Hunting with Mod/Full Chokes
 

I just acquired my first Parker. 1926 16 Ga, 28” barrels, choked Mod/Full. Primary plan is to use it hunting pheasants. Any suggestions on making the gun more versatile? I want to leave the gun in original condition. Looks like spreder shells will help if I can find some. Have people found that choke combination to be much of a drawback? Thank you

a couple questions:

1. Are you hunting over pointing dogs?
2. Are the birds released or wild?

I regularly hunt with Mod/F and even F/F for released birds over a pointing dog in PA. I find that they are slow as molasses and I have plenty of time to get the gun lined up the way I want to deliver a well-placed shot. I have had less success with this choke combination on wild birds without a pointing dog, but it can still be done. Spreader loads work pretty well, but they are usually only available in 7-8 shot anymore, at least commercially. I wouldn't want to take 7 shot on wild birds, but it does the trick on released. Spend some time at a clays course with it, I think you may be thinking its harder to hit things with those chokes than it really is.

I hunt behind my pointing dogs for wild and released birds. My thought was the chokes will be fine on wild pheasants. I prefer a little tighter choke on them. Debating whether to try it this fall on a Maine grouse trip and on the prairies chasing sharptail and huns. Will likely stick with my 28 ga for quail. Tempted to give it a whirl on all the larger birds, and just have my 12 ga choked Imp/Mod as a back-up. I’m intrigued with the logic behind a M/F choke set-up, so hunting without spreder loads to start is appealing. Just curious what others have experienced. Thank you.

I hunt with F/F and M/F for all upland birds. Never missed a bird because I had "too much choke". I did turn a mudbat into a gooey feather pillow once though. :cool: I do make spreader loads for hunting in the 20, 16 and 12. They're good for mudbat and early season grouse for the right barrel. If we're into a mudbat flight I'll load a spreader in both barrels so I don't destroy the birds. I load the spreaders with 9, 10 or 11 shot.

I hunt behind my pointing dogs for wild and released birds. My thought was the chokes will be fine on wild pheasants. I prefer a little tighter choke on them. Debating whether to try it this fall on a Maine grouse trip and on the prairies chasing sharptail and huns. Will likely stick with my 28 ga for quail. Tempted to give it a whirl on all the larger birds, and just have my 12 ga choked Imp/Mod as a back-up. I’m intrigued with the logic behind a M/F choke set-up, so hunting without spreder loads to start is appealing. Just curious what others have experienced. Thank you.

I shoot skeet and trap competitively for quite a few years . But I shot skeet more , so I used to be of the opinion that you needed very open chokes for dove quail grouse . And when I started shooting the bullshit game (sporting clays) . It didn’t take me long to realize M&F IM&F as well as F&F actually increased my confidence on not only clay targets but feathered ones as well . Now I’ve shot a boatload of targets/birds over the last 45 or so years .

Great advice everyone. Thank you for your help. Can’t wait to take this gun out this fall. I can see why folks love Parkers.

Pardon my ignorance, I have only been hunting birds for 65 years. What the hell are mudbats?

Woodcock

My progression as a bird hunter over the years.
Early me, open chokes larger shot for wild birds.
Middle aged me, tighter chokes with smaller shot for wild birds.
Older me, gun fit is more important than choke or shot size up to certain ranges.
The center of the target is the same regardless of the choke or shot size.
Shoot a gun that shoots where you look!

Guy de la Valdene wrote that on reflection he was certain he had hit 65% of birds he shot at over the years, WITH AT LEAST ONE PELLET!
Ive never read a more convincing argument for tight chokes and sure shots. Enjoy your new Parker.

Mudbats is one of my friend Mike's favorite words and he uses it often "for effect"; and despite many comments and feedback he continues and isn't likely to acquiesce for a less derogatory term for the noble gamebird. :banghead:

I would take several different loads, including spreader, and pattern them yourself. Remember that patterning only gives you a 2 dimensional result. And pattern them at the ranges you typically shoot the type of bird you are hunting. Results might surprise you.

I just let the birds get a little further. No sweat

The instruction book for Springer Field Trial guns specifies "Fixed breech, fully choked". But then again,our job was to kill the birds as far away from the dogs as possible so as to see if the dog could mark and retrieve

The saying is: "open chokes help a poor shooter, and hurts a good shooter ". So, conversely "tight chokes help a good shooter and hurts a poor shooter".

I’ll buy that as history atleast in my clay target life would lead me to believe that .

I use some extremely tightly choked guns for hunting, very often. I shoot doves a lot and have been known to use my HE Fox with it's very tightly choked barrels. In those tightly constricted guns I favor a Fiocchi Interceptor 1 oz. spreader load in the right barrel when I do so, in guns stout enough to handle a few of those higher pressure loads. Works very well on doves out to about 30 yds., or so.

Now, my quail guns are "appropriately choked", but i actually prefer the very tight chokes in my duck guns for all kinds of ducking except shooting woodies coming into beaver ponds at first light. They will often be in yo' face.

I'll bet that probably a million or so now-passed American hunters who are reading sporting posts while in the great beyond are laughing their arses off. Mod and Full were the hands down choice for generations to put seasonal protein on the table and while overchoked for woodcock and such the standard practice was to let close uns get out a bit. Sure, some used specialized guns with more open chokes to good effect and primarily on close in game. But nowadays it seems that open chokes are the norm for most everything and especially so by those who shoot infrequently and haven't really taken the time nor have the desire to learn to shoot. Live animals aren't clay birds and we want to be humane sportsmen/women. The OP asked about a 16b/28" with Mod & Full chokes to be used mainly for pheasants and I'd be hard pressed to pick a more effective gun and choke combo for typical pheasant hunting. All this JMO of course.

I agree with the comment about pheasants however, where many of us hunt, should you wait till the, "...close uns get out a bit..." I fear you will lose sight of them in a hurry. The first 10 days to 2 weeks of woodcock and grouse where I hunt one rarely sees an escaping bird beyond 10-15 yards through poplar, primary growth and tangles of hops. For open country and later season hunts mod and full is a good choice if it patterns well with your ammo. Certainly respect others opinions tho. I'm not an expert shooter and rarely do my inexpensive guns fit well especially in cold weather with extra layers. I think a person needs to feel comfortable and confident with their shotgun more than anything.