No offence Sal, just a little gentle pish take. 
Chokes for Sporting.
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Dean B
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1/2 and 1/2
Probably the most misunderstood of all shotgunning things is choke. There is such a thing as a bad choice (Full for Skeet) but on the whole it's what works for you. If you truly think you never miss close targets due to too much choke (you're wrong), then that's fine because there are certainly times when too much is better than too little.
You can learn to overcome the inherent restrictions of very tight chokes by learning to shoot well enough to place a tiny spread on a fast target, but you can't learn to increase your luck the other way round ! That is to say throwing a true 1/4 choke on a distant teal is just asking for trouble.
The undeniable facts are that the better you are the more choke you'll use, a good shooter needs the psychological side of hard breaks as much as the spread, probably more so. It can have an undermining affect on the opposition too. A while ago I was talking to Shaun about some shoot we'd both been to and I'll never forget what he said. My default choke being 3/4, I'd tackled and minced this particular stand of fairly tough high and fast edge on birds leaving Shaun to observe a very high standard shooter floundering after I'd left. He literally said It'd done his head in. :.: :.: :.:
You can learn to overcome the inherent restrictions of very tight chokes by learning to shoot well enough to place a tiny spread on a fast target, but you can't learn to increase your luck the other way round ! That is to say throwing a true 1/4 choke on a distant teal is just asking for trouble.
The undeniable facts are that the better you are the more choke you'll use, a good shooter needs the psychological side of hard breaks as much as the spread, probably more so. It can have an undermining affect on the opposition too. A while ago I was talking to Shaun about some shoot we'd both been to and I'll never forget what he said. My default choke being 3/4, I'd tackled and minced this particular stand of fairly tough high and fast edge on birds
leaving Shaun to observe a very high standard shooter floundering after I'd left. He literally said It'd done his head in. :.: :.: :.:Hamster,
Exactly, it certainly boosts your confidence to dust targets and it certainly sets in the rot if you are chipping your way to a score without knowing quite where you are.
I certainly shoot better with tight chokes, it just amazes me why with the cost of guns and technology how it is today why some people prefer fixed choke tight chokes when if it was a balance thing they could replicate the balance with thinwall Teagues or Briley's.
Exactly, it certainly boosts your confidence to dust targets and it certainly sets in the rot if you are chipping your way to a score without knowing quite where you are.
I certainly shoot better with tight chokes, it just amazes me why with the cost of guns and technology how it is today why some people prefer fixed choke tight chokes when if it was a balance thing they could replicate the balance with thinwall Teagues or Briley's.
EdSolomons
Well-known member
no temptation to change.
The term should be piss off, as in piss aff ya old barsteward you are reekin o'pish.No offence Sal, just a little gentle pish take.
Can we close this thread and start why .22 is better than .177 please ?
( No start your own thread, and if you have a sensible comment, please share or pish off )
P
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Another for the jokes section.
chippy
Well-known member
Will Hewland
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Mark Jones
Well-known member
Vince Hancock was shooting skeet and full at the Olympics! enough said!Probably the most misunderstood of all shotgunning things is choke. There is such a thing as a bad choice (Full for Skeet) but on the whole it's what works for you. If you truly think you never miss close targets due to too much choke (you're wrong), then that's fine because there are certainly times when too much is better than too little.
You can learn to overcome the inherent restrictions of very tight chokes by learning to shoot well enough to place a tiny spread on a fast target, but you can't learn to increase your luck the other way round ! That is to say throwing a true 1/4 choke on a distant teal is just asking for trouble.
The undeniable facts are that the better you are the more choke you'll use, a good shooter needs the psychological side of hard breaks as much as the spread, probably more so. It can have an undermining affect on the opposition too. A while ago I was talking to Shaun about some shoot we'd both been to and I'll never forget what he said. My default choke being 3/4, I'd tackled and minced this particular stand of fairly tough high and fast edge on birds
Mark Jones
Well-known member
On stand 6?
Getting back on thread, Vince Hancock doesn't shoot Sporting, which is what the majority on here do.
We have established that the majority of AA or AAA shooters may use tight chokes in the order of 3/4 & 3/4.
But why when asked do they recommend the use of open chokes?
As I said earlier, with Teague technology, why would you choose to have one set of barrels with let's say 1/2 & 3/4 choke and another set with 1/4 & 3/8, when you could have it multichoked and retain the same balance?
Much work as been done on patterning and there is evidence to suggest that 1/2 choke is ideal, indeed many people shoot 1/2 & 1/2 in every discipline.
Remember Sporting is now so very competitive that we all need as much help as we can muster, a golfer does not tackle a course with either a putter or a driver, they use a selection of up to 14 variations.
Why if you use 3/4 3/4 fixed choke gun would you risk a miss on a rabbit or close target ?
As I said earlier, I use 3/4 & Full Trap Gun and it is extremely satisfying to centre clays, but I do often wonder if I am handicapping myself.
We have established that the majority of AA or AAA shooters may use tight chokes in the order of 3/4 & 3/4.
But why when asked do they recommend the use of open chokes?
As I said earlier, with Teague technology, why would you choose to have one set of barrels with let's say 1/2 & 3/4 choke and another set with 1/4 & 3/8, when you could have it multichoked and retain the same balance?
Much work as been done on patterning and there is evidence to suggest that 1/2 choke is ideal, indeed many people shoot 1/2 & 1/2 in every discipline.
Remember Sporting is now so very competitive that we all need as much help as we can muster, a golfer does not tackle a course with either a putter or a driver, they use a selection of up to 14 variations.
Why if you use 3/4 3/4 fixed choke gun would you risk a miss on a rabbit or close target ?
As I said earlier, I use 3/4 & Full Trap Gun and it is extremely satisfying to centre clays, but I do often wonder if I am handicapping myself.
teepee1234
Well-known member
Being relatively new to ESP, getting confused with chokes/carts was something I was determined not ot do. A very clever man told me to stick with the chokes I use for skeet because they will likely break anything except something at silly distance. So far I've not come across anything that won't break with these chokes if the gun is pointing in the right place. He also told me to stick to one type of cartridge, until I'm breaking into the 80's. I've used skeet and 1/4 for all 10 registered shoots I've done so far, and i'm only just popping into the mid 70's and back again, so I'm sticking with this combo for now. Maybe the time is near that I start experimenting with tighter chokes - but for now, I'm happy with more chips than dust!
Skeet UK
Well-known member
All good advice you have been given, but...consider this. Most sporting shoots have a majority of average stands, and one or two silly hard stands. So, for these harder stands, it is likely that they won't be so close you can touch them.Being relatively new to ESP, getting confused with chokes/carts was something I was determined not ot do. A very clever man told me to stick with the chokes I use for skeet because they will likely break anything except something at silly distance. So far I've not come across anything that won't break with these chokes if the gun is pointing in the right place. He also told me to stick to one type of cartridge, until I'm breaking into the 80's. I've used skeet and 1/4 for all 10 registered shoots I've done so far, and i'm only just popping into the mid 70's and back again, so I'm sticking with this combo for now. Maybe the time is near that I start experimenting with tighter chokes - but for now, I'm happy with more chips than dust!
This is when you will need a touch more choke.
Clearly this advice has worked well for you. So now you are hitting the 70s, perhaps move up a constriction and see if that helps bring some more X's.
ianmaney
Well-known member
Could always just get your glasses sorted blinky, you'd know which bit of sky to shoot at then !!!
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teepee1234
Well-known member
As I said Skeet, maybe the time is near. I'll be spending a weekend with the "clever man" soon, maybe that'll be the time. But first, I need to be able to understand the difference between a "right choke" kill or miss and a "gun pointing in the right/wrong pigging place" kill or miss! Plenty of time, love it whether I win or not, not gonna adopt any unneccessary pressure!
teepee1234
Well-known member
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