question about exteneded chokes for waterfowl

[Ottawacats]

So do they truly do anything, is there a benefit to them? I fully understand patterning a shotgun and knowing where it shots, we practice by shooting skeet. We learnt that fast when my friends 870 was off more then 6" at 50 yards, it went back under warranty. So is there a gain to be had to say a Carlson choke (or other brand) for waterfowl. We hunt layout blinds for geese and river edge for ducks. The range we would like to get out to is about 50 yards or so, is it even doable? Most of the group is shooting 3" 12ga shells, for me it will be out of a Remington 870.

Matt

 

[madtrapper143]

Wow to answer that question would take a volume of info that would make a book. The nice thing about an extended choke tube is that the pounding the choke takes with lettered size steel shot (BB, BBB, T and F) is the choke not the barrel. There are constriction type chokes (Carlson's, Tru Lock etc) and wad stripper chokes (Pattern Master). The constriction choke works like any old choke by squeezing the shot charge down to make a tighter pattern. The wad stripper choke slows the wad for an instant (this is open to dispute) and allows the charge to be unimpeded by the wad on the way to the target. Constriction chokes work best with numbered sized shot ( 1,2, 3 etc) while the wad stripper chokes work better with lettered sized shot (BB,BBB, T and F) With the shooting you describe I would (large birds 50 yards plus) recommend Pattern Master Code Black Goose or Duck and BB 3" magnums. Don't forget to pattern this combo and make sure it works. I am sure other water fowlers will have some suggestions too.

Darryl

 

[ianthomson]

Right off the bat, 50 yrds is a heck of of a shot. Not to tell ya how to suck eggs, bit find a surveyors tape and measure 50 yards. It is very long shot. Second. I have been chasing birds for 30+ yrs, and still won't take a 50 yd shot at ducks or geese, snows yes, but they are a special breed and have worked on chokes, shells and guns for along time to do it.

Do extended chokes work, yes, they do. But to figure out what will work with YOUR gun, shells and choke will take months at the pattern board. There is no off the shelf do all combo that will do it for you.

For me, I am running 2 3/4 in shells, at 1600 fps, out of Carlons IC, in 1's and B's. My limit is 45 yrds on a good day. But that took two years to figure out. My SX3 with a LM was way too tight, so I stepped down, only the paper let me know.

My suggestion is to either pick a load, or a choke, and start patterning. For a 870, I am running RSI 65, or RSI 131, or Kent fast steel in 1's, with a Carlson's Extended, ported IC. I can leave the choke, and adjust the shells. The other option is pick a shell, and play with choke.

Have fun, it a learning curve for shure.

 

[JamesM]

If you truly want to kill waterfowl at 50 yards you should invest in a 10 gauge. Very few 12 gauge loads produce a consistent enough pattern to 50 yards, even in the days of lead it was a hard thing to do. Not to mention the challenges faced when trying to hit a bird that far away.