I enjoy our continual discussion and debate over chokes, and a recent discussion in another thread got me to thinking more about the barrel constrictions we swear by (and at, on occasion).
It seems that the clays shooters here lean toward tight chokes. Upland bird hunters are a bit more diverse in their liking. I'm basing these observations on posts that folks make here on the site.
I have game guns (all my guns are "game guns" to me because I do not shoot clays, only wild birds), some with original tight chokes and others with a mix. A very few I've had at least one barrel altered. For me, the best choke depends on what and where I'm hunting -- grouse in the thick stuff (are they anywhere else?), late pheasants on the prairie, etc.
For me a more open choke is
almost always better. I think about clay shooting (perhaps a misperception on my part, and I'm sure you guys will let me know) and how the shooter is generally stable and has time to establish his/her footing. When hunting, even over a dog on solid point, it is not uncommon to be stepping (assuming you are flushing the bird) or even kicking cover. Seldom does the wild bird hunter have perfect footing. I read the advice from "experts" that says to pause and make sure to step toward the bird. For one thing, I'm too excited to do much thinking (okay, maybe too slow-witted), and for another, birds just as often fly where and when you least expect them to, leaving you on occasion corkscrewed into cover that is doing its darnedest to trip you.
I think open chokes are best in most hunting situations over a pointing breed, but I like a second shot with some choke in the event I want to reach out further.
Some guys can wait out a quail/pheasant/Hun, etc. until the distance makes a tight choke more effective (in not spoiling the meat). I take my shots as soon as I "see" the bird and feel the gun mounted. When I wait, my poor shooting skills usually take over, and...well, you know what happens.
So, here's my recipe for chokes for various birds I have the chance to hunt regularly (again over pointing dogs). All assume light loads in vintage guns.
Grouse (early with leaves on): cylinder/improved cylinder
Grouse (later season with few leaves): skeet 1/full
Woodcock (with leaves and without): cylinder/ improved cylinder
Wild Bobwhite quail (typical agricultural cover): skeet 1/modified
Wild Bobwhite quail (more open prairie/CRP): skeet 1/tight modified or full
Wild Bobwhite quail (in the woods): go home and wait until tomorrow! (or if you have a gun with sawed off barrels, you might give it a try...and then go home)
Wild pheasants (early season): improved cylinder/tight modified
Wild pheasants (late season): modified/full
I have different ideas about dove, ducks, snipe, and rail, but I'll leave those until a later time.
So, how about you? What are your ideal chokes for your game bird hunting?
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Here are some photos, courtesy of Elaine, you can peruse as you compose your answer:
1. So many options, so little time (or so it feels).
2. Leaves are down, but is this a place for tight chokes?
3. Sometimes you just get a glimpse -- no time for fancy theories here.
4. You know the bird will go out from behind cover. Do you have the speed and composure to step around the cover and plant your feet?
5. Is this a shot on the skeet range? Do they launch clays behind the shooter in any clay game? (Asking for a friend
)
6. Okay, some days you get the clear, open shot and should wait, but...
7. More often than not a late season bird has already received his Ph.D. in escapology.