Are All Chokes just the same?

tod0987

tod0987

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So I've picked up a new stoeger m3000 for hunting and it came with 3 chokes. From turkey hunting I realize some are a lot better than others for getting the extra tight 50yd patterns this makes sense to me, but for dove and duck, does it really matter between the small factory ones and the $30-50 ported etc Carlson's types? or just a gimmick? Isn't ID, ID?

Thanks,
 
I use the extended choke for their ease use when changing, while having an extended tube for 3gun, where you can be using different chokes in same match.
If it were for hunting, I’d just use the stock ones that came with it.
never occurred to me that one could pattern better. I’d be skeptical of that. But have never compared two like chokes of different styles.
 
BlackGun said:
They’re all the same. But ammo/shells are not. Example: flight control shotshells.
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yea I remember the hubbub about those when they came out, less contact with the shot to prevent erratic spread or something like that. I think they have the weird petals that flip out to slow the wad away from the shot mass.
 
NKD said:
I use the extended choke for their ease use when changing, while having an extended tube for 3gun, where you can be using different chokes in same match.
If it were for hunting, I’d just use the stock ones that came with it.
never occurred to me that one could pattern better. I’d be skeptical of that. But have never compared two like chokes of different styles.
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ok yea makes sense quick change vs digging for a choke wrench.

What I've wondered is does the rate of constriction effect how the shot expands outward once it leaves the barrel. ie a short choke crams it together fast over shorter distance than one with a more tapered design. Would the shorter faster constriction make the shot bounce back and outwards more? Newton's 3rd law. Just thinking during pressure washing all day.
 
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tod0987 said:
yea I remember the hubbub about those when they came out, less contact with the shot to prevent erratic spread or something like that. I think they have the weird petals that flip out to slow the wad away from the shot mass.
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The wad opens from the rear and acts like a drogue chute and slows the wad to keep it from blowing through the pellets. They are 100% as good as advertised. I've shot a crap ton of them and patterned them side by side with non FC shells.
 
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I have a number of extended/fancy chokes from different manufacturers. Some of them have posts or progressively tighter rings to do in theory what the flite control wad does (slow the wad.) Some of them work OK. Some I see no difference from a standard Remchoke in comparable constriction.
 
RR said:
I have a number of extended/fancy chokes from different manufacturers. Some of them have posts or progressively tighter rings to do in theory what the flite control wad does (slow the wad.) Some of them work OK. Some I see no difference from a standard Remchoke in comparable constriction.
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Thanks RR
 
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tod0987 said:
ok yea makes sense quick change vs digging for a choke wrench.

What I've wondered is does the rate of constriction effect how the shot expands outward once it leaves the barrel. ie a short choke crams it together fast over shorter distance than one with a more tapered design. Would the shorter faster constriction make the shot bounce back and outwards more? Newton's 3rd law. Just thinking during pressure washing all day.
Click to expand...

Certainly possible. I have fancy extended and stock choke and they shot the same as far as knocking off steel plates at controlled distances. And busting clays on stands.

I imagine a pro sporting clays guy/gal could tell us definitively.
 
My $.02:
1. Most chokes in general do what they are supposed to do and nominally tighten loads up
2. Some chokes that had Branding work with the right gun and the right ammo
3. A few chokes are literal range multipliers.... and are badass when paired with the right gun and ammo

I had a Carlson Long Beard Choke that made a larger pattern than no choke at all.... no matter the shell that ran through it.

I gave it to cuz to try out.. .and that SOB was popping Birds a long long way out... I'll have to call him to get the pellets in the head at 50 yards... but it was insane.

He used it during Goose Season and it worked with all of his Waterfowl Loads.... Blowing the back out of some of them. One he hit so hard flying toward him that it became a rock and just fell out of the sky and busted his blind door after it smacked him in the face... (I kinda like to have seen that one)
 
I use the standard chokes that come with the shotgun. And nine out of ten times it is IC. I have a dedicated turkey gun that has an extended choke that will throw a tight pattern of Heavy Shot out to 40 yards. Every gun is different so the best thing to do is spend an afternoon patterning your gun at 30 yards with the load you use the most with the chokes you have. Some IC chokes will throw a M pattern and vice-versa regardless of brand or price. Most shotguns will throw a pattern that is not at the POI. It may be up, down, left or right. I shoot a lot of steel which tends to pattern tighter than lead so an IC choke loaded with No. 2 steel will be close to a M choke with lead. This was a bit interesting. One of the guys brought a case of BOSS shells for everyone to try out one morning and they worked quite well. This was a morning hunt in Kansas last season using a IC choke at 30-40 yards with BOSS brand 2 3/4" 1 1/4 oz. No. 5 tungsten. They shot tight groups with an IC choke so you never know until you knock things down consistently or punch itty bitty holes in paper.




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Downeast said:
I use the standard chokes that come with the shotgun. And nine out of ten times it is IC. I have a dedicated turkey gun that has an extended choke that will throw a tight pattern of Heavy Shot out to 40 yards. Every gun is different so the best thing to do is spend an afternoon patterning your gun at 30 yards with the load you use the most with the chokes you have. Some IC chokes will throw a M pattern and vice-versa regardless of brand or price. Most shotguns will throw a pattern that is not at the POI. It may be up, down, left or right. I shoot a lot of steel which tends to pattern tighter than lead so an IC choke loaded with No. 2 steel will be close to a M choke with lead. This was a bit interesting. One of the guys brought a case of BOSS shells for everyone to try out one morning and they worked quite well. This was a morning hunt in Kansas last season using a IC choke at 30-40 yards with BOSS brand 2 3/4" 1 1/4 oz. No. 5 tungsten. They shot tight groups with an IC choke so you never know until you knock things down consistently or punch itty bitty holes in paper.




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Nice hunt. one lost juv snow took the wrong turn out of Missouri. Yea I'm headed to the range this week to break it in with couple boxes of heavy loads. Drew a permit for Lower Roanoke Dove on opening day.
 
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tod0987 said:
Nice hunt. one lost juv snow took the wrong turn out of Missouri. Yea I'm headed to the range this week to break it in with couple boxes of heavy loads. Drew a permit for Lower Roanoke Dove on opening day.
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Good luck on the doves.
 
Not all 12 ga bores are the same ID - differs by brand. Combo of bore ID, choke, and ammo/wad can make a big difference.

BUT much of the aftermarket choke business is built on marketing hype.

As they say - chokes change patterns by inches, we usually miss by feet.

I will add that the FC wads are magic - buckshot patterns like you wouldn't believe at 50 yards. Softball size groups at 25 yards.
 
If you take the time to mic the chokes you will see a larger variation on (most) factory chokes than on GOOD quality chokes like Briley. In other words the best chokes have a tighter tolerance/ deviation from the listed constriction. If both chokes have the same constriction then both will pattern the same. If they are both listed as " .020" constriction (modified choke ) and the factory choke mics at .023 while the Briley choke is .020 it could make a theoretical difference but still not likely to make a Practical difference
 
No, they aren't all the same. They all attempt to do the same thing, but some work better than others.

Best thing to do is get some poster board and pattern your gun at the range you expect to be shooting. Then you can make a decision on which one fits your scenario better. Most times for Wing shooting it's an IC or Mod in my experience. It's not only the choke though, but the shells too. Some shells may pattern better with an IC than with a Mod, others will do better with the Mod. Try them out and see, it's the only way to know for sure that your setup is doing what you want it to do - aside from spending a lot of $ missing birds until you start hitting them.
 
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