Shotgun Choke question - The Firearms Forum

robman2629 · 09-29-2012, 06:14 AM

I am trying to figure out what the difference between all the chokes for a 12 guage shotgun. Like an imp. cylinder, full, modified. And what kind of shot is best for each. Thanks

carver · 09-29-2012, 07:08 AM

Welcome to the forum!
Improved cylender is wide open, no choke at all, it will shoot anything, but is best at shooting slugs, and Buck shot. Think about a home defence shootgun, short barrel, IC. It won't hold bird shot to a tight pattern for anything past 35 yds.

Modified choke is between IC, and Full. It's also good with just about anything, but has a tendency to squeeze slugs, and that causes them to not shoot so straight. Works well with bird shot at longer ranges, out to around 45yards, and better, but won't hold the pattern that full will give you. It's good for dove, quail, squirrels, and other things.

Full choke is considered the best for bird hunting, like ducks, and geese, where you will probably be shooting the longest distances. You can shoot slugs, and buck shot thru a full choke, but it is not recomended.

HAGEN442 · 09-29-2012, 09:07 AM

Suggestion:
http://www.shotgunlife.com/Shotguns/chokes.html

carver · 09-29-2012, 09:30 AM

Good link, it does a much better job of explaining chokes than I did! However, it does not show what shot to use with which choke. Maybe this link is a little better. http://www.shotgunworld.com/amm.html

robman2629 · 09-30-2012, 10:13 AM

Thanks guys. I am going to be using my shotgun for deer this year and have many suggestions. Get a rifled barrel and use sabots, keep my smooth barrel and use rifled slugs with an imp. cylinder. I would like to be able to hit a target probably with a max range of 100 yards (usually 50-60) and take it down easily. I would use a rifle but the area Im in is shotgun only.

myfriendis410 · 09-30-2012, 10:41 AM

My experience with factory chokes is that they are (usually) a suggestion more than reality. To determine what a particular choke will do with a particular load you have to actually pattern the gun. IC is choked down below cylinder--about .006" in my 391 and in that gun is a good choice for overall bird hunting. A full choke would be used to get the tightest pattern in a lead load but would be inappropriate for use in steel shot loads for duck and geese. A modified choke is about all I would use for that.

My advice would be to get a rifled barrel and find a sabot that shoots the best in that barrel. A good barrel/sabot combination will easily give you 100 yard one shot kills on deer. You also have the advantage of having actual sights to use rather than a bead, or with a cantilever scope mount barrel to actually have optics on it.

carver · 09-30-2012, 10:42 AM

A smooth bore shotgun with rifled slugs is good out to 75 - 100 yards, and that's max for most guns. Go buy you a few boxes of slugs from different makers, like Federal, Remington, and Winchester. Then set up a target and see what you can do. With my Remington 1100 I'm good out to about 75 yards. I can hit a gallon jug with every shot at that distance. Any further, and I start to have misses.

robman2629 · 10-01-2012, 09:34 PM

So would the concensus be to get an improved cylinder choke, and use slugs? What type shot would you suggest? I know to try many and find which one I like best but for a good shot with good distance, what would be ideal? Thanks again!

CHW2021 · 10-03-2012, 05:26 PM

As all shotguns pattern differently ans fit each shooter differently, to find the best combination you will need to spend a bit of time at the range with sheets of paper seeing what works best for you. There is no "absolute" bore on a shotgun, size can vary a few thousandths and the shot size and charge size can affect what constriction your choke actually produces.
Shotguns fit different shooters unequally and the point of aim can vary between shooters of the same gun.
Confusing? Sorta, but your best bet is still to try it yourself and find what you feel works best.

robman2629 · 10-09-2012, 10:41 AM

I went to our LL Bean store looking for a shotgun barrel and came out with a brand new Remington 30-06 haha. Little more than a barrel but well worth it!

Alpo · 10-09-2012, 11:01 AM

But will it fit on your shotgun?

robman2629 · 10-09-2012, 10:07 PM

huh? Will the 30-06 fit my shotgun? No its a brand new rifle. Im going to get a mosseberg rifled barrel with a scope sometime this week.

09-29-2012, 06:14 AM	#1
robman2629 V.I.P. Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Maine Posts: 123	Shotgun Choke question I am trying to figure out what the difference between all the chokes for a 12 guage shotgun. Like an imp. cylinder, full, modified. And what kind of shot is best for each. Thanks -->

09-29-2012, 07:08 AM	#2
carver TFF Moderator/Host Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: DAV, Deep in the Pineywoods of East Texas, just west of Shreveport, LA Contributor Posts: 11,280	Re: Shotgun Choke question Welcome to the forum! Improved cylender is wide open, no choke at all, it will shoot anything, but is best at shooting slugs, and Buck shot. Think about a home defence shootgun, short barrel, IC. It won't hold bird shot to a tight pattern for anything past 35 yds. Modified choke is between IC, and Full. It's also good with just about anything, but has a tendency to squeeze slugs, and that causes them to not shoot so straight. Works well with bird shot at longer ranges, out to around 45yards, and better, but won't hold the pattern that full will give you. It's good for dove, quail, squirrels, and other things. Full choke is considered the best for bird hunting, like ducks, and geese, where you will probably be shooting the longest distances. You can shoot slugs, and buck shot thru a full choke, but it is not recomended. __________________ Y'all be safe now, ya hear! Lamentations Chapter 5: 1. Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach. 2. Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens. 3. We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers [are] as widows. 5. Our necks [are] under persecution: we labour, [and] have no rest. 16. The crown is fallen [from] our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned! 21. Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old. Last edited by carver; 09-29-2012 at 07:11 AM..

09-29-2012, 09:07 AM	#3
HAGEN442 V.I.P. Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: The Dodge House, NC Posts: 70	Re: Shotgun Choke question Suggestion: http://www.shotgunlife.com/Shotguns/chokes.html __________________ "A Man's got to have a Code, a Creed to Live By, No Matter his Job" JW

09-29-2012, 09:30 AM	#4
carver TFF Moderator/Host Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: DAV, Deep in the Pineywoods of East Texas, just west of Shreveport, LA Contributor Posts: 11,280	Re: Shotgun Choke question Good link, it does a much better job of explaining chokes than I did! However, it does not show what shot to use with which choke. Maybe this link is a little better. http://www.shotgunworld.com/amm.html __________________ Y'all be safe now, ya hear! Lamentations Chapter 5: 1. Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach. 2. Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens. 3. We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers [are] as widows. 5. Our necks [are] under persecution: we labour, [and] have no rest. 16. The crown is fallen [from] our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned! 21. Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old. Last edited by carver; 09-29-2012 at 09:38 AM..

09-30-2012, 10:13 AM	#5
robman2629 V.I.P. Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Maine Posts: 123	Re: Shotgun Choke question Thanks guys. I am going to be using my shotgun for deer this year and have many suggestions. Get a rifled barrel and use sabots, keep my smooth barrel and use rifled slugs with an imp. cylinder. I would like to be able to hit a target probably with a max range of 100 yards (usually 50-60) and take it down easily. I would use a rifle but the area Im in is shotgun only.

09-30-2012, 10:41 AM	#6
myfriendis410 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Lompoc California Posts: 543	Re: Shotgun Choke question My experience with factory chokes is that they are (usually) a suggestion more than reality. To determine what a particular choke will do with a particular load you have to actually pattern the gun. IC is choked down below cylinder--about .006" in my 391 and in that gun is a good choice for overall bird hunting. A full choke would be used to get the tightest pattern in a lead load but would be inappropriate for use in steel shot loads for duck and geese. A modified choke is about all I would use for that. My advice would be to get a rifled barrel and find a sabot that shoots the best in that barrel. A good barrel/sabot combination will easily give you 100 yard one shot kills on deer. You also have the advantage of having actual sights to use rather than a bead, or with a cantilever scope mount barrel to actually have optics on it. __________________ Life's too short to shoot an ugly gun..... Last edited by myfriendis410; 09-30-2012 at 10:42 AM..

09-30-2012, 10:42 AM	#7
carver TFF Moderator/Host Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: DAV, Deep in the Pineywoods of East Texas, just west of Shreveport, LA Contributor Posts: 11,280	Re: Shotgun Choke question A smooth bore shotgun with rifled slugs is good out to 75 - 100 yards, and that's max for most guns. Go buy you a few boxes of slugs from different makers, like Federal, Remington, and Winchester. Then set up a target and see what you can do. With my Remington 1100 I'm good out to about 75 yards. I can hit a gallon jug with every shot at that distance. Any further, and I start to have misses. __________________ Y'all be safe now, ya hear! Lamentations Chapter 5: 1. Remember, O LORD, what is come upon us: consider, and behold our reproach. 2. Our inheritance is turned to strangers, our houses to aliens. 3. We are orphans and fatherless, our mothers [are] as widows. 5. Our necks [are] under persecution: we labour, [and] have no rest. 16. The crown is fallen [from] our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned! 21. Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old.

10-01-2012, 09:34 PM	#8
robman2629 V.I.P. Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Maine Posts: 123	Re: Shotgun Choke question So would the concensus be to get an improved cylinder choke, and use slugs? What type shot would you suggest? I know to try many and find which one I like best but for a good shot with good distance, what would be ideal? Thanks again!

10-03-2012, 05:26 PM	#9
CHW2021 V.I.P. Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Louisiana Posts: 467	Re: Shotgun Choke question As all shotguns pattern differently ans fit each shooter differently, to find the best combination you will need to spend a bit of time at the range with sheets of paper seeing what works best for you. There is no "absolute" bore on a shotgun, size can vary a few thousandths and the shot size and charge size can affect what constriction your choke actually produces. Shotguns fit different shooters unequally and the point of aim can vary between shooters of the same gun. Confusing? Sorta, but your best bet is still to try it yourself and find what you feel works best.

10-09-2012, 10:41 AM	#10
robman2629 V.I.P. Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Maine Posts: 123	Re: Shotgun Choke question I went to our LL Bean store looking for a shotgun barrel and came out with a brand new Remington 30-06 haha. Little more than a barrel but well worth it!

10-09-2012, 11:01 AM	#11
Alpo Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: NW Florida Posts: 8,662	Re: Shotgun Choke question But will it fit on your shotgun? __________________ Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy, and taste good with catsup - George of Lod, Year of Our Lord 297 I always take precautions. Beware the Evil Bullet Fairies.

10-09-2012, 10:07 PM	#12
robman2629 V.I.P. Member Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Maine Posts: 123	Re: Shotgun Choke question huh? Will the 30-06 fit my shotgun? No its a brand new rifle. Im going to get a mosseberg rifled barrel with a scope sometime this week.