Hunting & Fishing Choke in YOUR upland gun?

[BKSSNIPER]

Just read an article in the Sept/Oct edition of <span style="text-decoration: underline">Shooting Sportsman</span>. One of the authors was advocating at the most I/C in an upland gun. His theory is that the advancements in wad technology over the years have results in patterns that are too tight for most upland game, which is shot at around 25 yards.....

Look, I know he writes stories to make money............

What choke do you use for your upland gun?

Birds over dogs, not wild pheasants flushing 40 yards away....

 

[locked&loaded]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

Improved cylinder and cylinder for quail. I have an old ithaca 12ga that the barrel had to be cut down 3 inches due to a stuck wad and a quick follow up shot (swelled the barrel). With no choke, it is a great quail gun.

 

[9H_Cracka]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

If you're flushing pheasants at 40 yards and taking pot shots at them with a shotgun, you and the dogs are doing it wrong.

I've run a modified for pheasants in NE and eastern CO and often had to wait for them to get out a bit so as to not blast them to pieces. IC for quail and rabbits in IN and IL.

For practical upland hunting I would not feel under choked with an IC for all the above - but 40 yard plus shots is duck hunting, not pheasant hunting.

 

[Bugs Bunny]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

Well I would say perhaps his setup patterns best with the ammo & choke he is using - we pattern everytime we change ammo, learned not to trust a tubes performance because its marked IC or Mod or brand to brand on them.

Good Luck & pattern before hunting

 

[BKSSNIPER]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

I appreciate the replies.

I have a 30" Full choke barrel for my 870 that I may just have shortened to around 26" and not even bother with screw in chokes.

 

[Jayhawker]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

I use a SxS...after working at the pattern board with loads for pheasant and quail, I use Improved Cylinder in one barrel, Improved Modified in the other...

 

[KClark]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

Browning Citori Lightening 26" 20 gauge....

Skeet & skeet or skeet and cylinder for quail.

Improved cylinder and modified over dogs on wild pheasant.

Canned pheasants are easy with imp & imp, just gotta let them get out a ways before you blast'em or you'll have a feather sack of goo.

 

[Engine 22]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

Improved cylinder or at times, improved modified. I will typically spend most of my time in the winter chasing pheasants, and what quail are left, and have yet to need anything tighter than the IM. I don't think it has anything to do with "new technologically advanced" wads either

.

 

[powerline78]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

I shoot a browning lightning O/U and use the mod barrel for
the first shot and full for the second.

 

[battlestick]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

IC for dove/quail, Mod for ducks.

 

[rrflyer]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

I bought my Berretta A390 about 12 years ago and it came with an Improved, Modified, and Full.

I lost the improved and full chokes about 10 years ago....so I stick with modified.

Worked on quail, doves, and clay birds.....

 

[akjaeger]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

I'm prett lucky, my wife is my upland bird hunting partner.
Sooooo, she gets the first shot or two on almost every bird the dog points, I shoot backup.
1950's Ithaca featherlite with a full choke.
She hits a lot more birds now, but a couple of years ago we hunted canned pheasants with a couple of her coworkers, when it was all over none of them had a bird and I had 9!

 

[krink85]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

I run modified for everything. I don't have the extra chokes to swap out so I am stuck. Ducks (over water and passing), geese (mostly out of a pit), dove, quail, pheasants and turkeys have been taken with me and a modified choke. YMMV but if you plan on swapping out chokes I would practice with what you plan on using.

 

[Furtaker_.223]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

The wife and I shoot O/U's mine is a Beretta White Onyx I use IC/M her's is a Browning Lightning Sporting Clay She uses the same. The first shot is always with the IC, if a second shot is needed we have the M for shots out to 40 yards. Sometimes while hunting phesants we will take out the IC and replace it with C. here in Illinois hunting Phesants we stay with IC, just because we hunt put and take, so our shots will be a little farther on the flush.

 

[sierra2]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

I've always used C or IC for quail, and usually IC, but sometimes M for pheasants, depending on the conditions and time of season. Late season pheasants are usually pretty skittish, and the shots will generally be longer. Just my experience, growing up in central KS.

 

[LegioX]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

Same here in the 12 & 20 ga Browning 525 Field. Top bbl IC and bottom tube Mod. Works great on the pheasant in ND. We're heading there in 3 weeks. Yahoo!!!
Here's a couple pics of past adventures.

 

[cmh2007]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

usually a LM or an IC for most stuff, close in dove shooting i use a Briley Defusion choke

 

[Rhys]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

In my 20g SXS I run IC & Mod for doves, and Mod & Imp Mod for pheasant and grouse. 7.5 or 8 shot on dove, and 5's on Pheasant.

 

[mavrick10_2000]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

For pheasant modified or full and if I'm fortunate enough to be somewhere where there are grouse modified to reach out a little further (Late season dove applies here also).

Quail, Chukkar/Huns and smaller birds I use improved or skeet 95% of the time.

 

[16 Bore]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

Only need two things when it comes to upland chokes. Not much and very little. The only time I mess with chokes might be for trap. The rest is i/c over i/c. I'm shooting a Citori with a .727 aftermarket Browning (Briley)tube over top a .732 factory tube. It's a badmofo....

You got to pattern your stuff though. My choke combination with B&P 7/8's 7.5's at 1160 has an insane pattern at 40 yards.

 

[RJW]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

Quail skeet-skeet
Grouse modified-improved
Pheasanst modifed-impr0ved

 

[KClark]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

Sharptails, modified and modified.

 

[benchmstr]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

since most people have rather slow aquiring speed on there target with a shotgun...i would say IM, and full...

if just a single barrel IM....

i know way more about shotguns than i do rifles.....i have been shooting competetive shotguns since 13, and have been on the US national team for most of my earlier life...and IM is a really underestimated choke IMHO...

bench

 

[[email protected]]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

With my pump modified. With the O/U modified and full.

 

[ggmanning]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

Skeet-Quail
IC-Grouse

 

[Amacron]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

early season for Grouse in Michigan I start off with Open choke and a skeet choke in my Citori.. Later when the leaves come down. I switch to a IC and a mod.

 

[silverarrow]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

I use a 20g 870 and when I am hunting with my Dad or a friend I will use an IC but when I am by myself I use a Mod incase a longer shot is necessary. I have had good success with both setups JMHO but you really can't go wrong with IC or MOD.

 

[Ol' RD]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

Beretta 686 I/C top Skeet bottom for quail.

KClark good lookin' setter BTW!

 

[CornFedHusker]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

Wild pheasants only...

Benelli Vinci. Trulock Skeet 2 before the snow flies and Trulock Improved Modified after the snow flies. I prefer #5 shot before the snow and #4 after.

 

[Rooterbegger]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

Like a light mod in a Beretta gas gun for hunting in eastern CO where they tend to jump wild and far. But when you do get the brave one's jumping from under your feet you just wait till they get out a little further so you don't get the exploding pillow.

Cheers!

Rooter

 

[Teggy1]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

Iowa pheasant season I shoot modified choke, and use #2 steel (state requires steel on public ground). Later in the season, when the birds start running, I switch to BB's through the modified choke.

 

[dogmessiah]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

For dove in the desert, a lot of times I hunt with one barrel modified and one full. For quail I use one barrel improved, one barrel modified.

 

[Jared06]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

I'm shooting a weatherby (skb) o/u for chukar using a skeet and modified setup. Pheasant I usually have a IC and Skeet.

 

[1911fan]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

Citori Gran Lightning with I/C and modified, shooting my own loads of 1 1/4 oz #5 shot at about 1330 fps. I call them 'boomers'; use my trap load of 7 shot if I'm going to pick on quail.
I mostly shoot roosters, don't care much for quail and usually let 'em go. Besides the load powders the little guys like a clay pigeon. For chukar I switch to Mod/Full as shots tend to be longer.
Got the chance to hunt with a Silver Pigeon last year and now I want one bad enough to sell the Citori.


1911fan

 

[clay_breaker]

Re: Choke in YOUR upland gun?

Early Pheasants Skeet2 and Mod in O/U,with copper plated 6's or 5's, late, Mod and Full with 4's. If I'm using an Auto I will run IC early and Full late.

Quail= Skeet/IC or IC in an Auto.