Mr Rizzini Posted October 27, 2012 Report Share Posted October 27, 2012 I am pretty much a newbie to shotguns and chokes etc and would love someone or some peoples advice on what they are for and when to use them. skeet, half, quarter, three quarter, full When do I use what? I mostly shoot pigeons over decoys as well as crows, I also like to take the odd shot at the bird that up in the sky not showing any interest to the decoys, What do I use for those birds that I see when walking the hedgerows and that appear in the sky above me? Sorry for all the questions and hopefully I'll be a bit more knowledgable about chokes etc after this. My gun is a bettinsolli diamond, 30 inch barrels and multi choke. Cheers in advance, Ps, does barrel lenght have any affect on distance and pattern etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver pigeon 3 Posted October 27, 2012 Report Share Posted October 27, 2012 Put in 1/4 in the bottom and half in the top and leave it, get your shooting nice and consistent before you start worrying about choke. Personally i use 1/2 and 1/2 for most of my shooting as i feel that it gives the best kills and patterns at the range i shoot at, but everybody is different and will have different preferences. Most birds you will raise the gun to will be killable with a 1/4 and 1/2 combination. Get out there and get some shooting in, you will decide in time what choke/cartridge combination suits you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poontang Posted October 27, 2012 Report Share Posted October 27, 2012 As above 1/4 and 1/2 should cover most situations you'll come up against. Barrel length will make no difference to distance or pattern. Shot size and choke will determine those things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matone Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 Good advice from the guys above ! Stick to tha accepted `standard` chokes/cartridges and you can`t go wrong . 1/4 & 1/2 with 28-30g of no6 will kill everything at sensible ranges. Bigger cartridges only give you a very small gain in effective range but hurt you more both physically and financially......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 not all cartridges shoot the same through different chokes and guns. If you can test them for pattern with your chosen shells , no need to get fancy just a few sheets of card or similar and a 10" diameter visible aim point will do. The more open chokes like skeet are great for the shorter shots giving your effective best pattern or spread if you like at shorter ranges, downside is they soon loose you the shot dencity giving a higher proportion of pricked birds if used at longer range. Tighter chokes like 3/4 or full are ideal for high birds giving thier best dencity at longer ranges, downside is a very tight pattern at close range which can lead to more misses or smashed up game. A double mutichoke gun on 1/2 and 1/4 can effectively handle decoyed crow shooting and many other tasks very well like others have stated, opening it up to skeet and 1/4 might be usefull rabbit shooting in rushy fields and 3/4 and full for shooting your crows flighting back to roost as higher birds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utectok Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 Yep not sure I'd buy another mc gun 1/4 and 1/2. Sorted forget about it till you can shoot AA class Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sako751sg Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 Have 1/2 and 3/4 in the 525 and never change unless putting steel through it and seems to be just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshwarrior Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 Choke is measured by the pattern on a pattern plate. As a guide you can measure the difference between the bore a choked area but if the cartridge changes the pattern on the plate will change. My 682 shoots a perfect 1/4 pattern with the skeet tube and 30g supreme game. For most of us a good cartridge with a factory 1/4 and 1/2 will do most things well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Rizzini Posted October 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 cheers for the great replies guys, If I am to pattern both my gun/cartridges along with my fathers semi auto what should I be looking for on paper to know what is best combo etc with choke cartridge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welshwarrior Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 Try this http://www.melbournegunclub.com.au/chokes.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Rizzini Posted October 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 when shooting cartridges at paper what is the data im looking for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poontang Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 when shooting cartridges at paper what is the data im looking for? Here you go. This should give you an idea of what to be doing. http://www.wildfowlmag.com/tips_strategies_shotgun_062304.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cookoff013 Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 i use f/f for most shooting, i cant give a toss shooting at clays, it doesnt matter. i`ve a preference for small shot for clays and overly large shot for game. my sxs is even tighter... i only change to a different gun for steel, as its got 1/4 choke. cook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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