How often do you change chokes?

[catnthehat]

I've been wondering how people choose the choke they want - pattern boards , when they hunt, and how often they change them up.

Several recent discussions have prompted me to start this thread.
In the old days we shot upland birds with usually either a U.U or SXS with IC/MOD chokes, or a semi or pump with one of the same , and enjoyed life.

These days we tend to fuss over changing chokes to the point that we can't hit anything because we are worried if we have the right choke in the gun!!:confused:

Personally I have never missed a bird because of too tight or too open a choke - I've missed plenty because I shot behind them or waited too long until they were out of range, but the amount of choke would not have made a difference in either case.

Personally , I prefer a gun with fixed IC/mod chokes and order the same whenever I bug a new gun if I have the option of fixed chokes.
Cat

[gopher]

Personally I would rather be over chocked then under I try not to shoot the fringes of a pattern. Bird breaks to me are more important than patterning boards.

For upland hunting with 20 ga I like a light modified fist shot full second

for trap shooting hard to beat a full 16 yards to 27 doubles I like modified and full

Skeet IC or skeet but have shot many round with much tighter

Sporting clay I used to change them all the time from skeet to full but I have found that mod mod is just about right on most sporting clay fields I have been too there is really not that many far shots. And for the close ones say 10 yards or so is changing from full to skeet going to make that much difference not IMO.


I am not too sure about you saying that a chock has never cost you a bird cat tower and international trap would be tuff with IC. But I do understand what you are saying


tuff to beat a man that doesn’t think :)

[catnthehat]

Tower and International are specific games that I would not be bringing a
5 1/2lb. upland gun to.
I stated that a particular choke has never cost me a bird because if I am on the bird it will break or die.

I was very surprised about ten years ago when I learned ( after being out of the competitive game loop for a number of years) that many shooters are now using IC for their first doubles bird!!:confused:

The first clean round I ever made, I was asked by an AA shooter me how ,much I was leading
"I dunno" I said . "PERFECT!" he replied!:sHa_sarcasticlol:
We can over think ourselves into a nervous break down at times, then things cease to become fun.....
Oh, and if I had only one to work with, it would likely be a modified, but if it was a full choked gun, I would still hunt with it !:)
Cat

[bb356]

About as often as my short's !!! :)

[wwbirds]

I have some fixed chokes (16 and one 20) but usually when I select the choke or gun I anticipate what range I am likely to need and carry that regardless of what the birds do. I will probably never carry full for waterfowl or upland although I used to when lead was legal for geese.

For upland even if I think sharptails might be flushing at 20 yards I wil use a modified choke and do fairly well even if huns and sharpies get up a ways out.
I have had choke tubes in my vest and not changed them after a few wild flushing birds only to have the next birds settle down to normal ranges.

Modified for all upland wouldn't hurt me a bit and I have shot trap and skeet with it as well and it works for the most part unless I get on those handicaps or a round of Annie Oakley and then I must have full.

[densa44]

I shoot upland birds with a dog and ducks over water.

I use a mod for the 870 12 ga. and for the 20 ga for Pheasants and Huns, I use IC and Mod. The mod is a bit more than I need. I still carry the chokes with my and now I'm wondering why. I never change them. I think this year I'll go to a cly and IC in the 20.

I have a bag of #6 for the birds which I think will do fine.

[greylynx]

To prove what Cat is talking about, let your buddy change your chokes for you on the sporting clays course. Go up for your round and shoot... no cheating....no peaking.

You may be surpirsed.

[elkhunter11]

The chokes in my skeet gun(sk&sk), and the chokes in my trap gun(mod&full) never get changed, other than being removed at the end of each year and have some lube put on them, before reinstalling them, just so so don't become seized in place. My 20 gauge wears skeet chokes for skeet and imp&mod for hunting. My 28gauge will likely always wear L-mod&imp-mod, unless I decide to shoot a round of skeet with it.

[Cal]

Once... and then I changed it right back!

[Dennisg]

A buddy of mine who got me into clay sport, skeet and trap shooting only uses two chokes. For the above said he uses Modified, and for the hunting waterfowl and upland he uses Improve Cylinder. He is also the current Oil and Gas clay sport champion (6 years in a row) at Silver willow and 2009 Canadian Trapshooting Champion. He will be competing again in Edmonton again this year.

[Jerry D]

I use a full for our improvised trap throwing stuff on the farm. I use a light modified for waterfowl, and use an extended extra full for turkey.

I did have use modified and lighter chokes for our improvised trap but I found using a full didn't make me miss anymore. Misses are always if I'm behind I think :thinking-006:

[honker_clonker]

I use an extended full for waterfowl and skeet, modified for upland and cylinder for trick shooting. It's amazing how much 'better' of a trick shooter you can be with a cylinder choke.

[catnthehat]

I use an extended full for waterfowl and skeet, modified for upland and cylinder for trick shooting. It's amazing how much 'better' of a trick shooter you can be with a cylinder choke.
You use a full choke for skeet?:confused:

Do you mean NSSA skeet or informal stuff.

Cat

[Dick284]

I use an extended full for waterfowl and skeet, modified for upland and cylinder for trick shooting. It's amazing how much 'better' of a trick shooter you can be with a cylinder choke.

skeet...hmmmm, high house, low house, doubles.

Hows your scores?:thinking-006:


For me since I seldom shoot skeet (we have no skeet range round these parts), but I do a fair bit of American style trap, and of course waterfowling.
It's mostly Modified these days, with the occasional foray to the Improved Modified. 12ga. or 20ga.


Here is a nice write up on the different shotgun shooting sports;
http://www.nssf.org/shooting/sports/shotgun.cfm

[catnthehat]

skeet, modified for upland and cylinder It's amazing how much 'better' of a trick shooter you can be with a cylinder choke.

I grew up with a father that did exhibition , or "trick "shooting at clinics, club shoots and such - he referred to them as 'parlour tricks" that added nothing to a person's actual shooting ability!:sign0161:
Cat

[oldgutpile]

Hey Cat, the last chokes changed in one of my guns..uh...you did it! When you changed the two around in my little Fausti sxs. They were left untouched from when I bought it, to when you came out shooting. They are untouched since, and with the amount of pheasant that gun has shot since, they should probably be taken out and relubed. Just to rub it in a bit more, I am holding steady at 1-3 days a week out hunting pheasant since just before Christmas.
Back when we had a busy sporting clays range here in Brooks, I used to get out at least once a week, and I am a notorious choke-changer for that game. I agree, a lot of it is all in the mind. I did a few trial rounds with IC-IC and did as well or better. For some of the serious registered competitions, they use to have some real far flyers that a super-full might have mad the difference, but the bottom line is and always be gun fit and practice.

[catnthehat]

I want to be a butcher in Duchess when I grow up!!:sHa_sarcasticlol:
Funny thing is , you were shooting the chokes backwards, so I changed them around, "just because" - didn't seem to make much difference, eh?:sHa_sarcasticlol:


Cat

[honker_clonker]

You use a full choke for skeet?:confused:

Do you mean NSSA skeet or informal stuff.

Cat

It would be informal stuff, no competition. We call it shooting skeets, which is the wrong terminology. Shooting lots of pass shooting clays. I like using tight constriction because it really makes me be on my game. I'm not shooting for scores, I'm more for form.

I would disagree with exhibition shooting not adding to your skill. Being able to shoot 5 hand thrown clays in the air helps with quick target acquisition and being able to cycle through targets quickly. In field hunting geese, the faster you shoot them, the closer they are, the harder they fall. Boom, boom, boom. Everyone worries about max range but if I can smoke em close quickly its not an issue.

[honda610]

I learned a long time ago to pick a choke and leave it in the gun.I was shooting a BT99 with a 34 inch stainless barrel at the ATA nationals in vancouver and I took my improved mod Out of my gun. To put in my citori for doubles. No big deal until I shot a 16 in the opening round of the 200 target event for nationals! It seems I forgot to put any choke back in and how I didn't trash the threads iam still wondering. That choke has not come out of the gun since 96 lol . But I have to change up chokes for steel and certain hunting trips with my field guns. Oh and cat 2 points if you guess who iam.

[catnthehat]

I would disagree with exhibition shooting not adding to your skill. Being able to shoot 5 hand thrown clays in the air helps with quick target acquisition and being able to cycle through targets quickly. In field hunting geese, the faster you shoot them, the closer they are, the harder they fall. Boom, boom, boom. Everyone worries about max range but if I can smoke em close quickly its not an issue.

I am only reiterating what was taught to me by a few industry class and exhibition shooters, it's not something I dreamed up myself.
They didn't start exhibition shooting before they were top shelf trap and skeet shooters, and when any of them was aving an issue they went right back to basics.

But I do echo what they said, and throwing and hitting hand held clays is a knack , that is why my father called them parlour tricks and not something that lends itself to serious practise.
Honda 610 and i have been know to shoot L6 from the hip, as did a certain World skeet champ , but he would be the first one to tell you it doesn't give you any advantage in NSSA skeet - it can still be missed from the shoulder.
Honda610, even my Louie and Buddy can figure that one out!!:sHa_sarcasticlol:
Cat

[saskbooknut]

I have IC/Mod in my Citori that I have been using for waterfowl - these chokes have never changed from new.
I bought another Mod choke having seen the results with steel shot at 25 yards from my gun. I hope that it does not hurt, even helps my results come Autumn.
I have only seen one mad choke-changer in the field and I could not see any improvement in his results.

[catnthehat]

I have IC/Mod in my Citori that I have been using for waterfowl - these chokes have never changed from new.
I bought another Mod choke having seen the results with steel shot at 25 yards from my gun. I hope that it does not hurt, even helps my results come Autumn.
I have only seen one mad choke-changer in the field and I could not see any

Did you notice any difference when you shot the IC instead of the MOD chokes?
When I originally tested my chokes on my 20 gauge , I found really no difference in the kill ratio between mine.
In fact i found very little difference in the kill ration from a 2 3/4" #4 load to a 3"#2 load - the geese and ducks that were shot in the face were dead when they hit the ground!:confused:
Cat

[catnthehat]

An interesting side note, in Askins JR's book on shotgunning, he was very impressed with the Poly Choke because one could open it up for close range upland in the morning and tighten it in the afternoon for pass shooting.
That was in the days of lead for waterfowl however, and steel these days works quite well out of IC or MOD chokes.:)
Cat

[Arn?Narn.]

It would be informal stuff, no competition. We call it shooting skeets, which is the wrong terminology. Shooting lots of pass shooting clays. I like using tight constriction because it really makes me be on my game. I'm not shooting for scores, I'm more for form.

I would disagree with exhibition shooting not adding to your skill. Being able to shoot 5 hand thrown clays in the air helps with quick target acquisition and being able to cycle through targets quickly. In field hunting geese, the faster you shoot them, the closer they are, the harder they fall. Boom, boom, boom. Everyone worries about max range but if I can smoke em close quickly its not an issue.

Have any videos of your trick shooting? I'm curious what a young guy, such as yourself, does for trick shots...

Trick shots such as the ones you describe have always been described and taught to me as a lesson in timing, consistent toss and point and pull based on the repeat ability of your toss...

In short, throw 5 clays 50 times and hone your toss to get a consistent, repeatable toss. Then keep practicing the toss.
Then do the shotgun follow through with 3 shells.
The order of course will depend on your toss,...
You eventually shoot the first three as a matter of memory, or instinct....rather than target aquisition. ( try it with eyes closed)
Then onto the fourth and fifth which sometimes are pointed (aimed shots) ...

I am far to slow to anything too cool anymore, but I'll throw up a vid in a few days if I get a chance to get out...
Theses type shots taught me nothing that helped me in the duck blind.

[ishootbambi]

i get what youre getting at cat. i have friends who are constantly changing tubes....and even guns when they miss a shot they feel they should have made. i put a light full into my gun when i got it, and it is still in there. im from the school of shoot one gun and shoot it well. just my preference.

[ACKLEY ABE]

I have a full set for my S/C gun. I could leave em all at home, if I have a MOD/IC in the thing. I've gone through shoots changing 20 times and I would say I coulda done it all with the above...or even Full/Mod. In fact, if you can shoot, Full/Mod is probably the way to go.

[saskbooknut]

I patterned 12 ga 2 3/4 and 3 inch steel #2 and BB, both Kent and Winchester from my Citori IC/Mod on paper. These were all the faster steel loads 1425 fps in Kent and 1550 in Win. My verdict was that the patterns were getting thin beyond 25 yards with the IC choke. That is why I bought another Mod choke. There aren't all that many pellets in #2 and BB shells as it is.
The patterns at 40 yards through the Mod choke were still acceptable. My assumption with all that I have read about pellet energy of steel shot is that 40 yards should be my nominal max range.
When I keep my decoy layout extent to 30 yards from the blind I have a natural range estimator. If the birds look to be no farther than the far decoys they should be in trouble.
My experience in all my bird hunting, upland and waterfowl, is that when I get close the birds begin to fall. Long "hoper" shots have never worked for me.

[ShawnM]

I will change out the choke depending on my hunting situation. I'm not super-worried about choke selection provided things are close to what I want. I like a tighter choke for upland because the buggers usually get a bigger jump on me vs. goose/duck where I can call them in to me.

Every one has its purpose but no sense in over thinking things.

PS when shooting clays I use double skeet chokes