Choke selection 12ga trap/skeet/sporting clay

I stick to the KISS method or stuff. Skeet = 2 x Skeet chokes, Sporting = 2 x IC, Trap = Mod or IM. For shells: Skeet = 8/9, SC/Trap = 7.5/8 I have found that if I commit to hardware, skill will develop around it. Oh, and lots or practice and learning.
 
Falconflyer said:
The fast track to shooting well.

1, Have your gun fitted by someone who knows what they are doing.
2, Find a good coach and take a few lessons.
3, Practice.
4, More coaching.
5, More practice.
6, Choke selection.

The slower method is to plug along figuring things out as you go.
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All great advice, but....... While it is not difficult to find an expert on shotgun fitting on the trap/skeet/sporting field, it is extremely difficult to find an expert that actually knows what he is doing. I see people all the time trying to figure out shotgun fit without patterning the gun, claiming to know where the miss was, "reading the breaks" etc. Expert gun fitters and shotgun coaches are hard to find outside the larger centres. In lieu of an expert, read The Stock Fitter's Bible.

www.amazon.ca/Stock-Fitters-Bible-Rollin-Oswald/dp/1451570384
 
I agree bdft but I think that most clubs have a small group of people who are good at standing behind a shooter and tell where the miss is and read the break, it's not that difficult to do for someone who has shot a bunch. Lots of small communities outside the major centers have avid shooters that are very experienced and can be very helpful for a new shooter. Hiring a professional coach is much harder to find and much more expensive but can be very valuable in some regards! Pro coaches can have a variety of approaches to their teaching, I know of one who states that he isn't going to tell you how you should shoot but instead will show you different methods of breaking particular targets and then let you decided how you want to do it. I also know another who is adamant that you shoot the way he tells you to with little or no exceptions!
I do a lot of coaching juniors and helping out at charity shoots and seldom have a new shooter walk away from a round of trap that hasn't increased their score just by taking my advice. One of the bits of advice I give is to watch the breaks. If the shooter takes the left edge off of a target I'll ask them if they noticed how the target broke and often when they think back they realize that they saw the left side break but didn't think anything about it. Pretty soon they're conscious of the breaks and calling them which is a great help for them figuring out where their misses are. It also gives them an understanding of what is happening and boosts their confidence level.
It's more difficult to find someone who knows how to properly fit a stock and frankly I don't know many that can do it properly even though it isn't really rocket science. I think most but obviously not all fitting problems can be cured with an adjustable comb and recoil pad, that way the stock can usually be made to work. Once you are fitted properly then a trip to the pattern board can be helpful to see if the gun is actually shooting where you are looking but perhaps something that is just as important is to see if the barrels are regulated properly but that should probably be done prior to getting fitted.
You do have to sort the wheat from the chaff so to speak and figure out who knows what they are doing and who doesn't but asking a few different people the correct questions can usually circumvent those problems.
 
Falconflyer said:
I agree bdft but I think that most clubs have a small group of people who are good at standing behind a shooter and tell where the miss is and read the break, it's not that difficult to do for someone who has shot a bunch. Lots of small communities outside the major centers have avid shooters that are very experienced and can be very helpful for a new shooter. Hiring a professional coach is much harder to find and much more expensive but can be very valuable in some regards! Pro coaches can have a variety of approaches to their teaching, I know of one who states that he isn't going to tell you how you should shoot but instead will show you different methods of breaking particular targets and then let you decided how you want to do it. I also know another who is adamant that you shoot the way he tells you to with little or no exceptions!
I do a lot of coaching juniors and helping out at charity shoots and seldom have a new shooter walk away from a round of trap that hasn't increased their score just by taking my advice. One of the bits of advice I give is to watch the breaks. If the shooter takes the left edge off of a target I'll ask them if they noticed how the target broke and often when they think back they realize that they saw the left side break but didn't think anything about it. Pretty soon they're conscious of the breaks and calling them which is a great help for them figuring out where their misses are. It also gives them an understanding of what is happening and boosts their confidence level.
It's more difficult to find someone who knows how to properly fit a stock and frankly I don't know many that can do it properly even though it isn't really rocket science. I think most but obviously not all fitting problems can be cured with an adjustable comb and recoil pad, that way the stock can usually be made to work. Once you are fitted properly then a trip to the pattern board can be helpful to see if the gun is actually shooting where you are looking but perhaps something that is just as important is to see if the barrels are regulated properly but that should probably be done prior to getting fitted.
You do have to sort the wheat from the chaff so to speak and figure out who knows what they are doing and who doesn't but asking a few different people the correct questions can usually circumvent those problems.
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The simple fact is that at most smaller clubs, there are no good coaches available, or fitters, so shooters either get assistance from the more experienced shooters , or they figure things out on their own. Of course there will be some well meaning people that offer advice, without understanding the basics themself, and it's up to the new shooters to decide who to take advice from.
 
I used to shoot alot of trap back in the day, I have my ATA 25, 50 and 100 pins somewhere. I'll just jump on the advice of most other people here. Pattern that gun, see where it shoots. Get some lessons and improve your shooting. The three disciplines are quite different in targeting, and I haven't spent much time with skeet or sporting clays, but what shooting I have done has let me know how different they can be.

I used to shoot with a guy who was one of the top american shooters, I believe he had won the Grand American one year or few. Anyways, sometimes when someone would blame their gun, or choke or anything, he would put down his dt-10 and offer to try out their old beat up 870, and after a couple of shots, he would smash the targets with it, and shoot 18+ with ease. It's really about the skills and not the equipment.

In terms of tram, figure out what kind of shooter you are, and go from that. It took me probably more than 100 rounds to figure this out. I end up waiting on the target a bit to hit it's peak height, then shoot. For my style a full or extra full was what worked best for me. I found I didn't reliably hit them at the longer ranges, or when shooting handicap with an IC, and mod/IM would chip targets but I loved inkballing them.

One thing to think about in ... not being great hitting targets is if you have a flinch, a good coach should help to determine this, and if its from the gun, or the target.
 
Hello. I’m a certified sporting clays instructor. I agree with the others, don’t worry about the chokes and just practise.
Stick with IC and SKEET and don’t be a chokeaholic. Also practise your gun mount consistency is key.
 
Choke selection is the last thing I think of .
Back when we had fixed choked guns , most guys used mod or full for trap and IC/ mod for skeet if using an O/U.
Nowadays it seems popular to switch chokes on a continual.basis , but the scores are no really any higher.
I danged near went straight two years ago on a wobble trap range with my 20 gauge SxS using the wrong choke by mistake! 7/8 oz #8 cheap factory stuff using the IC barrel I only dropped 2 birds . No real smoke but lots of clean breaks.I was as surprised as everybody else !:p I had quite a few rounds through the gun that year however and it fits me well, which ARE THE two the most important things IMO
Cat
 
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sharp shooter said:
The guy that named the chokes should have called the "full choke" a "trap choke"...
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I know that most trap shooters insist on using full or at least IM for 16 yard trap but in my opinion it isn't necessary if you don't wait all day to take the shot. I've had a lot of success with a mod choke and I've even shot trap with a skeet choke in place just to see what would happen, I only lost a couple of targets and I can't say that the choke tube was to blame. The breaks weren't what you might call "inkballs" but there was no doubt they were broken!
 
For trap, a Mod choke is fine back to about 23 yards. I've hit targets with an IM choke back to the 27 yard line but once you're past 23 a full choke is better. At 16 yards you can break targets with anything if you don't wait around. For a beginner at trap a Mod or IM choke should be fine.
 
I'm a set it and forget it kind of guy when it comes to chokes and I like to choke for smoke. If the targets are inkballing it boosts my confidence exponentially and helps keep me focused. If I'm not inkballing with a tight choke I know I'm having an off day. Mod chokes don't give me the visual breakI want to see and cause me to start losing confidence thinking I'm off. My TM with the #9 choke absolutely destroys targets from the 16 and gives me good hard breaks with smoke visible from my assigned 25.5 yd handicap. I never change it...I do the same with skeet, I shoot an IC as it's tighter than a skeet choke at skeet distances and I like to see a black ball on the skeet field too.
 
the spank said:
I'm a set it and forget it kind of guy when it comes to chokes and I like to choke for smoke. If the targets are inkballing it boosts my confidence exponentially and helps keep me focused. If I'm not inkballing with a tight choke I know I'm having an off day. Mod chokes don't give me the visual breakI want to see and cause me to start losing confidence thinkingI'm off. My TM with the #9 choke absolutely destroys targetsfrom the 16 and gives me good hard breaks withsmoke visible from my assigned 25.5 yd handicap. Inever change it...I do the same with skeet, I shoot an IC
as it's tighter than a skeet choke at skeet distances and I like to see a black ball on the skeet field too.
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I am lazy where chokes are concerned. If it's raining, I use a waterfowl gun for skeet, and I leave the LM choke in. A 12 gauge with a LM choke smokes skeet targets very well, a huge difference from using my 410 with skeet chokes.
 
a j cave said:
The best way to improve your score is to get some instruction from a pro. It’s wort the cost.
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And from what I have witnessed in in 45 years of shooting clay targets is the vast majority don't care about improving their scores because they shoot once or twice a year at their local club as guests and are not interested in pursuing the sport the way those of us who are dedicated enthusiasts do...so they sure as heck are not goin g to pay for an instructor.

stubblejumper said:
The problem in many locations, is finding a good instructor locally.
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And this is bang on...unless you live in the larger population areas like Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto etc good luck finding an instructor. Consider it lucky just to find a club nowadays in the rural areas. They are getting to be fewer in number each season...
 
the spank said:
And from what I have witnessed in in 45 years of shooting clay targets is the vast majority don't care about improving their scores because they shoot once or twice a year at their local club as guests and are not interested in pursuing the sport the way those of us who are dedicated enthusiasts do...so they sure as heck are not goin g to pay for an instructor.



And this is bang on...unless you live in the larger population areas like Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto etc good luck finding an instructor. Consider it lucky just to find a club nowadays in the rural areas. They are getting to be fewer in number each season...
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We have one guy that shoots at least once per week, often twice per week in summer, and he has been shooting for over a year now. At first, he watched online videos, and asked for advice, but he hasn't improved at all. He still shoots skeet as singles, because he isn't ready to shoot
the doubles and he is still not consistently breaking 50%. He doesn't improve, because he makes no real effort to improve. On the other hand, I have handed out two 25 straight patches to people that started shooting after him. Some people are not going to improve, because they don't try, and they really don't care, the people that make a real effort ,usually improve quite quickly.
 
How did we ever break a target before the invention of screw in chokes
All those 100 straights from the 16 yard line even the odd 100 straight from the 37 yard line and many 93-98 scores
Let’s not forget about 100 straights in doubles
How was it ever done
Possibly because of talking about it on chat forms guys and girls practised 3 times a week with there fixed choked gun
When I was shooting 16 yd targets at a tournament and had a 95 going into the last 5 targets and ended up with a 97 or 98 or 99 I did not miss any birds because of a choke
I used a model 12 or a bt99 with mod choke most of the time for 16 yard birds and a full back at the 25 yard line
Practice practice practice
 
struff55 said:
How did we ever break a target before the invention of screw in chokes
All those 100 straights from the 16 yard line even the odd 100 straight from the 37 yard line and many 93-98 scores
Let’s not forget about 100 straights in doubles
How was it ever done
Possibly because of talking about it on chat forms guys and girls practised 3 times a week with there fixed choked gun
When I was shooting 16 yd targets at a tournament and had a 95 going into the last 5 targets and ended up with a 97 or 98 or 99 I did not miss any birds because of a choke
I used a model 12 or a bt99 with mod choke most of the time for 16 yard birds and a full back at the 25 yard line
Practice practice practice
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I know it's a typo but thank god we don't have a 37 yard line. I've never shot better than a 96 from 25.5.
 
Common Spank I know you've shot turkey and buddy shoots from the 37.Pemberton Meat shoot you can shoot what you brung ,some heavy brass from back of the bus lol.
 
the spank said:
I know it's a typo but thank god we don't have a 37 yard line. I've never shot better than a 96 from 25.5.
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One day we decided to take a couple of steps back shooting skeet, and we added two steps each round. At station 8, we took two steps forward each round. At 6 steps, the difference really started to become a factor.
 
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