Shotgun choke question

Wham-O

Wham-O

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Guys...sorry if this question has been asked before, but i'm new to shotguns.
My neighbour at our cottage has asked me to go Grouse hunting with him this year.
I'm currently looking to purchase a Mossberg 500 shotgun (20 gauge) to use for this purpose.
While looking for a shotgun, different guns came with "chokes".
What do the chokes do? How do you know which one to use?
 
The choke refers to the constriction at the end of the muzzle. This determines the width and density of the shot pattern at varying distances. Most guns nowadays have screw in chokes consisting of Improved Cylinder, Modified and Full. Cylinder bore is no choke at all, meaning the end of the muzzle is the same width as the rest of the barrel. Improved Cylinder is a little more constricted and favourable for shooting inside of 35 yards, modified is a little tighter and full is tighter still. You should always pattern your gun to see how dense the patterns are at varying distances but for grouse and other small game at relatively close distances, Improved Cylinder or even Cylinder is the way to go. Grouse are not difficult to kill and the last thing you want to do is smash them with overchoked patterns. Hope this helps,

Patrick
 
Having completed a firearms course and gotten the pass .. you should know what a choke is and what they do. Any way , to answer your question, a choke is a restriction at the end of the barrel that will "focus" the shot. No choke, or cylinder bore will give a wide pattern of shot, good for up close and personal shots. The "improved cylinder" choke is a little more restrictive than the open, so it will pattern tighter than an "open or cylinder bore". A "full choke" is the most restrictive choke and will give the tightest pattern, great for those long shots. There are other chokes (modified etc.) but the basics are the more choke, the tighter the pattern and the farther you can shoot accuartely. As for what is best for your Grouse hunt, that depends on the hunting terrain, method (road cruising or cut-block walking) and the bird you're after. Anything in an improved and up to full should be fine, just shoot at some cardboard at a distance equal to what you figure you'll be shooting birds at and see how it patterns (high or low etc.) and go from there. Good luck and have fun.
 
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"Choke" is what you do when a bird busts cover practically at your feet and you're so startled you don't even get a shot away. :p

Seriously, though, the above replies pretty much cover it. Just make sure to pattern the gun at a variety of distances, with each of the chokes, using the shells that you will be using during the hunt (or a variety of shells to see which performs best.)
 
TPK said:
Having completed a firearms course and gotten the pass .. you should know what a choke is and what they do.
Click to expand...

Thanks guys!.....I truly appreciate the replies.

As for completing my firearms course..... well ....lets just say it was an FAC back then and if you don't use that type of gun, you tend to forget the baggage that goes with it.

Safe Shooting.....
 
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