first shot gets them in the air; second knocks them down. I must be giving them lead :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.223 Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 NGhost i had that problem with shooting sitting birds and was told by a couple of people to aim at there feet and it does work i don't know why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dead-eye-dick Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 All shotguns shoot high, if you aim at it's feet the patten "runs up" the target - birds,rabbits etc. etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.223 Posted February 10, 2003 Report Share Posted February 10, 2003 i never new that Thanx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.Shuter Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 The only choker for a pigeon is pressure with thumb and forefinger on top of neck. Choke in your shot gun barrels - well, first pattern the gun to determine if it shoots to point of aim, it may require surgery, then consider chokings. Cylinder will do nicely, but learn to regulate your barrel chokings by using different cartridges, you will discover that one brand/shot size/weight will suffice for pigeon and most game. If you use the same gun for clay targets, simply change cartridges, weight/shot size, much easier than screwing around with small tubes!! Don't shoot 'till you can see the yellow of their eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supergame Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 I'm glad to here Mr P Shuter has a good technique on necking pigeons. He will certainly need it with his choice of choke. No offence meant Mr shuter, just a difference of opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NGhost Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 With no 7 shot and keeping the range down to 35 yards he could well, Archie Coats did ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigeon Pieman Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 Any gun and any choke will do for me! 10g = shoot 'em further away .410=shoot 'em very near!! Its all guess and try for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supergame Posted February 18, 2003 Report Share Posted February 18, 2003 I agree with what you say pieman and nghost. I just prefer the tight choke option. I think I mentioned in the first post that I did in the past use open choke guns. Nowadays I do find my results far better with tight chokes when it comes to clean kills. Cartridges have a lot to do with it. Todays loads are better than they were 10-15 years ago, at the moment we are spoiled for choice. One thing that put me off open chokes was when I shot a pigeon size target on paper at 30 yards and saw how few pellets hit the target, worst still was how many would of hit vital organs. I felt that cylinder just wouldn't be consistent when it came to bringing birds down dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pigeon Pieman Posted February 19, 2003 Report Share Posted February 19, 2003 I tend to agree with that Mr S. I remember asa youngster my father getting me to shoot at paper boards at various distances, then try to fit a cigarette box in the gaps. Although the thing will possibly stop with only one pellet in it, we should be aiming to kill in cleanly. The more pellets the more likely of instant death Cheery subject for early on a Wednesday!! :*) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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