Choking for a newbie?

[El Spavo]

Absolutely. Although even as a newbie I like to research this stuff so I understand what people are talking about and have a rough idea, I'm aware I'm VERY green to the actual practical side, kind of like a bloke who can strip and rebuild an engine yet who has no idea how to actually drive a car. As such, Im enjoying learning but I have found that when talking to gun shops, that little bit of knowledge seems to translate into them giving very good advice as to what to look & feel for and what not to bother worrying about especially when they get I understand the jargon they're using so they don't have to dumb it down too much. Seems like it's like making an effort in trying to speak the lingo when abroad.

Think I'm in that limbo stage where the first few times it was just enjoyment, like your mate, but now I'm looking into spending a wedge, it seems fitting I know a little about what I'm getting myself into even though I'm not taking it too seriously. As I said, it's fun learning at the mo.

 

[Nimbusgb]

1/2 and 1/2 and go shoot stuff.

 

[El Spavo]

Settling on a multichoke, but on fixed choke guns, is there any rhyme or reason as to what it comes with? is it simply whatever the company decides to fix it with that day when they're making them or do models tend to have the same choke again & again? Just seen lots of MK60's, 6000's, etc. which have totally different chokes to each other and it seems pot luck that the manufacturer makes the right amount if they randomly divvy out the choking?

 

[ehb102]

Settling on a multichoke, but on fixed choke guns, is there any rhyme or reason as to what it comes with? is it simply whatever the company decides to fix it with that day when they're making them or do models tend to have the same choke again & again? Just seen lots of MK60's, 6000's, etc. which have totally different chokes to each other and it seems pot luck that the manufacturer makes the right amount if they randomly divvy out the choking?

Well, a trap gun will be small - large in firing order because the clay is going further away. A game gun for driven will be the other way around as the bird is flying towards you. Skeet chokes are a pair because the clay's range is close and limited. 

 

[MartynB]

what normally happens is that the manufacturer decides  how their fixed choke guns are made for a particular model / year . For a game gun it might be 1/4 and 1/2 ,  it might be the same for a sporter , or 1/4 and 3/4. Trap guns are generally always 3/4 and full . It’s obviously easier to take metal out of a gun for the buyer hence some of the tight top barrels .   Throughout the life of a gun model the manufacturer may make changes in those combinations , depending on what is currently trending in the shooting world . Over and Under guns normally have the tighter choke in the top barrel , and most have a selector switch so you can choose which barrel fires first  ( even some trap guns like my MK 38 have that option ) . Of course the choke put in at the factory on mass produced stuff  is just a number of thousands of an inch construction on  the nominal bore size . It bears no relation to the pattern the gun shoots with cartridge x , y , or z . 

 This is where the fun starts , the gun gets to us , the shooters .  We decide that Browning’s 3/4 top barrel  is too tight for our needs and have a gunsmith open it out because we want 1/4 -  3/8 etc , this accounts for hundreds of variations in used gun racks . Some of us even go the whole hog and have the fixed choke gun converted at great expense to Teague’s thinwall multi choke system . 

All this goes to prove really ,  is that you give a toy to a bloke, he  just cant help messing ... me :,I’m a serial gun meddler myself  

The real thing to bear in mind is that a factory standard multichoke is probably an easy thing to exchange in 12 months when you are addicted and sell your kidney to buy something new ! 

 

[Finners]

You've not said what type of clay shooting you are looking to do. As you will have gathered by now, there are a few different versions of what is collectively called "Clay Shooting" So, given you are a beginner, it's fair to assume that you're unlikely to have established which type of shooting you're going to find the most enjoyable in the longer term. 

So, if you decide to try Skeet, you would be better off to open up the chokes. If you want to try Trap shooting, you need to go tighter. For Sporting you'll generally be OK with a 1/4 and 1/2 for practically all targets. Therefore, you'll be better off with a M/C to start with. 

 

[El Spavo]

Yup, thanks for all the comments, taken them on board and all very informative. Not totally sure exactly what all the disciplines are at the mo, although I understand there's quite a few, but so far I've just gone to Barbury & Royal Berks and gone along the lines of their numbered stands which have had clays going straight ahead, towards me, left to right, some near, some distance, so nothing special. From everything I've read I'm gonna stick to 1/4 & 1/2 as that seems the most sensible until I get to grips with if I even NEED to change choke.

 

[El Spavo]

If you go for a multi-choke gun stick in 1/4 and 1/2 and forget about changing them for a while.

Went for a B525 so it's multi-choke but just noticed it's got a 1/2 & 3/4 in the barrels. Same as you, loads of people have said whack a 1/4 & 1/2 in and it should be good for clay but can you guys recommend what to lube the thread with if I'm changing them over as it's currently dry where it's been sitting in the pot in the case?

 

[Bebo]

I've got fixed 3/8 in both barrels of my K80 Parcours. If I miss any distant targets it's down to me not having the gun pointed in the right place not the chokes. On really close end-of-the-gun stuff I have some 9 piston wads in my pocket to use.

Proved it yesterday.  One of the more distant targets at EJC yesterday was a 70mm l-r crosser that was shifting pretty fast.  Hit every one.

Shame I couldn't do the same on a lot of the closer / simpler targets!  All down to me, nothing to do with the chokes.

 

[Will Hewland]

Went for a B525 so it's multi-choke but just noticed it's got a 1/2 & 3/4 in the barrels. Same as you, loads of people have said whack a 1/4 & 1/2 in and it should be good for clay but can you guys recommend what to lube the thread with if I'm changing them over as it's currently dry where it's been sitting in the pot in the case?

I just wet the thread end with a drop of gun oil. Never had a choke stick. I also make sure the threads are clean before they go in, which is another reason I don’t change them while shooting.

 

[Stigger]

Went for a B525 so it's multi-choke but just noticed it's got a 1/2 & 3/4 in the barrels. Same as you, loads of people have said whack a 1/4 & 1/2 in and it should be good for clay but can you guys recommend what to lube the thread with if I'm changing them over as it's currently dry where it's been sitting in the pot in the case?

I use Clenzoil Hinge Pin Jelly, which I find great for hinge and chokes, previously I did use a drop of gun oil on the chokes which was fine although the chokes worked loose on the odd occasion. They never do since I started using the pin jelly. (could be coincidence though).

 

[Doug Pinnegar]

I just wet the thread end with a drop of gun oil. Never had a choke stick. I also make sure the threads are clean before they go in, which is another reason I don’t change them while shooting.

You can tell you're a precision engineer! 

 

[Westward]

When it comes to lubrication and guns, it's not massively important what you use - within reason of course - but it is important to use it very sparingly, especially in the current hot weather.

I have a couple of tubes of 'Schmierfix' which is available from Alan Rhone and I use it for all the bearing surfaces and choke threads. (A tube lasts me about 5 years). The ejectors get an occasional drop of gun oil and I have some extra light oil for the very rare occasions I waste an hour or 2 by pulling the stock off and cleaning the action and relubing fulcrums and pivot points.