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Posted: 11/11/2014 11:58:42 PM EDT
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This weekend was the block shoot at one of my clubs. I never did one before so I just threw my cut down (18.5) maverick in the car and gave it a shot. Turns out the guys that won were using longer barreled turkey guns with chokes that gave them the advantage. Well I want that advantage and I've got a brand new un-cut Maverick with a 28" barrel. But I've got zero experience with chokes.
Here's the setup... the cards are about 4"x5" and are placed about 40' away. We get a round of birdshot and whoever gets closest to or the most pellets on the X in the center wins...well...top two wins. What kind of choke am I going to want to buy to give me the best advantage with birdshot at 40' out of a 28" barrel? Thanks -Emt1581 |
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Do you have to shoot their ammo? Most of the time you do.
For your own uses you buy different brands/sizes of shot and shoot them through your gun to see what gives you the tightest patterns. With some brands/shot sizes I've seen modified chokes shoot tighter patterns than full chokes. Like rifles, each gun will do something different with different ammo. |
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The ratio of shot to powder determines the pattern on a shotgun. Loads with higher shot weight and lower powder weight will have tighter patterns than the high-velocity loads. The bulk, low price shotshells that Wally World sells are always high powder weight shells and they tend to blow a hole in the pattern.
Try some Federal Metro loads. You'll see very tight patterns no matter what choke you have. At any rate, stay away from "handicap" "field" and 100 round boxes of 3 1/4 dram loads. |
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I remember "Turkey Shoots" in my old hometown. You are looking for a "FULL" or "EXTRA-FULL" choke if available. Make sure to pattern your gun with whatever load they are shooting before you attend the next shoot.
I knew a guy who had an old 14ga. (you read it right) single-shot shotgun that he rechambered to accept 2.75" 12ga. shells and reamed a long forcing cone. Come the holiday season, he would cruise from turkey shoot to turkey shoot over three counties filling his trunk with frozen turkeys. He became so well-known that he would often be limited to one turkey or turned away altogether. These were charity events after all. |
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Different barrels and chokes produce unexpected results. Some barrels with modified chokes actually end up shooting tigher patterns than full or extra full chokes. Get a barrel with screw ij choke tubes and experiment. Also try different ammo. Some barrel/choke combos have distinct preferences.
If the rules permit, you want to bring your own ammo. Usually you want the highest shot count shell the rules low, both in shot size and weight, but still knowing that your barrel may put more pellets in the circle with, say 7-1/2s than with 8s. You must experiment. Finally shell design, especially the wad and cup can have a profound effect on shot density. New cups such as Federal FliteControl are producing extremely tight patterns from even more open chokes. While buckshot is not a part of this discussion, I can consistently put all 9 00 buckshot pellets in a mere 12 inch circle (sometimes only 10 inches) at a full 50 yards from a short 22" barrel with an open improved cylinder choke when shooting Federal Premium FliteControl shells, and tighter chokes don't matter. That is a 100% pattern at 50 yards due to the shell cup design. This would be unheard of just a few years ago. That cup is now being introduced to smaller shot sizes, but I've not tried them yet. You have some work ahead of you if you want to win a "turkey shoot". Learn the rules for that shoot and plan accordingly. Its not all about choke. Did you mean 40 feet or 40 yards? Do you get to select and use your own shells? Is there a shot size, shell length or load weight and velocity rule? |
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