colin lad Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 i know this has been done before and most topics i have read about it are asking what chokes for general shooting, well i have settled on 1/4 and 1/2 for my 12g o/u for most of my shooting ie clays and pigeons, what i would like to know is what chokes you guys use for larger loads as i have picked up some bigger carts for longer range rabbits by that i mean 50ish yards what i got are some 40g 4s and for mr fox i got some 50g 0s and also a box of ssg 3 inch they didnt have a weight but they are heavy, before anyone jumps on this and says not to shoot fox at 50 yards i wouldnt that is for rabbits mr fox can have his share of ssg up close. should i stick with chokes i have or put a tighter one in on one of the barrels?? any help would be great colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon123 Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 well i use 42g cart's and use 3/4 inch and 1/2 inch for foxing and are easy to hit charlies and rabbits with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Essex Hunter Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 i know this has been done before and most topics i have read about it are asking what chokes for general shooting, well i have settled on 1/4 and 1/2 for my 12g o/u for most of my shooting ie clays and pigeons, what i would like to know is what chokes you guys use for larger loads as i have picked up some bigger carts for longer range rabbits by that i mean 50ish yards what i got are some 40g 4s and for mr fox i got some 50g 0s and also a box of ssg 3 inch they didnt have a weight but they are heavy, before anyone jumps on this and says not to shoot fox at 50 yards i wouldnt that is for rabbits mr fox can have his share of ssg up close. should i stick with chokes i have or put a tighter one in on one of the barrels?? any help would be great colin Hi Colin, When shoot at something on the ground, a good part of your shot will be above or below what you are shooting at. A simple pattern test will show you what and where you need to be with your chokes. Rabbits are quite tough and at 50 yards with quite an open choke, you might well hit it, but no stop it and wounding it is not what we set out to do. Is a rabbit worth the cost of a 40gram + shell? Do the test on something the size of a rabbit and see how many pellets really are where you hope they would be! Good luck TEH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Boy, where do we start ? Choke is one thing, shot size another. 50yd rabbits........ NO ! Use a rimfire rifle. Large "letter" shot, apart from BB, is not recommended for fox especially if you only have 50gm of them as pattern fails first. I could, however see it with 60+ gm 3-1/2" buffered loads, possibly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperfection Posted March 8, 2011 Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Just use whatever you're confident in using.Bigger shot like buckshot tends to pattern badly so if you're a reasonable shot then stick a tight choke in.Open chokes and large shot isnt really an option because you could probably drive a bus through the pellets at 50yds! Tight chokes by the way dont extend your range. I've shot foxes with 36grm BB's through 3/4 choke and it still holds a nice pattern upto around 40yds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin lad Posted March 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2011 Just use whatever you're confident in using.Bigger shot like buckshot tends to pattern badly so if you're a reasonable shot then stick a tight choke in.Open chokes and large shot isnt really an option because you could probably drive a bus through the pellets at 50yds! Tight chokes by the way dont extend your range. I've shot foxes with 36grm BB's through 3/4 choke and it still holds a nice pattern upto around 40yds. i wouldn't be shooting at fox at 50 yard they can have it up close, i do have one part of permission where i cant get much closer than 45-50 yards to them as i would have to walk out into the open i could use my rimmy as henry said but that would mean on the days i am wondering with the shottie i would have to take 2 guns colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 if i had to shoot foxes at longer distances, i`d be inclined to use those loads. i have infact shot rabbits with 36g #4 and #2s. i enjoyed connecting with them. for the ssg i`d be inclined to stick with cylinder, its buckshot designed for cyl chokes. as for the 4s, use whatever choke you want, there is no restriction, restriction. as long as it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clayman Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 (edited) Choke is a function - ie, a measurement of the output at a given range. The load size and pellet size is irrelevant. To be effective, it is suggested 6 pellets from a load need to intercept the target/quarry. A correctly regulated choke gives a 30" effective pellet distribution at a given range ( plenty of charts you can google). A rule of thumb ( but subject to pattern testing a gun / choke / cartridge / load combination ) is that an effective pattern is at around these ranges: Cy 25yds, 1/4 30yds; 1/2 35yds; 3/4 40yds; full 45-50yds. Few loads are effective much beyond 50yds with any choke combo. Another rule is: if in doubt, choke down. Too tight a choke only means a narrow pattern. It will be very effective with a denser than normal pattern, the only thing you need to be aware of is that the pattern circle is smaller and therefore you need to be more accurate. Too open a choke leaves pattern holes and may spray the target without breaking it, or only wound quarry, as the pellet count in any place in the pattern is too low. While the more open choke gives a wide pattern allowing for more error in forward allowance, there is a chance the target will just travel through the dissipated pattern with no result, or you will just wing or wound quarry. Edited March 10, 2011 by clayman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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