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Thread: Why a shotgun?

  1. #291
    Site Supporter vaspence's Avatar
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    Feb 2011
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    Richmond VA
    Quote Originally Posted by Unobtanium View Post
    The tighter you choke the gun, the more it's going to constrict your wad. It may cause your load to pattern erratically. At least with buckshot
    In my experience shotgun/choke tube combinations are like .22s, they all shoot a bit different. There is no generic answer, you have to (should) pattern the gun and figure out what it likes.

    Here in central VA, whitetail are hunted by a lot of guys with dogs and shotguns. We also have a pretty big turkey shoot crowd and gunsmiths who build custom shotguns that also do custom chokes. I remember taking four SBEs to a turkey gun smith back in 1999 and shooting about 20 rounds of 3.5" 00 and #1 to get the patterns where we wanted them at 30 yards. Shoot a couple rounds, remove the choke, guy would ream a bit, repeat until the pattern was where it needed to be. I ended up with close to extra full to get mine where I wanted it. I didn't mic the other chokes but would assume they all leaned close to or past full. Fast forward to the present and those same 4 guns have chokes ranging from extra full to modified. As stated above I use the 3" 00 Federal and use a factory full choke in my 24" gun. My best friend uses a factory modified in his 26" SBE. His father still uses the custom choke made back in 1999. The other guy uses a Buckkicker that is probably close to improved modified.
    Last edited by vaspence; 01-12-2017 at 02:19 PM.

  2. #292
    Murder Machine, Harmless Fuzzball TCinVA's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Virginia
    Quote Originally Posted by vaspence View Post
    In my experience shotgun/choke tube combinations are like .22s, they all shoot a bit different. There is no generic answer, you have to (should) pattern the gun and figure out what it likes.
    Mr. Spence is right.

    People think generically that tighter chokes tighten up patterns. When we are talking buckshot, though, it is possible that tightening the choke on a particular barrel will cause a wider pattern with particular loads. A cylinder barrel that shoots FFC 00 pretty good might shoot the very same load horribly if you put a full choke in it. But it may shoot another buckshot load tighter than it shot the FFC before.

    No way to really know until you give it a go.

    It's just good to know that making the choke tighter doesn't necessarily make it better...by smashing the pellets into each other more it can make things measurably worse.
    3/15/2016

  3. #293
    Member
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    South Central Us
    Quote Originally Posted by TCinVA View Post
    Mr. Spence is right.

    People think generically that tighter chokes tighten up patterns. When we are talking buckshot, though, it is possible that tightening the choke on a particular barrel will cause a wider pattern with particular loads. A cylinder barrel that shoots FFC 00 pretty good might shoot the very same load horribly if you put a full choke in it. But it may shoot another buckshot load tighter than it shot the FFC before.

    No way to really know until you give it a go.

    It's just good to know that making the choke tighter doesn't necessarily make it better...by smashing the pellets into each other more it can make things measurably worse.
    Best patterns I ever got were with a Benelli M4 and an old IC constriction Nova choke (same system, Mobil) that I bought at Lorant's from their grab-basket at the checkout, and Remington 3" 000B. It would throw 80% patterns into about 12" at 40 yards. It was a beast. No other IC choke ever did that. Nor did the Buckkicker, or Patternmaster, or any other shit I tried, much less this new fangled Flite Control stuff, which typically patterned worse than cheap Remington or XX Winchester Buck. Waste of money out of my guns. It did well in a friend's mossy though, for sure. 12-14" at 50 yards. beast.

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