Shotgun chokes

[Gil Martin]

I have too many shotguns and use fixed chokes, choke tubes and external chokes depending on the shotgun. My preference is for fixed chokes and then switch barrels if I want more or less choke on pumps and semi-autos. I have been able to find a number of excellent used pumps and semi-autos on the used gun racks. Some have full chokes and my local gunsmith opens them up to modified or improved cylinder. My local gunsmith just opened a full choke barrel to improved modified and I always wanted to have one of those. Just curious what you folks prefer regarding chokes. All the best...
Gil

[Shot Gunner]

Personally, I use modified for just about everything. I have used fixed choke guns before and find them to shoot better than ones with coke tubes, I think this slight difference is caused by the gradual constriction in the barrel instead of being forced though a choke in the last 2 inches of the barrel. However, this difference is very slight and I find myself using choke tubes more often than not soley because of availablity and ease of use.

[skeet]

Man Gil..what a question.. I mostly use both. but prefer screw ins for the most part. I usually use Briley chokes if I can find a bbl with 'em in it. Probably the best chokes you can find for the most part. Not too keen on gunsmith modified bbls. And I have had a few..quite a few. Even did some of my own years ago. Really hard to keep everything concentric unless they use a lathe...one of the more active choke changers back east was terrible. Specially when he did woodpecker(porting) work at the same time. He was makin a lot of money doing bbl work. I also like Cutts Compensators. I have 7 or 8 bbls with 'em on 'em. Mostly Winchester M-12s with factory cutts'. Hard to beat for shootin skeet...Loud in a duck blind but so is porting. Have found that unless it is a gun you really want and very cheap..no matter whether you send it out for screw chokes or have the gunsmith do it altering a bbl in any way makes a good deal..only fair at the end. I just bought a Standard weight 20 ga 1100 at the Cabela's in Billings. It was in exc condition and a first year gun with the original steel O riing. Full choke vent rib of course but I have extra bbls including 3 inch for it so at 325 it was a good buy. a very good one in fact. I also bought an 11-87 bbl at the last gun show..Light Contour 3 inch and I put it on an ol 2 3/4 inch 1100 I have. Changed the Bolt buffer but it shoots pretty good at Sporting. Paid the grand sum of 65 bucks for it but only had 2 chokes.

I happen to have a gunsmith altered Krieghoff bbl here that he screwed up so bad that it is unusable. Looks like it was a snake that swallowed some eggs and it was a San Remo grade bbl.

[Larryjk]

I have some shotguns with screw-in chokes and some without. I leave the Model 12s and 42s (Winchesters) factory and the same with old doubles (LC Smiths, etc). The Remington 3200 has Brileys, the BT-99 is still factory but may get Briley. A Miruko made Chas Daly 20ga O&U and a Wincester Model 50 have Trulock chokes. A Beretta 686 has Beretta Mobil chokes. They all seem to work fine.
Over pointing dogs, I have keep IC in the bottom and Mod on top. For retreivers, I keep Mod in the bottom and IM on top. If I have to use non-lead shot in the Model 50 I use a steel tube in Modified. In a Remington Model 870 (3 1/2 ") I use mod with steel, etc.
They all give good results the ways I use them.

[Adam Helmer]

Gil,

How much does your smith charge to OPEN up shotgun chokes? How long do you have to wait for the job to be completed?

Adam

[dovehunter]

Most of my guns are older ones that came with fixed chokes. I plan on leaving them that way. I do like the ability to change out the tubes on my newer guns that have them. However, like someone else said, I usually use the modified choke tubes most of the time. I do, however, switch over to special choke in my turkey gun during spring gobbler season. As to the difference between fixed and screw-chokes, I personally have not noticed a lot of difference.

[skeet]

Remembering back I have the recollection that Remington had a few bbls with non concentric screw chokes too. I even had a 11-87 that I whacked the choke off of and used for skeet shootin cause it didn't shoot where you were lookin with the chokes in it. I put a bit of choke back in it by honing the bbl out a bit so it was larger than bore size. Only about 3 thousandths. Ran more'n one hundred with it at skeet. I even drill ported it(woodpecker holes). Brownells makes a bore and choke hone. With a bit of care you can hone a choke out yourself. Many people don't know but when Remington started doing screw chokes..Briley did some of the work for them. I even have an old bbl for either an 1100 or 11-87 with Briley screw ins. Got that bbl right from Remington. They were an uncatalogued item and cheap at the time. No choke markings either.

[Mr. 16 gauge]

I have a couple of guns with screw in or adjustable (polychoke) chokes, and probably just as many with fixed. I have 3 barrels for my Remington 1100 (26" IC, 28" Mod, and a rifled slug barrel). I also have an Ithica M51 with two barrels (full & improved Cylinder).

However..........."choke" is a combination of many factors: bore constriction, for sure, but also velocity, shot size, shot hardness, payload, blah, blah, blah......why spend the money for an extra barrel when you can easily manipulate the ammunition (either via handloading or factory loads) and get similar results?
I can see the popularity of the screw in chokes....gives a hunter with less pocket money more options, and isn't "ugly" like a polychoke or cutts compensator (although I swear by my polychoke....I have one on two guns, and they have done alright by me!).

[skeet]

Mr16...I have to agree with you. I have a couple of polychoke equipped guns. One is supposedly a factory equipped M-12 12 ga. Winchester did lots of wierd things..The other is a really nice solid rib 20 ga M-12...They really do be ugly. Cutts comps never bothered me too much though. Just saw way too many of 'em on all kinds of guns. I have a really nice Rem 31 solid rib gun with a cutts... I actually used it years ago duckin..but the guys I was hunting with told me either the gun hadda go..or I did. It was LOUD in a duck blind. The best(in my opinion) of the choke thingies back them was a Pachmayr Power Pac.about on a par with the cutts but slimmer and the choke went into the expansion chamber rather than out like a Cutts. Were quite often found on one of the smoothest pump guns you'll ever find.. The JC Higgins Model 20. Made by High Standard. A friend has about 10 of 'em and he can shoot 'em. You can hardly see him pump 'em. Speaking of Cutts..have you ever seen an adjustable Cutts choke tube.. I have a couple..Like the Polychoke..they did work

Now as to getting a gun to shoot either tighter or more open by load adjustment will work...but it isn't the easiest thing to do and sometimes you have to go to extremes to get it to work..such as spreader loads. I made some that worked ok..musta made 3 or 4 hundred of 'em. Didn't use 'em enough to worry about all the work that went into 'em. Made 'em for shootin teal in tight areas...and I had some Remington spreader loads..that just didn't and some Winchesters that did..way too much. If you like the frustration of doing it..ok. But they just weren't consistent enough to make 'em worthwhile...except for one load. I made up a load with Alcan 7 a rem 57 primer in a Rem or Peters paper case..with enough newspaper as wdding to make the shell bulk up right. They shot great almost cylinder patterns at 25 yds for shootin ducks...but I darn near burned the marsh off when some of my burning news print caught the darn marsh grass on fire. If the tide hadn't of been in....it woulda been UGLY. Had to go out and throw water on the darn thing with the boat bailer. Onea them re-pressed memories ya don't usually want to spread around. I was right embarrassed