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Choke tube buying guide

Started by compton30, December 08, 2016, 01:21:42 AM

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Uncle Tom

Quote from: Bowguy on December 08, 2016, 07:30:11 PM
The advice given so far is good but spending money on chokes depends on what you want or how tight you want your pattern.
You could prob kill a Turk w an skeet or ic. Is that the best choice? Prob not but if you pattern the gun n stay with whatever it's effective range is the turkey isn't gonna know.
If you don't like your factory choke you may not like the next choke. If you don't spend much you prob won't get a return policy.
You also didn't say what shot you're using,  type, size, etc all matters n unfortunately every time we squeeze the trigger to check a pattern it costs.
Imo your best bet is to help others help you w what you're looking to achieve. Is it a forgive able pattern that works great relatively close or something super tight that we can easily miss w at close range?
If you already have a turkey choke maybe some load tests may be in order to even rule it out. Might be surprised w some of the stuff available.
Now another option is the classifieds but you should qualify folks to what you're trying to achieve besides the obvious uniform pattern before you get the new choke. Just my opinion. Good luck

Uncle Tom

Bowguy nailed it...need some more information about pattern, hits,shot size,distances, just all that others are reporting on the site regarding the different guns,shot type,etc. With what you said about the Gobble Dot not hitting where your POA, if you do not know how to adjust you need to talk with someone who knows...they can be dialed in to hit where you aim but be careful with the little screws you can strip threads/damage in a heartbeat. You need to get with someone knowledgeable of all the ins and outs of pattering a load or you probably going to get more discouraged and spending $$ that may not be necessary.

rpinks

Currently shooting a 935 Indian Creek and super black eagle Jelly Head. However I have had 2 535s in the past and one of those shot the best pattern I have had. Both had Indian Creek in them. The 26 inch barrel shot a little better than the 20 but Both were excellent. I would spend my money and have the trigger taken down to 3lbs Mossberg's easy to do. I may have a few chokes at home for the 535. PM and I will check tonight.
Thanks, RP

WyoHunter

Why you don't like the choke that came with the gun? I assume it's not choked tight enough as most tactical shotguns come with more open chokes. You can get used chokes on the forum's turkey choke tubes. I've had good luck with Carlson's and Primos Tight wad which aren't expensive. In my 12 ga. Hevi 13 7's pattern well. IME the higher priced shells like Hevi 13 and Federal Heavyweights  can pattern well in a lesser priced choke than cheap shells through a high priced choke. 
If I had a dollar for every gobbler I thought I fooled I'd be well off!

silvestris

Don't worry about the pattern being too tight up close.  Nobody hardly ever shoots one inside seventy yards these days.
"[T]he changing environment will someday be totally and irrevocably unsuitable for the wild turkey.  Unless mankind precedes the birds in extinction, we probably will not be hunting turkeys for too much longer."  Ken Morgan, "Turkey Hunting, A One Man Game

Red Huck

  Did you get your problem resolved ? Poa and poi the same?

Marc

I too would be interested to hear what some of the differences are?

Most of these turkey chokes (outside of wad-strippers) have similar tapers and constrictions.  What advantage is there in a higher-end custom turkey choke as compared to Trulock or Carlson's at much more competitive prices?

One thing I will say about after-market chokes (having a variety of them for wing/clay shooting), is that they often get it wrong (Briley, Carlson's, AnglePort); often the constriction is way off, and I have actually been sent chokes for the wrong gun twice...  I always check the chokes with a gauge to make sure that they are what I wanted...  Letting them know that I will be checking the chokes has reduces the errors...
Did I do that?

Fly fishermen are born honest, but they get over it.

Red Huck

Marc, I'm  fine with  Carlson extended chokes. Never put a Gauge on any of them, just pattern them Have a few sets of waterfowl chokes for my different guns/ No great difference in the patterns from the factory flush chokes , I just like having the choke outside the barrel. Have a Carlson .665 in my 870 mag that throws a good all round pattern. I normally use a heavy 13  5 shot . But I decided to try a 20 ga. so I've got a sumtoy 562,carlson .575 and a tru-glo. The sumtoy is the only higher priced choke I've bought. It does shoot a tighter pattern with the federal HW 6 or 7.That load shot 6" low a 40yrds in both my 20s. So I put a Williams site on it so I could adjust the poa. To date I have not hunted turkey with this gun. Never got as dense a pattern as others have with this gun, choke ,load combo. But it's still a combo that would kill turkeys at 40yrds. One gun I screwed a $ 30 choke in pattern it and had what I wanted. Another I've spend a couple hundred on chokes a site an and shells to pattern and I'm still not quite happy.

compton30

Well men, as some stated, my issue was with POA and POI. My factory choke actually throws a decent pattern when I'm not distracted by it throwing the pattern 6-8 inches low and left of where I was aiming. The Vortex Venom I got for my birthday has fixed all of this. That thing is the cats meow. Unbelievable optic. I recommend it to anyone