Ported Chokes

[Teky0101 6]

Hi Everyone,

I have recently passed my Huntered Education class and purchased a Mossberg 535 shotgun to be used for Turkey hunting. My gun came with a XX Full Turkey Choke but I also purchased another XX Full Ported Turkey Choke from Mossberg. However, I have been hearing conflicting stores if the ports actually reduce muzzle flip. Does anyone have experience with ported chokes? Thank you for your help!

[dave545 15]

yes it helps, it also helps reduce the spread of your shot because it separates the wad before exiting the barrel because the ports slow the wad. i use a pure gold trap ported choke and love it

[henrym 19]

Those turkey loads hit pretty hard, and the porting should, in theory, reduce some of the recoil.

[Jersey Joe 4]

The only provable fact about shotgun barrel porting is it makes your report louder. Porting a rifle/pistol barrel can reduce muzzle jump a bit. In regards to chokes, it's all a marketing tool.

[dave545 15]

hey jersey joe do you shoot alot of shotguns shells through a ported choke, and through a non ported choke?

i load all my own ammo and shoot thousands of shells because i shoot ALOT of trap, there is a difference between the two...

[Jersey Joe 4]

I shoot flush chokes and extended ported chokes in the same gun. I also shoot different loads from 7/8 to 1 1/8, usually 7.5 and 8 pellets. I certainly do not shoot the volume that you do(not since my kids were born anyway)so I'm sure you're more in tune to the minutia of it. I'm saying that the differences are negligible for the masses. Control your recoil with shell choice and proper gun mount/fit. If that does not work look to install a recoil dampening system.

[dave545 15]

this is true but it will help reduce the spread of shot and recoil because in essence the extended tube becomes part of the barrel so its like a ported barrel shotgun, but i agree with you on the recoil pad, i bought the remington cell recoil pad for my 11-87 and it took at least 50% of felt recoil out of the equation it felt like a new gun

[Pew Pew Plates 358]

Ported shotgun barrels/chokes are great for making you practice cleaning. You need pressure to make porting work, pressure exiting the ports. This is because the high volume of high pressure gas being redirected up will recoil the gun down and counteract flip.

 

OK, so lets think here....

 

Shotguns have long barrels and use pistol powders. What are pistol powders? They are powders optimized for >5" barrels, powders that for the most part burn up in the first 5" or so of the barrel. After even the first 18" or so of barrel, there is virtually no pressure left by the time the wad passes the ports. If you think im wrong, put some masking tape over your ports and see if they blow off. They wont... and that means there is nothing significant flowing out of them. Just dirt and crap to clean out with Q tips.

[dave545 15]

oookkk... well shoot a non ported and a ported and tell me that your pattern is not tighter

 

ill test this some time next week and post results the ports help slow the wad down so it doesnt impact or spread the shot

[Pew Pew Plates 358]

oookkk... well shoot a non ported and a ported and tell me that your pattern is not tighter

 

ill test this some time next week and post results the ports help slow the wad down so it doesnt impact or spread the shot

 

Ports do nothing to strip the wad. If they do, they are made TERRIBLY wrong. You can buy special chokes that hold back the wad...but they are a gimmick.

 

 

You testing a ported vs non ported barrel will be 2 different barrels. Every barrel/gun/choke/load combo patterns differently. For your test to be valid you will need to pattern a non ported barrel, send out the barrel to get ported and have it ported and nothing else done to it, then pattern it again. And what do you mean impact the shot...? The wad is to hold it all together. This is why fiber to plastic wads was a huge advancement and reduced the amount of choking needed. You WANT the wad...

 

"If the wad restraining theory was correct and given the fact that most barrel porting is positioned several inches behind the choke area, we can assume that the shot column would move ahead of the wad and make contact with the internal wall of the barrel thus resulting in some form of bore-scrub. In the case of lead shot we would see clear evidence of increased leading in the barrel or in the case of non-deformable materials such as steel we would see longitudinal abrasive marks in the barrel. Again, I’ve seen no evidence of this. Further to this, I’m not sure what barrel manufacturer would openly advocate such a system."

[Jersey Joe 4]

"well shoot a non ported and a ported and tell me that your pattern is not tighter"

 

I simply do not agree with this. I contend that porting shotgun barrels/chokes is a gimmick.

 

AND...choking itself to some extent is overated. I've seen top shooters hit 50 yard targets all day with skeet chokes. As they say...it's not the arrow, it's the indian

[Parker 213]

Hi Everyone,

I have recently passed my Huntered Education class and purchased a Mossberg 535 shotgun to be used for Turkey hunting. My gun came with a XX Full Turkey Choke but I also purchased another XX Full Ported Turkey Choke from Mossberg. However, I have been hearing conflicting stores if the ports actually reduce muzzle flip. Does anyone have experience with ported chokes? Thank you for your help!

 

Some thoughts:

 

* Before buying any more turkey choke tubes, pattern one first to determine how it patterns the turkey loads you've chosen.

 

* Shotshells operate are low pressures. Target loads operate in the range of 8,000 - 9,000 psi. Heavy magnum loads operate higher but still in the realm of 13,500 psi. Both are lower than many high-intensity handgun cartridges. Those low pressures are nothing compared to a high intensity rifle cartridge which can operate at pressures of 65,000 psi. When pressures are this high, recoil and muzzle climb are tamed more effectively when using a ported barrel. Porting on choke tubes is a cosmetic sales gimmick in my opinion. Ported shotgun barrels and ported choke tubes are also noisy. Anyone who's squaded with someone shooting a Cutt's Compensator on their muzzle knows you don't want to stand next to that guy. They are obnoxiously LOUD! Are ported tubes effective in reducing recoil? I doubt it very much. Reducing pressures inside the bore is a more effective way of reducing recoil. Having a buttstock that is full with a proper comb that falls away from your face upon recoil and one with depth and width in the butt face to spread recoil over a greater area will reduce recoil. Most "target" shotguns are heavy, promoting both barrel swing needed for the clay games and offering weight to absorb recoil and make extended shooting comfortable for the shooter.

 

* If you want soft recoil in your shotgun, use a barrel that's overbored for its gauge, and use removable choke tubes that are designed for overbored barrels.

 

If you really want a soft shooting shotgun (target or hunting) that patterns well, have some barrel work done to it by a professional who knows smoothbore barrels.

 

1) Start by lengthening the forcing cone. Most are cut relatively short, usually only 1/4" in front of where the shell opens to in the chamber. Google 'custom turkey guns' and you'll discover many have their forcing cones cut as long as 1 1/2" to 2". The concept is to reduce the backpressure and ease that big shot charge down the bore. The first "obstruction" the shot charge meets is the forcing cone as it reduces the bore size down to 12 ga. dimensions. It's been shown that re-cutting the forcing cone without a change in chokes will merit an 8%-12% improvement in pattern density. I've used both Briley's services & gunsmith Curtis Wilbanks to recut the forcing cones on my barrels specifically used for heavy turkey loads. Two gunsmiths on the East Coast, Bansner and Wilbanks were the first to offer custom-tuned shotguns specifically outfitted for turkeys and heavy loads more than twenty-five years ago. All they did was deploy some commonsense tricks when it came to squeezing a lot of lead shot down a barrel to produce tight patterns at extended ranges.

 

- Extended choke tubes work because they extend the parallel length of the choke. Longer choke tubes usually produce better patterns than shorter tubes, all things being equal. But that's not always the case. How deformed the shot charge is before it arrives at the choke also determines how effective the choke will be in dispensing a uniform pattern. Your wad, setback under pressure of the shot column upon ignition and pellet hardness also have a bearing on how deformed the shot charge will be. Ever hear of the term "square load" shotgunners use when describing the optimal load to be used in a particular shotgun gauge? The more shot the more difficult it is in getting that charge down the bore without too much deformity.

 

- Many target guns are overbored today to produce better patterns, and soften recoil, particularly target guns which will be shot for many rounds in a day's competition. Mossberg's 835 UltiMag is an overbored hunting shotgun. Overboring softens recoil by reducing pressures and also results in less deformed shot down the barrel. Browning and Winchester both offer overbored barrels today, and Beretta's Optima barrels are also overbored. Remington target trap guns have special bores and chokes unique to them and they are designed to deliver optimal dense patterns at 40 yds. with target loads.

 

Some early shotgun barrels with fixed chokes shooting unprotected shot still patterned very well. Why? The better shotguns had chokes with a parallel as long as six inches making up the choke. Shot was eased as opposed to slammed into the choke's constricting area. That's why those old shotguns shoot such tight patterns today with loads utilizing modern shotshell wads.

 

PS - If you check a recoil calculator, and put in the values of your shells (charge weight, velocity, powder charge) and the weight of your shotgun, you might be surprised at how much recoil a 2 oz. or 2 1/4 oz. 12 ga. will generate in your 7 lb. Mossberg 535. It isn't for the faint of heart. It would be more effective to add a mercury recoil reducer in the buttstock vs. a ported choke tube to tame recoil if that's a concern. But it shouldn't be if the gun is used for hunting. But your range sessions with various loads are going to be fun in a painful way.

Shotgun Recoil Calculator

[dave545 15]

i am going to test a ported choke and a non ported choke for my test on the same gun

[Teky0101 6]

Thank you everyone for your outstanding responces to my question, it has been a help! The package from Mossberg with the chokes is due to arrive tomorrow. I will then re-pattern the shotgun and see if the recoil is reduced with the ported choke. The odd thing is the first time I pattered the gun with Winchester SuperX 3" loads I aim at the middle of the target about 15 yards back and fired and the pattern all hit at the top of the target. Any ideas why? Also below is the question I asked Mossberg regarding the ported choke and their responce, it was quite interesting!

 

Question: My shotgun came with a XXFull choke for Turkey Hunting and today I purchased the X-Factor Ported Turkey Choke Tube from your website will there be a large difference in Muzzle climb with this new choke?

 

Answer: The ported choke tube should help reduced the muzzle jump o the barrel by about 10 or 15 percent.

 

Thank you everyone for your help.

Teky0101

 

PS: Does anyone know if there is a universal mercury recoil reducer that will fit the Mossberg 535?

[Parker 213]

Thank you everyone for your outstanding responces to my question, it has been a help! The package from Mossberg with the chokes is due to arrive tomorrow. I will then re-pattern the shotgun and see if the recoil is reduced with the ported choke. The odd thing is the first time I pattered the gun with Winchester SuperX 3" loads I aim at the middle of the target about 15 yards back and fired and the pattern all hit at the top of the target. Any ideas why? Also below is the question I asked Mossberg regarding the ported choke and their responce, it was quite interesting!

 

Question: My shotgun came with a XXFull choke for Turkey Hunting and today I purchased the X-Factor Ported Turkey Choke Tube from your website will there be a large difference in Muzzle climb with this new choke?

 

Answer: The ported choke tube should help reduced the muzzle jump o the barrel by about 10 or 15 percent.

 

Thank you everyone for your help.

Teky0101

 

PS: Does anyone know if there is a universal mercury recoil reducer that will fit the Mossberg 535?

Rather than shoot turkey loads at $2 to $3 apiece to figure out your point of impact relative to your point of aim, sight in your gun initially using some cheapo shells at the same distance. What type of sights on your shotgun; front bead?

 

If you really need a recoil reducer, try Brownell's: MERCURY RECOIL SUPPRESSOR

Some are designed to fit in the buttstock, or in the magazine tube, or secured to the underside of the shotgun's barrel. The buttstock is the most common place. But 2 oz. loads should be tolerable during a short range session with a shotgun of that weight. Only you can be the judge of that.

 

Lead shot in a bag stuffed in the stock's through-bolt hole is somewhat effective as a cheap alternative.

 

Get some turkey targets with a full head and neck image where the aiming point is below the wattles on the neck. Lower third before mid-point on the neck is the proper location to aim.