Why buy Chokes?

[VicW]

I have said before that over the years I have helped keep Nigel Teague and Chris Potter (Briley) in new Range Rovers with the number of chokes that I have bought (and sold at a loss).

My Beretta auto came with but one choke,a flush fitting 1/2 Mobilchoke.You know,old technology!

So says I, best I buy some after market chokes because that scabby flush Beretta can't be much good!

I use a tight ish choke anyway so yesterday,in fit of madness,I decided to shoot a 100 sporting at Orston using the 'scabby' Beretta flush 1/2 choke and guess what,I shot at least as well as I usually do,a 76.

Wanna buy some chokes!!

Vic.

 

[Salopian]

VicW,

I know that feeling very well.

I always shoot 3/4 & Full (no choice)

Saturday I shot a Beretta Xcel with IC ( 0.005" Thou) at Hodnet. Brilliantly shot a number of 40, 50,60 yard crossers with 7,1/2 & 8,s never worried about choke or cartridges just loaded up and moved 'em out. Now if I had been given a choice I may of used 6,s or 7,s on some of the targets and changed chokes to 1/2 or 3/4, thought about it, and missed.

 

[chesterse]

Comes back to what a lot of people argue - leave 1/2 choke in and forget about chokes and concentrate on your shooting!

I've got 2 Beretta 682 x traps, one with fixed choke 3/4 and full and the other teague choked. For some reason I shoot better with the fixed choke gun but as I was going to Kibworth yesterday and opted for the multi choke version. Kibworth has a great layout of testing targets but mostly though angles and speed and not especially distance.

As it was p***ing down with rain all day and I could not be bothered changing chokes, conviced that the 1/4 and 3/8 I'd left in would be ideal for Kibworth type targets.

I forgot about chokes and shot really well for me with finishing on 87. On the way home there was the usual discussion and I commented on how the 1/4 choke was perfect for the close stuff and even broke the longest edge on looper.

Today when cleaning my gun - took the chokes out and found I'd been shooting with 1/2 and 3/4!! So so much for the more open chokes helping me on the close stuff. The nearest of which I had actually shot with 3/4!!

Is it all a load of chokelocks!

 

[ExSCA]

Is it all a load of chokelocks!

I have to confess to having mucked about with chokes for the first time recently, partly to test some Muller chokes out - but also to try and 'cope' with some different targets - big mistake, my shooting as gone downhill for the last three weekends. I put my 1/2 & 1/2 back in yesterday and still couldn't get back to my usual rhythm.... I'm sticking with those for a while in registered shoots until I get my form back.

 

[VicW]

The point I am making is not what size of choke to use but whether money spent on after market chokes is wasted without trying the manufacturers chokes that the gun came with.

There is lot of money spent and made on the sales of these chokes and someone like me could have bought several thousand cartridges over the years with that money.

I will accept,however,that perhaps the chokes supplied with guns from the cheaper end of the market may not be made to the same degree of accuracy as better quality guns.

Vic.

 

[optima]

i,ve considered after market chokes and indeed pattern tested several including teagues. shooting berretta,s i personally can,t see with all the years (and investment) they have that you can beat the optima,s that come with the gun, so why fiddle, i,ve cerainly not seen evidence of better patterns produced by after market chokes in any tests i,ve done.

 

[EdSolomons]

Save yourself a few minutes of your life, don't bother worrying about chokes shells or special beads- they will all remove attention from the main element of shooting which is how you should approach the target.

None of these will add kills to the card, messing around with any will likely remove them. Stick a

Pair of halves in, shoot one shell and learn what you are doing!

 

[hnachaj]

Chokes are like clubs in golf. Would you use an 8 iron for a chip shot? Possibly, but a sand wedge might be more accurate! Yes, you can put in a 9 iron! But a putter will be more accurate and less stressfull!

In shotgunning, you have two choices: vary your ammo or use the proper choke for the proper target.

For clayshooting, you are never too open with slow quality ammo. It is different for game! You must understand what your ammo/choke combination in YOUR shotgun will produce!

Henry

 

[VicW]

The point I am making is not what size of choke to use but whether money spent on after market chokes is wasted without trying the manufacturers chokes that the gun came with.

So Henry,do you have a fixed choke gun or multi choke? If it's multi do you use after market chokes or the manufacturers originals?

Vic.

 

[Clanchief]

Never tried after market, never will. Use 3/4 extended optima in both barrels and don't change them. Is the research and development department at Beretta a single man on an olive farm all winter, then when he is quiet a little choke designing for a few Euro. I think not baby puppy !!

chiefy

 

[TobyM]

I love fixed choke. I'll never have anything else

 

[Emmsy]

Never tried after market, never will. Use 3/4 extended optima in both barrels and don't change them. Is the research and development department at Beretta a single man on an olive farm all winter, then when he is quiet a little choke designing for a few Euro. I think not baby puppy !!

chiefy

my guess is he probably spends more time designing the aesthetics of the tube than the actual profile.

 

[hnachaj]

I have found NO difference between Optima and aftermarket chokes with the best slow ammo. Yes, slow is better than fast, less deformed pellets! I did use Muller in my DT10L because they stayed clean, improved the feel of the gun due to less weight up front and produced better patterns with CHEAP ammo. They were NO difference with good ammo. The DT11 that I now have seems to shoot tighter. I have not had time to do some patterns but all of my clayshooting shows smoke at distance with IC! I did do a comparison of shells and other shotguns on one of our ponds with a few members. It was the most visual way of showing the difference in shell performance. You could see the width and shotstring on the water at around 35 yards.It was a way to easily convince the uninformed about shells, chokes and patterns!

Henry

 

[Mark Jones]

Ed made a good point, Spent a lot on a gun and having the stock comb cut but the cheapest and best mod I ever did was to remove the bead!!!!!