Brad93 Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 Hi all, what chokes would be the best for shooting pigeons, magpies rooks etc out to 40 yards? Currently the gun has Full and Modified chokes in it. I was wondering if i should change it to 1/4 and modified? Any advice would be appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tweedledee Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 quarter and half works well for me or half in a semi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitsinhedges Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 Try shooting at large pieces of cardboard at your maximum range with all chokes then see what you think suits best Or just put 1/4 and 1/2 in and be done with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekers Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 quarter and half works well for me or half in a semi. Try shooting at large pieces of cardboard at your maximum range with all chokes then see what you think suits best Or just put 1/4 and 1/2 in and be done with it I'd go along with that, but the fact is it doesn't matter what everyone else uses, it's what suits you best....and the cartridge has a lot to do with it as well!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad93 Posted July 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 What barrel should i have fire first, i.e. 1/2 in the top or 1/4 in the top? Cheers for the replies already Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyR Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 What barrel should i have fire first, i.e. 1/2 in the top or 1/4 in the top? Cheers for the replies already If you can select which barrel shoots first then it doesn't matter - you chose. Just shoot the closer stuff with 1/4. Generally fixed choke guns have the tighter choke in the top as traditionally we shoot driven game in the UK so you want to shoot the tighter one first, at the target furthest away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosd Posted July 11, 2010 Report Share Posted July 11, 2010 I can't remember where I read it but I read that you should always fire bottom barrel first on an O/U...... 1/4 on the bottom and 1/2 on top for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 I can't remember where I read it but I read that you should always fire bottom barrel first on an O/U...... 1/4 on the bottom and 1/2 on top for me Hi, Could well have been on here, as someone did say it. Rubbish of course; the idea of two different chokes is to give you a choice. Just select which ever one you think you need for any given target. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudpatten Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 In theory at least there is some sense in firing the bottom barrel first since the recoil is transmitted closer to the guns rotational axis and theoretically causes less muzzle flip than if the top barrel was fired first. I`ve said it before but choke was invented by the devil to mess with shooters heads. Depending on the make of your gun, you might be able to buy additional chokes quite cheaply. For pigeon decoying get yourself two improved cylinder chokes and watch your kill to cartridge ration improve considerably out to 35 yards. Like most people you will not be able to consistently hit birds at 40 yards so any drop off of "killing power" at longer ranges is purely academic. I may well be stoned as a heretic for saying this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dekers Posted July 12, 2010 Report Share Posted July 12, 2010 Most current shotgun O/U models with a barrel selector let go the bottom barrel as 1, so do most O/U regardless of any selector. I tend to choke the second barrel tighter than the first, commonly as the quarry/clay will be further away for the second shot. Works for me, trial and error to find out what works for you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 In theory at least there is some sense in firing the bottom barrel first since the recoil is transmitted closer to the guns rotational axis and theoretically causes less muzzle flip than if the top barrel was fired first. I`ve said it before but choke was invented by the devil to mess with shooters heads. Depending on the make of your gun, you might be able to buy additional chokes quite cheaply. For pigeon decoying get yourself two improved cylinder chokes and watch your kill to cartridge ration improve considerably out to 35 yards. Like most people you will not be able to consistently hit birds at 40 yards so any drop off of "killing power" at longer ranges is purely academic. I may well be stoned as a heretic for saying this. Apart from what Mudpatten says about IC which makes sense; if no one had invented choke, we'd now be quids in. As we're all shooting TC we could just switch to steel shot No 4s and carry on as usual with no reduction in effective range: No fuss, no bother. We wish! Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad93 Posted July 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 (edited) Hi all cheers for the replies. Ive switch over to a 1/2 and a 1/4 the 1/4 being in the top barrel with that barrel firing first. Would i be better to swap to the bottom barrel as someone has said about muzzle flip etc? EDIT: I took the gun out last night in this configuration and had 8/10 clays. the two i missed being the first two i shot at so considering this was my first time on the clays with this gun using a manual trap i would say not too bad Edited July 13, 2010 by Brad93 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 Hi all cheers for the replies. Ive switch over to a 1/2 and a 1/4 the 1/4 being in the top barrel with that barrel firing first. Would i be better to swap to the bottom barrel as someone has said about muzzle flip etc? EDIT: I took the gun out last night in this configuration and had 8/10 clays. the two i missed being the first two i shot at so considering this was my first time on the clays with this gun using a manual trap i would say not too bad Hi, Judging by the sound of it, you're just starting out. If so, my advice would be to keep it simple and don't get side tracked by complicated technicalities. Forget muzzle flip, it's something we live with. Personally, I would go to the "standard" choke configuration unless, of course, you're shooting driven game. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyR Posted July 13, 2010 Report Share Posted July 13, 2010 As a number of people have already remarked, until you are REALLY good shot I woudn't worry about it especially for clays. As an example on Sat I shot the 50 bird sporting with my mate, who is a class C CPSA shot. I was an average layout. I shot my semi with 1/2 choke and got 45 ex 50. My mate shot a Beretta o/u with Skeet and 1/4 and got 46. On the stand with the furthest targets including a 100ft tower he shot 10 ex 10 and me 8. It doesn't make a lot of difference. Stick with 1/4 and a 1/2 and find a cartridge which works for you. I use Hull Pro Fibre 7.5 or 8s in 28g. cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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