How important are interchangeable chokes?
- Thread starter wpgjw
- Start date
- Location
- Ft. Mac. Alberta
My tight waterfowl choke is my IC choke, and my mod opens the steel patterns up a bit .
I use the same gun in the uplands but using lead the chokes work the way they should - the mod choking a bit tighter than the IC.
In skeet I use the IC for my incomers and mod for my outgoing targets .
In trap I use the mod barrel and when shooting doubles I use the IC for my first bird.
it works and works very well.
Cat
You are right. The problem here is that some other posters are giving a new shooter advice on what works for them instead of what would be most suitable for him.
Choke tubes make a gun more versatile. Instead of multiple guns to shoot different sports you can have just one. When you find the game that you like best then specialize.
X2 Like CB says. The question is what is best for the shooter in question. I started trap with a single shot Cooey with a "choke bore" (full choke). It certainly hit birds all right, but I didn't like the external hammer and how it de-cocked. I had trouble unloading the gun safely when my hands were cold and it was certainly limited to shooting singles. The next gun I bought was a second hand Citori trap with 30 inch barrels and a full set of chokes. I still have it, though the stock is now something few guys can look at without up-chucking
. What I didn't have on the gun was an adjustable comb and and I needed to move my head position over about 1/8 to 3/16 inches to get it to shoot to point of aim. So, another feature I would put high up on my list of desirable features in the next gun I buy is an adjustable comb. Even if a gun feels right you don't really know how you need to adjust things until you are more experienced, shoot the gun at targets and check the patterning board. I ended up putting a stick-on pad to elevate the comb in my Beretta and all my guns sport Gracoil adjustable butt plates now. If your experience is anything like mine you will be eventually doing these things as you become a better shot and start knowing what you want. You can certainly install things like an adjustable comb and butt plate if you are patient and have some skill or you can have them installed for you (generally safer, but more expensive, of course). But it would be nice to have them going in. They will give you the important ability to adjust your gun to fit you and lessen the chance of building some bad habits. I was lucky and eventually ran into a 'very' knowledgeable shooter who was willing to help me with these things. It really smoothed out the learning curve and built confidence. One of my dreams is to have an actual fitting done by a pro while I was purchasing a gun. It certainly isn't necessary, as one can have a lot of fun just buying a gun and shooting it. But it would be a wonderful experience and probably add many happy hours of shooting with a gun that fit 'just right'. Best of luck.Thanks for all of those opinions. As someone new to all of this, I'm trying to figure out what to buy, that I'll be happy with for a while. My first experience at trap was with a very old 870, that certainly was more than capable, then I had a chance to shoot several rounds with a citori. It was a gun that just seemed to fit me much better, and was a more enjoyable experience. Any features on a gun one should look for otherwise?
Definitely look for something with a comb that's parallel to the bore; your cheekbone will thank you.
Also, just for the record, I will agree choke tubes make a gun slightly more versatile. However stock design and fit, in my experience, plays a far bigger role in the amount of success one will have as it determines where the pattern is going in relation to your eye. Imagine shooting a sporting clays rabbit with a high-shooting trap gun vs a flat shooting sporting clays gun. A bigger pattern might help you break the rabbit with a trap gun, but you'll be hitting on the fringe. I'd rather have the wrong size pattern going in the right place rather than the right size pattern going in the wrong place. And when it comes to spending hundreds more for a used gun with choke tubes, I'd rather just save the coin and get it threaded later.
So my advice (and it's really just free advice doled out over the 'net, so take it at it's worth!) is to buy a gun that fits, first and foremost; preferably with adjustable hardware for fine-tuning the fit and getting the best POI for the game you're shooting. Until you shoot a fair amount, your gun mount will very likely remain somewhat inconsistent, and having adjustable hardware will allow you to maintain a good fit with the gun as you refine your mount. Within a few months/years (depending on how much you shoot), you'll probably start really appreciating the nuances of gun balance, varying rib widths and designs, trigger pulls and lock time, bead styles, and all the other stuff that keeps shotgun makers in business. Subsequently, you may arrive at the conclusion that you like the way another gun handles better than what you're currently shooting... so just make sure that you invest in something that'll get you by for now, prove itself reliable, and will hold it's value or even increase as time goes by (be it through restoration work or gunsmithing such as having the barrels threaded for choke tubes), because there's certainly no guarantees that what you love shooting, and what you love shooting at today will still be your favourite shotgun, nor target presentation, in a year's time.
Also, just for the record, I will agree choke tubes make a gun slightly more versatile. However stock design and fit, in my experience, plays a far bigger role in the amount of success one will have as it determines where the pattern is going in relation to your eye. Imagine shooting a sporting clays rabbit with a high-shooting trap gun vs a flat shooting sporting clays gun. A bigger pattern might help you break the rabbit with a trap gun, but you'll be hitting on the fringe. I'd rather have the wrong size pattern going in the right place rather than the right size pattern going in the wrong place. And when it comes to spending hundreds more for a used gun with choke tubes, I'd rather just save the coin and get it threaded later.
So my advice (and it's really just free advice doled out over the 'net, so take it at it's worth!) is to buy a gun that fits, first and foremost; preferably with adjustable hardware for fine-tuning the fit and getting the best POI for the game you're shooting. Until you shoot a fair amount, your gun mount will very likely remain somewhat inconsistent, and having adjustable hardware will allow you to maintain a good fit with the gun as you refine your mount. Within a few months/years (depending on how much you shoot), you'll probably start really appreciating the nuances of gun balance, varying rib widths and designs, trigger pulls and lock time, bead styles, and all the other stuff that keeps shotgun makers in business. Subsequently, you may arrive at the conclusion that you like the way another gun handles better than what you're currently shooting... so just make sure that you invest in something that'll get you by for now, prove itself reliable, and will hold it's value or even increase as time goes by (be it through restoration work or gunsmithing such as having the barrels threaded for choke tubes), because there's certainly no guarantees that what you love shooting, and what you love shooting at today will still be your favourite shotgun, nor target presentation, in a year's time.
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