Skeet Choke
 

What is the Skeet choke good for other than skeet shooting what about hunting Thanks David

All my upland bird hunting is done over a pointing dog and I use skeet choked guns 95% of the time. These are 16, 20, & 28. No 12's for me. Back in the day befor I had Parkers and hunted ducks I'd shoot a lot of Mallards and Woodies in flooded timber with a Remington 1100 20ga with a skeet barrel.

Skeet chokes are good for any hunting where the birds are close enough, including ducks and geese over decoys.

If your talking about a Parker Skeet gun marked "Skeet In" and "Skeet Out" you have to remember nothing about a Parker is standard. Scott K. had a 12ga VHE Skeet gun that had a lot of constriction in both barrels and patterned full and full. You have to pattern every gun of any brand at 40 yards to figure out what they are really choked regardless of markings. As far as a Skeet choke it also depends on the gauge. A 12ga should be throwing a great pattern between 20 and 30 yards and would work fine out to 35 yds + or -.

Remember generally larger shot sizes will pattern tighter than small shot through the same choke. So put it on paper with the load you want to use for the game hunted and you'll know for sure.

Not a Parker but in a previous life I shot and ducks out to 40 yards with Hevi Steel (no longer available) with a Benelli M-2. As J.B. stated above, bigger shot patterns tighter than small shot through the same choke. The same is true for hardness of shot.

I shoot Nice Shot #2 through .030" in Parker 10 gauges and pit down Canada Geese at 60+ yards. Sometimes I put down more than one :whistle:

Nice Shot is 3 times as hard as hardened lead shot. ITX is 10 times as hard as lead and should be magic through a skeet choke.

Now, let's talk about choke which is a measure of the performance of a load through a certain barrel constriction. In a modern 12 gauge Skeet "choke" is the result of factory target load shot through a barrel constriction of .005". This is of course an average since each load will pattern slightly (or in some cases greatly) different through each individual barrel with the same constriction.

Richard will your roosters stay siting while pointed?

Over pointing dogs, a "skeet" choked double is the weapon of choice IMHO. Ditto for woodcock and grouse in thick cover with any dog. They are quite useful over decoys for waterfowl especially for woodies and teal. I choke all my small gauge upland quail/woodcock guns .005/.012 the equivalent of "skeet 1 and skeet 2". I have only had one Parker skeet choked gun, a VHE 16g but I have had a number of Winchester Model 21 Skeets and have 2 now in 20 and 12. The 12 gauge 28" M21 Skeet I have is one useful, very versatile weapon with its patented WS-1 choke and its mate the WS-2 (which patterns much like a Winchester modified)

I'm reading Bob Brister's book and it seems his favorite all around choke was IC. All of my guns have original chokes, which are tight, but I can't bring myself to open them up.

Ed, you're the man. I, also, don't like opening chokes. For fifty years, whenever I need a more open choke, I buy a new gun. It has always worked for me.

Choke
 

My favorite raised comb hammer gun was fitted with a conventional VH M&F barrel set. I shot as good or better rounds of skeet, five stand and sporting with it as I did with my IC & IC VH which fit equally well. Don't let full choke scare you - center the pattern and it is irrelevant.

Best, Austin

austin you hit the nail on the head.... and i also could not open up the chokes on my guns.. one of those old poly chokes was probably the best all around choke ever made...you had all the ckokes with you from extra full to cly...but them things were as ugly as home made sin and would not a parker with double pollys be double ugly... charlie

OK, OK, not a Parker but...
 

New to me 20 gauge, Winchester choked Full/Mod.
Patterned at 40 yards, 80% and 60% inside a 30" circle. Shot a 24 then a 25 using a Spreader on the incomer on all pairs and station 8.
+1 for Mr. Hogan, just center the pattern.
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...204127-1-L.jpg

Pretty sure WS1 & WS2 chokes are actually back from the muzzle a short ways. Much like the spreader choke is on a Cutts. I have measured several original Winchester Skeet guns and this is what I have found. Are the Parker factory skeet chokes done in a similar way? Unfortunatly, I don't own a Parker Skeet gun to measure...
JJV

I wonder how many of will tell the truth, Have you ever sawed off a barrel? Gerald. P.S. I will bet most of us over 60 years old have,:corn:

The one i am looking to buy is a winchester 21 vent rib 26, inch skeet 1 & 2 12 ga Thanks for the help

OK,OK, these aren't Parkers either but...
 

Here's a pair or 21's, both WS-1 and WS-2. Top is a 12, 26" Flatside. Bottom is a 20, 28" Skeet.
While not Parkers, they've yet to embarrass me on a Skeet field. That being said, I think Parker (Remington) truly nailed Skeet chokes with their Skeet In/Skeet Out constriction combination. Really right on for the game, much more than WS-2/WS-1 (L.Mod/Skeet).
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/k...ruise18052.jpg

My W21- 28 inch- ws1 and ws 2 is 5 and 8 thous. constriction. Perfect for skeet and upland birds. The wood is to pretty to field hunt.

David, What is your constrictions (if any) at very muzzle ends?

Could'nt agree more with Ed and Bill. Don't touch those beautiful original Parker chokes. It just gives you another reason to find another gun with different chokes. And Austin mirrors my findings with shooting tight chokes. I've shot some of my best scores with M/F or F/F and I believe it is due to the feedback I get from the target breaks. A more open choke will break a target but a tight choke crushes them. I know exactly where my pattern is and the balls of dust that are left in the air when you center the target is a great confidence builder.

21's frame reminds of a fox fox reminds me of Parker so why not buy a Parker.

Bill, with money like that maybe you buy me a new Parker no?

I shoot a lifter 12 it's bore ahead of choke is .775 right choke is .720 left .723 I think that equals tight and I shoot it quite well for a average shooter. Can't say I miss a lot of birds because of chokes. With that said I would rather have right barrel Mod. or IC
ch

I have been shooting some Sporting Clays with tighter chokes in the belief that it will improve my shooting. If you can center a target at 25 yards with a full choke then doing it with a skeet choke is a cinch. Game birds are another story, center a Grouse with the same choke at 25 yards and all you have is a sky full of feathers.

I'll take skt in and skt out for my upland guns and my Parker project 20 will have it's chokes configured that way also. I have no problem on opening the chokes unless its a high condition collector gun.

Rich,
I agree. Upland birds require a more open choke. Most birds are brought down with only a few pellet hits. Clay targets on the other hand are fun to vaporize.