Let's Start A Discussion On Choke Tubes, Guns And Loads

[ILIKEHEVI-13]

I thought it would be interesting to have discussion on what chokes and loads seems to give great results in the turkey guns that each of us have.  Now by that I mean be specific on brand of chokes and choke diameters or what some call constriction, brand of loads and size shot, and the brand of gun and barrel length.  Now I don't mean this to be a patterning picture thread, but rather maybe we can get some sort of analysis or maybe some simple logic out of this discussion on maybe what chokes, guns and loads typically seem to work and tick when all 3 come together by analyzing the info we obtain here.  I really would like to hear what seems to and I will use the magic word, "click" when all 3 of these factor are combined.  And it doesn't necessarily have to be what works the best and what you use now for a combo, but rather all the other 3 of these factors that have given very good results regardless of the choke, gun, and load whether it be Hevi-Shot or lead. 

So who wants to start?  Let's see what we can learn from this on top of what we already know works in some guns already.  And that doesn't mean not to discuss them as well.  But I would like to gather info in what works very well for a combo in a lot of different guns. 

Thanks,

Brad

[ILIKEHEVI-13]

And I also wanted you guys to give your thoughts on why you think that particular combo works.  Like maybe the longer barrel likes a more open choke or if you think a shorter barrel likes tighter choke then say so.  You can even go into the specifis of the internals of the choke like say a wad stripper feature or the way the ports are desinged or cut.  Or maybe a 3" load seems to shot better than the 3.5" or vice versa. 

[vaturkey]

Good Idea Brad !   

[ILIKEHEVI-13]

Thanks Ricky. 

Now we just need someone to start us out. 

[coyotetrpr]

I get good results with my 20 inch 835 and hevishot 676 choke shooting mag blends. The pattern is very even. I think that a longer barrel will out shoot it but there seems to be a need for tighter constriction in a short barrel.

[ILIKEHEVI-13]

Hey thanks.  It's good to hear that Hevi-Shot choke is working well in your 835 since  I just bought one.  I'll make a note to try some Magblends through this choke once I get back in the swing of things.  Can you tell me if you were using 3' or 3.5" loads? 

[ads1]

I shoot a Benelli SV, 26 inch barrell with an Indian Creek choke .665 and have had very good results with Hevi 13 #6 and also Hevi 13 Blend. The Hevi Shot almost doubled what I got from other types of lead loads including Federal Thugs #6, Remington Nitro #6, and Winchester Supreme #6.  I have a Nikon BDC scope on the gun and have patterned the gun out to 40 yards plus. Don't think I could do this without some kind of optics. I also have an SSx choke .643 but have not patterned because the IC choke worked so well. Deep cleaning also increased the number of hits in a 10 inch circle by 30 percent. I think the secret to good shooting is the consistency of aim at short and long distance.

Terry

[ILIKEHEVI-13]

Thanks for the info Terry.  Indian Creek chokes seem to work well in most shotguns.  Let us know how the SSX choke works out for you.   I hope I can find a combo that seems to shoot the Magblend loads well. 

[ILIKEHEVI-13]

I was hoping to get some Rhino choke shooters since that is one of the chokes I have no experience on.  I know there are some guys that have good luck with Rhino chokes.  I think I remember some guys on here that swore by their Rhino .660 in their Rem barrel shotguns but I don't remeber the specifics of barrel lengths and laods used.  I also remember some talking about the Rhino .695 in their Moss 835's with very good results.  I also don't have any experience yet with the Hevi-Shot chokes made by Carlson's.  But that is gonna change since I now have both these chokes for my Rem 870 and 835.  I ahve heard some good reports on these chokes.  Maybe some of these guys will chime in with their results.  I know I like to hear all these results from different barrel lengths in a particular gun.  We can formulate a good analysis of what chokes seem to work in different barrel lengths and diffferent guns with specific loads that seem to give good results if enough people will chime in here. 

[Deputy 14]

I have good luck with an 870 Supermag 26 in barrel with 3.5 inch Hevi 7s through a Hevi .662 tube. However, I found a choke that the internals are different in (no wad strippers) that shoots almost identical patterns and numbers. It is the Carlsons hevi shot coyote choke. I know they are both Carlsons but the coyote choke is marketed for larger shot, t-shot I think, that is in the dead coyote loads. I don't know the ED of the choke but its 2/3 the price and shoots the same. Both are shooting nice even 220s and 230s at 40 yds.
Here is the link for the choke I'm talking about.
http://www.basspro.com/Carlsons-Coyote-Choke-Tubes/product/94900/

[SCDieselDawg]

My Mossy. 935 24" barrel liked the .690 JellyHead when I put. 3.5" Hevi. 6s through it. That setup also disliked 3" Magnum Blends and various lead loads I tried.

I swapped the JH for a Tru Glo SSX (.670) and got some jam up lead patterns but my Hevi 6 pattern dropped off but it's still very huntable.   

Like Deputy 14 I've also found good luck in the Hevi-13 choke in my Rem. super magnum with a 23" pipe. But I pushed 3.5" magnum blends through it. The 3.5" Hevi 6s weren't spectacular but are still impressive.

[ILIKEHEVI-13]

That's some great info guys.  Keep em coming!

My Moss 835 28" barrel and Star Dot seems to really shine with the Hevi-13 3.5" 2.25oz #7 loads.  It shoots these loads a lot tighter than the Hevi-13 3" 2oz #7 loads.  Why that is, I don't really know for certain, but I think it has something to do with the longer shot column that the 3.5" load provides over the 3" load.  Sometimes with the extra 1/4oz of the #7's 3.5" load will put upwards of 100 more shot in the 10" with the good lot of 300325 vs the 3" 2oz #7 load with the Star Dot that is usually around the 250's in the 10" if my memory serves me well.  But 361 and 360 in the 10" has been the best this combo would do with the 3.5 #7 loads.  What is odd also the same gun and choke doesn't seem to shoot the Hevi-13 3.5" 2.25oz #6's nearly as well with 180 in the 10" the last time I shot this load, and 190 with the 3.5" 2.25oz Magblends.  I'm thinking a more open choke would shoot these 2 better.  I have a MAD Max .680 choke that I shot a 3.5" Hevi-13 2.25oz #6 load with last year I think and got a 245 10" count.  But when I tried another to see what if it would repeat that pattern I think I only got like in the 170's.  Don't know if that was the fluctuation in the differences of the actual shells or if that first shot was simply a fluke.  I typically don't believe in flukes, but I like a choke that repeats its patterns from shot to shot.  So I need to play around with this choke some more.  I think I tried a Hevi-13 3.5" 2.25oz #7 and it wasn't that good for 10" numbers.  I know the Jelly Head that I had shot 268 in the 10" with the Hevi-13 3.5" 2.25oz #7 load.  The Pure Gold .670 I had on the very first shot with the same load of 3.5" #7's did 358 shot in the 10".  But all the other shots I shot through the choke were nowhere near that good.  So the Pure Gold wouldn't repeat itself after that amazing first shot.  Probably around 250 to 260 or so for 10" numbers would be about it.  But it would put up very good 20" hunting patterns. 

The Rem 870 Express 3" 28" barrel gun seems to like the MAD Super Max .675 the best and the Hevi-13 3" 2oz #7's.  297 in the 10" is the best it has done.  Another good combo with this gun and load is with the Rem Ventilator .655 choke.  283 in the 10" has been the best it has done.  This choke also shoots the Hevi-13 3" 1.75oz #6 loads well.  209 in the 10" has been the best it has done.  But that's a very good choke for $24 or so shipped to your door.  I gave that choke to my buddy Mark, son Spencer.  His 870 3" seems to shoot pretty well with that choke using the Hevi-13 3" 2oz #7's.  He got around 230 something in the 10 which isn't bad with the shells I gave him to try.  The Pure Gold .670 choke I have does in the 250's with these same 3" #7 loads.  The Indian Creek BDS .669 choke I had did 264 I believe in the 10" with the 3" #7's.  I also tried a Indian Creek .655 that did like 255 in the 10" with the same loads.  I also shot the Indian Creek .670 and .675 but the numbers fell off from the .669 and .655 choke.  I thought it ws rather odd that the Super max .675 shoot the 3" 2oz #7 loads very well and has no wad stripper feature.  But the Indian Creek BDS .675 didn't work near as well with these loads. 

[Rockhound]

I have a Mossberg 5500 mkii with a kicks 660, I had to put limbsaver adjustable sights on it because of a warped vent rib. I absolutely love this gun and would buy another as a backup if I used it regularly. I've spent a lot of time at the pattern board and have yet to run a lead #5 load through it that didn't go from 105-130(minus remmy crappers) . With 3" hevi 6s it knocks down around 170 and the extended range 6s are right up there with it. This gun is my baby for the fact I know I could go to any store in a pinch and pick up a box of shells and kill to 40 yards without a worry.

I have two bps 10 bores and have run about 8 different chokes through them, with a hastings 675 I'm knocking down 125+ with black Winchester #5.

Hevi #5 with a kicks 690- 160
Hevi #5 with a browning xfull- 160
TSS #8 with a browning xfull- 300+
Fed hw #7 with kicks 690 -230+

I need to pattern the mag blends but at this point I'm just buying components to load my own shells so I dont have to worry with it.

[Fullfan]

My X2 loves the Rhino choke, not sure of the constriction though. I shoot the 3.5 Hevi #7 and get 250 all day at 40. Now my 11-87 sps-t ( 2 of them) My go to gun for the past 22 years now has TrueLock choke made for the federal Heviweight #7 shot. With a 21" barrel I get 150's at 40. It shure crushes them. My other 11-87 has a Indian creek, which loves the #6 & #7 Hevi shot. Some days it is tough to make a choice on what gun to hunt with..

[ILIKEHEVI-13]

Thanks men for the info.  I'm glad to get some 10Ga results here, too.  The 10GA always interest me.  Would love to hear more form other 10GA shooters on their combos that seem to shoot well. 

I would also like to here from some Jebs choke shooters and what guns and loads worked well. 

And any other chokes like Trulock, Wrights, Strangler, Colonial Arms, etc... would sure be interesting to hear those guys results as well.