Waterfowl choke tubes

daveg01

daveg01

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We do a fair bit of goose hunting over corn and barley fields in the early fall but the choke tube I have for my Stoeger P350 (came with it) is terrible (not really surprising) and I can't hit a damn thing. I checked the pattern on it at 30 yards with different 2 3/4" and 3" loads and it's not pretty.

Who makes a good choke tube that doesn't cost as much as I paid for the SG? I did a google search and found several that look great but I'm just not going to pay $150 for a choke tube. I'll go back to my fixed choked SG if it's going to be that much :rolleyes:, at least I know I can hit them out to 30 yards with that one.

Most shots are about 30 yards, and something that could reach further would be icing on the cake! I use steel shot and can shoot up to 3.5".

Opinions?
 
Steel tends to pattern better with a more open choke. I assume that it is a Mod choke that came with you gun. Might want to try the cheap route first, and get an IC. or Skeet choke and see if that helps. I tend to run my 870 with an IC choke, with the fastest steel shells I can find, say 1550 fps. Beyond 30 yards is iffy, IMHO for steel shot. Steel doesn't carry as much energy, at the longer distances.

Gonna give that Federal Black Cloud a try this year as well, heard some good things about it.
 
Yes - I tried the mod and the IC. I ran Black Cloud through them too. None of them patterned very well.

I will try the skeet, but I figured it would be too open.
 
What shot sizes have you tried? Are all the loads you tried similar in weight and speed? Some guns seem to prefer heavier/slower loads, while others do better with lighter/faster loads (some work well with both). Everybody I hunt with has found some load that works well with the factory tubes. If you provide some more details on the loads you have tried (Manufacturer, shot size, weight, velocity), maybe the guys here can give you some thoughts on what else to try before dropping some big bucks on an aftermarket tube that might not work any better than what you have now.

Jim
 
daveg01 said:
Yes - I tried the mod and the IC. I ran Black Cloud through them too. None of them patterned very well.

I will try the skeet, but I figured it would be too open.
Click to expand...
Give George here a call
http://www.trulockchokes.com/cgi-bin/eShop/index.cgi
One of the biggest selling chokes he has is actually a skt choke in his Percision hunter .
Trulocks are not expensive and totally warranted - you can get two delivered here for $100!:)
If you are shooting big steel, yes an open choke is the way to go, constricting the big numbered steel is not a good idea because of the caotic condition that happens inside the bore, as opposed to lead which tends to compress.
BTW, I use cyl/impcyl or impcyl/mod in my 20 gauge and drop geese like they are grouse!
I use either #2's or #4's steel over decoys.
Cat
 
I have tried #2 and BB in Federal (2 3/4 and 3"), Rem Nitro Steel again in #2 and BB (3" I think), and Black Cloud BB (3"). They were all in the 1350FPS range I believe. I think that's it, none of them shot really well at all.

I'll try some of the suggestions listed here and see how it goes.
 
From what you say you have tried, I would suggest trying a light fast load such as 1-1/8oz of shot @1550 FPS. Win and Kent both have 3" loads in this spec (possibly others as well). They also both have 1-1/16oz @ 1550FPS in 2-3/4" loads.

Jim
 
Pickupman, every gun (even of the same model) is slightly different due to variances in the manufacturing process. To have two "identical" guns pattern differently with the same load isn't unusual at all.
 
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