Choke Tubes

[huntrman]

This is a post for those people out there that are like me and don't quite understand all there is to know about the different types of choke tubes. I just bought a Remington 870 Express 20 gauge and was wondering what the different type of choke tubes are used for. So if someone out there that knows a lot about shotguns would be willing to help me and others out, that would be great.

Briefly explain what each choke tube is used for and what # shot is best out of the specific tube. Thanks!

Turkey Super Full -

Turkey Extra Full -

Full -

Modified -

Improved Cylinder -

For me specifically I plan on using this 870 20 gauge for rabbit, birds, turkey, and mostly clay pigeons. So any information would be helpful. Anyone willing to do this for me, it would be much appreciated, and if it helps out more than just me, maybe a sticky? Thanks again.

[dogdoc]

Re: Choke Tubes

IC--I use when hunting ducks early season over decoys. Also use for quail and skeet.

Modified---I use for ducks later in the season when they are a little decoy shy. Also use for rabbits and dove.

Full---Don't use the full much for what I hunt.

The extra full turkey chokes--just depends on what size shot you use and which one works best out of your gun.

Here is a site that has a nice chart for species hunted, shot size used, and choke recommended.

http://www.internetarmory.com/shotgun_hunting.htm

[AJ]

Re: Choke Tubes

I will give it a shot. First a little about chokes. The choke is the portion of the muzzle end of the barrel that determines how dense the pattern is based on its constriction. Think of the choke like a nozzel on a garden hose. You twist the nozzel to change the spray from a mist to a full stream. The same with choke tubes. the amounts of constriction I list below are for a 20 ga. The amount is greater for a 12 ga.

I will start with the least amount of constriction. These chokes give the widest pellet spread.

Cylinder - no constriction basically the barrel is a piece of pipe. This will give the widest pattern possible. This gives about 40% of the pellets in the payload inside a 30" circle at 40 yards.

Improved cylinder - This choke has about .010" constriction. This gives about 50% of the pellets in the payload inside a 30" circle at 40 yards. Its a great upland game choke that is effective out to 30 yards or so. It is also popular for skeet and sporting clays. Its a popular choke for shooting decoying ducks with steel shot. It is also popular for rifled chokes.

Modified - This choke has about .015" constriction. This gives about 60% of the pellets in the payload inside a 30" circle at 40 yards. It is a very popular one size fits all choke. It is a good comprimize for upland hunting when birds can flush farther out, when shooting waterfowl with steel shot, or shooting trap from the 16 yard line.

Full - This is a fairly tight constriction of .024". This gives about 70% of the pellets in the payload inside a 30" circle at 40 yards. It is popular for trap shooting, turkey hunting, pass shooting waterfowl, and buckshot loads.

Turkey Extra and Super Full - These are special chokes that are designed to throw a very tight dense pattern to more effectively kill a turkey. The amount of constriction varries a lot by the manufacturer. These are for lead pellets only.

Here is a chart that compares how different types of shot will act in different chokes.

As to which size shot is best, it depends. Every barrel is different. You have to try a few things and see what works best for you. Larger shot will give more energy per pellet but will have fewer pellets in the pattern. Smaller shot will have a denser pattern but will have less energy per pellet.

A pellet that is exiting the muzzle at 1200 fps (standard target load) will shoot as far out of a .410 bore as it will out of a 10 ga. The amount of pellets that hit with that force will be fewer in the smaller guns or more in the larger guns.

Here is a chart from Mossberg that will show effective pattern distances. The red areas are the optimum pattern densities.