Chokes Revisited (and Revisited, and Revisited...)

[mobirdhunter]

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.

[6pt-Sika]

Just about everything I shot at birds with this season was modified or more . For the tower shoots I like tight and tight . For preserve quail I used an M&F gun and I don’t think it caused any misses , but IC/M mighta been better .

[MaggieMollie]

My personal opinion and I'm sure there will be disagreements is on the field chokes are as expected but in practice is tighter chokes. Many, many years ago shot a lot of competitive skeet and the group I was with practiced all kinds of crazy things when nobody was around. Shooting in between stations, shooting 10yds behind stations, targets pulled while walking between stations and not calling, calling shots (off nose/tail, by halfway to stake, at stake, beyond far house, etc.) And we shot with M/F chokes. Did the same thing with targets from trap houses.

It taught sight pictures and leads. Then when shooting competition or hunts, we used the appropriate choke.

Most bird hunting, for me its IC and mod or full. Unfortunately the birds don't know the chokes I'm using and tend to flush whenever they feel like it. I do use larger shot for the second round expecting the shot to be 40yds+.

[Reggie B]

I don’t know the answer. But when I was a kid I had a modified choke semi-auto. I used it for years. I shot quail on the covey rise. I shot singles I would walk up. I shot rabbits when they were jumped at close range and when they were at longer ranges. I shot dove at water holes, in corn fields and at the edge of woods they were flying into roost. I shot squirrels out of tall hickory trees and shorter trees. That modified choke 20 would do it all.

I suppose a multiple choke double might have been better but I never gave it any thought.

[Mike of the Mountain]

Good thread Garry! Strictly for birds, I might have one gun that has an IC bbl, that's my 26" Lefever 12g. Everything else is either M/M, M/F or F/F. Yes, there are a few that are LM or IM, but for simplicity I'll just say M. My favorite upland bird gun is the Trojan 16g 28". That's M/F. If I think I'll have some up close and personal bird contacts I'll use spreaders (9 or 10 shot). If targeting mudbat I'll use #10, otherwise I'll load triplex loads (8, 7 1/2 and 6 shot) or duplex (5 and 6 shot). Straight away/incoming birds or birds with distance get the tighter bbl. Crossing, rising, dropping, closer birds get the more open bbl. Same thought process in clays for me, the shot size is determined by what type of target it is.

Turkey get Tight/Tight and a headful of #5 or XF and a headful of TSS (Rem turkey pump gun).

Waterfowl get LM/LM and ITX.

Crow get LM/LM and #5.

BTW, the LM/LM is a 12g 30" BSS. Chokes by Urlan, restocked by Dan Rositter and has an ISIS recoil system so it loves snotty loads.

Garry, is there anything left of that bird in pic #6??????

[6pt-Sika]

Originally Posted by RonKiska

My personal opinion and I'm sure there will be disagreements is on the field chokes are as expected but in practice is tighter chokes. Many, many years ago shot a lot of competitive skeet and the group I was with practiced all kinds of crazy things when nobody was around. Shooting in between stations, shooting 10yds behind stations, targets pulled while walking between stations and not calling, calling shots (off nose/tail, by halfway to stake, at stake, beyond far house, etc.) And we shot with M/F chokes. Did the same thing with targets from trap houses.

It taught sight pictures and leads. Then when shooting competition or hunts, we used the appropriate choke.

Most bird hunting, for me its IC and mod or full. Unfortunately the birds don't know the chokes I'm using and tend to flush whenever they feel like it. I do use larger shot for the second round expecting the shot to be 40yds+.

We kinda followed the same path . I shot competitive skeet and trap quite a few years back . It was all about SK & SK chokes in my Krieghoff and all the tubes . But in the trap barrels I wanted quite tight . I used to like to play a little game at the local club . I had a couple motives however we’d bet a couple bucks and usually someone was crowing to loud . We’d shoot a round of trap and a round of skeet high score winning the pot ; the catch however was you had to use the same gun same barrels and or chokes for both . They all knew I competed somewhere darn near every weekend so my Krieghoff was not allowed . Just so happened a had a Winchester Model 12 in 16 gauge with a 28” solid rib full choke barrel . And most of the time I went 50x50 never below 48x50 . Only sucked them in to doing this about eight times

[Phil Yearout]

I just shoot whichever gun speaks to me that day no matter what the chokes are . Sorry Garry; I didn't read the book; I'll just wait till the movie comes out

[MaggieMollie]

Originally Posted by CraigThompson

We kinda followed the same path . I shot competitive skeet and trap quite a few years back . It was all about SK & SK chokes in my Krieghoff and all the tubes . But in the trap barrels I wanted quite tight . I used to like to play a little game at the local club . I had a couple motives however we’d bet a couple bucks and usually someone was crowing to loud . We’d shoot a round of trap and a round of skeet high score winning the pot ; the catch however was you had to use the same gun same barrels and or chokes for both . They all knew I competed somewhere darn near every weekend so my Krieghoff was not allowed . Just so happened a had a Winchester Model 12 in 16 gauge with a 28” solid rib full choke barrel . And most of the time I went 50x50 never below 48x50 . Only sucked them in to doing this about eight times

Yepper. Same. I shot a Perazzi MX3 tubes and 1100 in 12. Would put the full or mod barrel on the 1100. Or the full on then.410. We all tried as hard as we could to make the shooter miss delayed pulls. Throw empties over the barrel when called pull anything to distract from the target. But it forced you to concentrate on nothing but the target.

[Craig Larter]

As most of you know I spend most of my hunting days in a duck blind. I have hunted blue quail, Mearns quail and wild bobs in Texas and Arizona. All over pointers with a CSMC 20ga Fox choked IC/Mod. I have hunted wild Pheasants in North and South Dakota early in the season with my Philly Fox CE 20ga choked M/F. Grouse and woodcock with my CSMC Fox choked IC/Mod with a spreader in the right barrel. Never thought any deeper than that, put the muzzle ahead of the bird and pull the trigger.

[MaggieMollie]

Originally Posted by Craig Larter

As most of you know I spend most of my hunting days in a duck blind. I have hunted blue quail, Mearns quail and wild bobs in Texas and Arizona. All over pointers with a CSMC 20ga Fox choked IC/Mod. I have hunted wild Pheasants in North and South Dakota early in the season with my Philly Fox CE 20ga choked M/F. Grouse and woodcock with my CSMC Fox choked IC/Mod with a spreader in the right barrel. Never thought any deeper than that, put the muzzle ahead of the bird and pull the trigger.

Muzzle ahead of target. That's the answer.