ALTERNATIVE CHOKES

[point and shoot]

I have a Benelli M2. I am very happy with it but sometimes feel that when decoying I often get birds at a very close range so tend to use very open chokes but then on the longer shots I wonder if we are too open and sometimes don't get a clean kill as a result! I've seen chokes such as Pattern Master and Wad Wizard and so on, which claim to give good patterns at short range by delaying the wad leaving the barrel and thus preventing it pushing through the pattern. Has anyone tried these? Do they work? Any recommendations?

Les

[kent]

One thing the patten plate teaches is the interaction between gun, cartridge and choke can be astonishing. As for will these chokes help it depends on the interaction between the other two.

Might i suggest you try you normal and a few different shells on the plate at differing ranges. You don't nesassarilly visit a shooting school to do this perhaps you could do it with some hardboard targets at your permision.

When i first did this i could not belive that some shells of different brands threw way differing patterns interacting with the selected chokes differently. One brand in particular seemed to shoot tighter patterns on improved choke than the others shot on full and putting tighter chokes in did practically nothing further i could see with them. Certain shells i now would not entertain through my own gun the patterns were realy that bad

[point and shoot]

Thanks for that Kent. What you say is very true, however it doesn't answer my question. Has anybody any experience with 'specialist chokes' like Pattern Master or Wad Wizzard or any other which claim consistent spread patterns etc.

Les

[Catweazle]

You can get very wide backing wallpaper that is useful for testing patterns, or get some A3 paper and tape a few sheets together. I have hung up a piece of old flooring vinyl which I clip the paper to, to stop it flapping about.

 

It's difficult to imagine how one shotgun can produce a different pattern quality to another, but they do, I've seen a Baikal O/U produce a gappy pattern ( the owner was surprised because he'd been doing well with it, but he is an exceptional shot ). My 101 12g produces very different patterns with different cartridges too, although generally pretty even some are a lot tighter than others.

[John_R]

For what you describe the chokes that came with your gun are fine. If those specialist chokes you mention were worth having we would all have them already!

 

The only thing I would have wanted to try is a variable choke, that way you can twist the collar and change choke in an instant. I bought one for my M2 only to find the thread was wrong, as not all Benelli chokes are the same. I sold it to a happy Beretta owner.

[point and shoot]

I've heard that the Benelli chokes are very good. I have the Crio Plus in mine.

The specialist chokes I mention are American. I don't know if they are available in this country but they seem to be very popular over there. Perhaps they haven't got over here yet!

Anybody else have any observations please?

Les

[fortune82]

I would save your pennies. My mate brought back a choke from the US that was meant to be all singing all dancing. It does exactly the same job as the standard Browning Invector he already had but cost about £40.

 

The choke doesnt push through the pattern, fibre or plastic. It has much more air resistance than shot so slows down much more rapidly.

 

I find with 1/4 choke I can kill pigeons out to 45 yards cleanly. Pattern your gun and see what its like with different cartridges.

[Guest cookoff013]

those super chokes are mainly designed for nontoxic shot.... steel and hevishot.

 

they come out with wonderful names like the undertaker, wizard, compnchoke, muller.

 

some are for lead only some are for steel only.

 

for your decoying, stick half, or three quarters in and forget.

[John_R]

The Americans have a huge array of all sorts of aftermarket gizmos and gadgets on offer. Most of them are simply ways to part you from your money at little benefit to you.

 

As someone from an American background, I can tell you they delight in finding all sorts of things like that, it all "adds to the hobby" I suppose.

 

Crio chokes pattern very well indeed. I think quarter (IC) or half (M) would be fine for decoying. I use IC when in the hide, and tend to swap to M when flightlining but often as not I forget, and don't seem to suffer for it.

Edited March 19, 2011 by john_r

[sage 100]

Hi guys, can I have my ten pennies' worth please? After market chokes are similar to fishing tackle - designed to catch anglers more than fish. The principles of choke are a sooth progression of restriction to the barrel. The undoubted guru of this art is Nigel Teague, a former Rolls Royce engineer and a gunsmith which all in the gun trade herald as the master when it comes to after market chokes. As a point of interest, the cartridge manufacturers, when producing various cartridges, take into consideration the average choke being used with their cartridges, so consequently a skeet cartridge would be predominantly tested with a skeet gun and open chokes, ditto for a trap cartridge. A game cartridge they would make a stab at the chokes being used and, in my opinion, opt to do their testing around half choke, which is 20,000th of an inch muzzle restriction.

 

I have to say that if as much consideration was given to correct gun mounting and gun fit and to technique as in spent on worrying about what choke and what cartridge, I think a lot of guys would benefit and shoot considerably better. I wonder how many times you've seen this. At a sporting clay pigeon shoot a bunch of guys arrive at a stand, a quick glimpse at the targets. They hand their cards in and then debate as to what choke and what shot size, they disappear into their kit bag, much tutting, toing and froing, huge box of after market chokes and a decision is made. Their name is called and into the stand they go. Often a mediocre performance, I wonder why. Perhaps if they had spent as much time and effort looking at the target, finding out where it comes from, where they first see it and where their gun start point should be, where's the second bird in relation to the first, and so on. I think they would be surprised that their performance would increase regardless of what choke they were using or whether they selected 7.5 or 8's. Remember the golden rule of p's - perfect preparation prevents **** poor performance and you can't prepare while your head is in a kit bag fiddling with chokes and cartridges.

 

Regards

Sage / Dennis

[point and shoot]

Well, thanks chaps! Some very astute thoughts and observations there. It seems that I was thinking about the same as the rest of you. As Sage/Dennis remarks - good gun mount and execution of the shot will win regardless, to a great extent, of the choke and shot size. Thanks to all.

Les