while I was over at the jackson shop checking out his shotguns, he mentioned choke to me, which I was clueless about. He said it controls how the shell reacts coming out of the barrel. Does anyone have any info on this, or perhaps a good website to visit with good information on this?. Is it used more for hunting or shooting clays?

http://www.wildfowlmag.com/tips_strategies/shotgun_062304/

A shotgun choke controls the tightness of the pattern of pellets that exit the end of the barrel.

 

Older and cheaper shotguns have a fixed "choke". Most newer guns and hunting guns have a changeable choke that screws in and out of the end of the barrel.

 

Chokes go from "cylinder" to "full". Cylinder being the most open, and full having the tightest forcing cone. A skeet choke, which is typically what us guys shooting clays use, is only slightly tighter than cylinder or open.

interesting and confusing, lmfao... I guess i'll understand it better when I get the shotgun.

Choke - the degree of narrowing or constriction of the bore at the muzzle end of the barrel. Intended to increase the effective range of the gun.

 

Full Choke - the tightest constriction or narrowing of the bore, producing the greatest effective range.

 

Improved Cylinder - least constricted or narrowed choke causing shot pattern to widen relatively quickly.

 

Modified Choke - moderate constriction or narrowing of the bore.

 

(above info from) http://www.shootata.com/default.aspx

so improved cylinder would be the best for shooting clays..

interesting and confusing, lmfao... I guess i'll understand it better when I get the shotgun.

 

It's just for flexibility.

 

The biggest reason they exist is hunting. Turkey requires a full or even slightly tighter than a full choke. This throws a tight pattern out to 40 yards or so.

 

Here's an example.

 

I patterned my shotgun last winter just as a goof. At 15 yards, the 18.5 inch smooth bore open choke riot barrel using #4 turkey shot threw a pattern about 30 inches in diameter.

 

That exact same shell in a 24inch barrel with a turkey Choke threw a 6 inch pattern. Huge difference.

wow, yeah i'd say..

so improved cylinder would be the best for shooting clays

Clays is a very broad term there is trap, skeet, sporting clays and probably a dozen more variations. The shotgun and choke setup varies for each category. Most of the group is shooting short barrel HD shotguns that have Improved or Modified chokes which spread the shot out and work well up to a certain distance, the longer shots require a tighter grouping of the shot.

 

My two shotguns are for trap only; 32" barrels, long forcing cones and the barrels are choked to full (non interchangeable chokes), this is tightest constriction allowing me to reach the longest distances and put as much shot on the clay as possible (short or long distance).

Great information, guys. Thanks.

 

When I was reading the linked information, I didn't see any mention of barrel length on the charts. Is that saying that the length of the barrel isn't terribly relevant, or that there are just too many variables to include that as a factor? Is my 32" Browning with a cylinder choke going to be substantially different than another gun with a shorter barrel and more constricted choke? Or is testing and patterning each combination the right thing to do?

 

Thanks

The Box of Truth, as always, has a very nice short piece about chokes, with some practical testing of what chokes actually do:

 

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot44.htm

Great information, guys. Thanks.

 

When I was reading the linked information, I didn't see any mention of barrel length on the charts. Is that saying that the length of the barrel isn't terribly relevant, or that there are just too many variables to include that as a factor? Is my 32" Browning with a cylinder choke going to be substantially different than another gun with a shorter barrel and more constricted choke? Or is testing and patterning each combination the right thing to do?

 

Thanks

'

 

Ken,

 

All other things being equal, a longer barrel will thrower a tighter pattern. There is however a big difference on the short barrels. There is a far greater difference between 18 and 20 than there is between 28 and 32.

 

The choke is much more important than barrel length. Long barrels allow for better form, smooth swings, etc.

The Box of Truth, as always, has a very nice short piece about chokes, with some practical testing of what chokes actually do:

 

http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot44.htm

Interesting link - gotta say I was really surprised with the results of Rem low recoil 00 load.