Practice/training with full chokes?
- Thread starter altnipper
- Start date
Help Support Clay, Trap, Skeet Shooting Forum:
Jonny English
Well-known member
I've just bought a second 1/2 choke, i'm going to run on 1/2 and 1/2 all the time and learn to live with them.
Will Hewland
Well-known member
Can't recommend it too highly! My gun is fixed like that.
What I've found myself is I'm seldom actually going beyond 1/2 choke and mostly use 1/4 and cyl, majority of english sporting targets I think are within 40yards and show a bit of clay, think I've only put the full choke in couple of times over the last 5 months. I suppose my point is if I can train myself to confidently practice with full and full then I would have to worry even less about the chokes (not that I really worry now)
http://losttarget.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/chokes-for-sporting-clays.html
http://losttarget.blogspot.co.uk/2008/03/chokes-for-sporting-clays.html
Lots of people do exactly that and there's performance test data to show that ½ really is the ideal all round choke with a larger kill pattern at 35yds than ¼ and more consistency than Full at 35 - 50yds.
I think that you have convinced yourself, I don’t change chokes that much at all, very very occasionally a ¼ or skeet choke will go in on a target. But 99% of the time its ½ ½ or 3/8 and ½ choke.
In sporting the target will be similar but not the same as the one you have been practicing so my opinion is learning to read the breaks with my given choke rather than a 'standard' sight picture is more of a benefit to me.
So with this in mind I just work on getting consistent good kills with the chokes I intend to shoot the comp with. My point is if you are reading the breaks whilst practicing and you start vaporising a clay because you are using full choke but in a comp you use cyl you are not going to be able to read it the same. They might be good breaks but not the balls of dust you see whilst practicing.
I understand what you are getting at and if you think it will help you then go for it, I can see it being a benefit for a fixed target discipline like skeet it just didn’t work for me with sporting as what I was seeing practicing was not the same as I was seeing competing.
Chard
Well-known member
Last edited by a moderator:
A lot of targets are a lot lot closer than 40yards and a lot show a load of clay so surely there is a disadvantage in using tighter chokes than necessary. I'm probably asking a question that's been dealt with a few times before I'm guessing! The comment about quality of kills is a good point vaporising vs good breaks. I'm quite confident in my choke selection, as I said before I don't blame them when I miss I think there is a difference between trying to rely on the chokes to help you out and using them to your advantage.
watchman
Well-known member
I think a lot of this really depends on the cartridge used and the profile that the clay is showing you at the time you pull the trigger, for instance I shoot OT pretty much exclusively and after much experimentation I have found for myself that full and X full do the buisness , this is of course using 24g shells firing at an edge on target also I do tend to let the bird get out a good way before engaging it, I tried 1/2 and 3/4 and even 1/4 for this particular discipline eventually realising that my scores went up the tighter the chokes i used.
But I guess this combo just suits my style and timing.
But I guess this combo just suits my style and timing.
Will Hewland
Well-known member
Choke arguments for trap are a different thing to sporting. Trap is technical and chokes must be a definitive thing. There is surely right and wrong with trap chokes? Sporting is another world, where target variety and even surprise means that a compromise must be found. Most important, leave the sporting brain unchoked.
Jimbob
Well-known member
That's what I use. Never change them whethers its a big Fitasc target or a close in skeet target.
It's all about eliminating the variables and reducing the "if only i changed.." when your learning in my opinion.
Same catridges, same chokes, good coaching and lots of practice
EdSolomons
Well-known member
That's what I use. Never change them whethers its a big Fitasc target or a close in skeet target.
It's all about eliminating the variables and reducing the "if only i changed.." when your learning in my opinion.
Same catridges, same chokes, good coaching and lots of practice
It's all about eliminating the variables and reducing the "if only i changed.." when your learning in my opinion.
Same catridges, same chokes, good coaching and lots of practice
RobertBeard
Moderator
How odd to read this when on the vast majority of clays on Saturday I only broke the second clay in the pair with 1/2 choke. First barrel had 1/4 in it. Clearly if I'd had half and half in each barrel I would have hit a lot of the first birds.
Well that's what my mind is now trying to tell me :girlcrazy: :girlcrazy: :girlcrazy:
Chard
Well-known member
Depends what the targets are.
Always cracks me up when Sporting shooters who use different chokes in each barrel say they never swap barrels.
I think it's a load of old cobblers really.
ickeat:
Always cracks me up when Sporting shooters who use different chokes in each barrel say they never swap barrels.
I think it's a load of old cobblers really.
ickeat: 
Richard59
Well-known member
1/4 and 1/4, I put them in the very day I bought the gun, never changed, kept to same shot size 7.5 ( mostly Olympics) as others have mentioned tried to keep what can be controlled constant, then disciplined prcatice, don't do jollys as a rule.
Jonny English
Well-known member
This may sound daft, or just coincidence etc, but i've had 4, 100 bird game days this season and shot with 1/4 and 1/2 (before I got the extra 1/2 choke) and i haven't killed a single bird with 1/4, all my kills were with 1/2 regardless of which barrell I fired first. I pricked 1 or 2 with 1/4, but never killed anything dead with 1/4, got some very good kills with 1/2 though. Strange but true and thats whats made me get another 1/2 choke.
Technically yes, however how often do I miss with ½ that I would have hit with ¼ or skeet, over a hundred birds one day I might pick up one or two, another day none at all. However I like the kills I get with ½ even at close range, I know what it does and has been said above it is simplifies my shooting and that definitely picks up more targets than changing chokes ever would for me.
If I miss 10 out of 10 birds on the skeet range with ½ then I know I am going to miss 10 out of 10 with CYL as I am doing something fundamentally wrong.
Also what happens at a cross over point distance, do you go up a choke or stay the same, thinking about that is time I could be thinking about hold and pick up points etc.
On some targets I do change where I am confident it’s the right choice, I did last week on a low quick driven, 4 out of 4 on it but i don’t think it would have cost me any staying with ½. First time I changed in god knows how many shoots though.
I know some who twiddle chokes and win AA so if that’s what you need to do then do it, but I genuinely feel you should shoot the choke you would use in a comp whilst practising whatever it maybe.
And what happens when a good break gives you confidence ?
Yes I would rather have 10 chips than 9 balls of dust, but I would rather have 10 good breaks (not balls of dust) than any of them. It means I am doing it right and that gives me confidence.
A stand where I have had 4 clips and it can play on my mind for the next 4, a stand with 4 good kills and I am calm and confident. The score might end up the same but its how I feel.
If you are different to me then fair play to you, it works for you, but it's not a load of sh*t to me.
