The Evaluation

[darron]

Was the ssx the top performer, really?. Kind of hard to beleive for me. It just so happens you have a truglo logo on your hat,your shirt and your gun! What a coincidence!.Now most of us understand my next point, its an evaluation of what chokes do in YOUR guns. I could go out and buy every gun you tested with every choke you tested and have completely different results. Guns are individuals. A choke that patterns great in your 21"bbl 870 12 ga probably is going to pattern differently in your buddys 21" bbl 870 12 ga. And an honest evaluation would have been to not approach the choke manufacturers @ all. How do you know the chokes they sent you werent modified in some way to pattern better with those particular shells?? Its hard for anyone to take these results with more than a grain of salt with all the "sponsorships" involved.Sorry but i call 'em like i see 'em

I'm looking at the article right now and the ssx (or any Truglo, for that matter) is NOT listed as the top performer in any thread pattern.  Actually, the Truglo used to test the Rem-Choke was the WORST performing, still acceptable by the conventional 100 hits in the 10 inch circle, but 20+ pellets lower than the next one.

There was one category where the truglo hit extremely high, just below the jebs or rhino. Did it perform best in all categories? No. However, there wasn't much difference in some cases especially when you factor in price $40 vs 80+. I'm an ssx fan. I have it on all my guns and would put it up against anyone scatter gun.

[jblackburn]

Was the ssx the top performer, really?. Kind of hard to beleive for me. It just so happens you have a truglo logo on your hat,your shirt and your gun! What a coincidence!.Now most of us understand my next point, its an evaluation of what chokes do in YOUR guns. I could go out and buy every gun you tested with every choke you tested and have completely different results. Guns are individuals. A choke that patterns great in your 21"bbl 870 12 ga probably is going to pattern differently in your buddys 21" bbl 870 12 ga. And an honest evaluation would have been to not approach the choke manufacturers @ all. How do you know the chokes they sent you werent modified in some way to pattern better with those particular shells?? Its hard for anyone to take these results with more than a grain of salt with all the "sponsorships" involved.Sorry but i call 'em like i see 'em

I'm looking at the article right now and the ssx (or any Truglo, for that matter) is NOT listed as the top performer in any thread pattern.  Actually, the Truglo used to test the Rem-Choke was the WORST performing, still acceptable by the conventional 100 hits in the 10 inch circle, but 20+ pellets lower than the next one.

There was one category where the truglo hit extremely high, just below the jebs or rhino. Did it perform best in all categories? No. However, there wasn't much difference in some cases especially when you factor in price $40 vs 80+. I'm an ssx fan. I have it on all my guns and would put it up against anyone scatter gun.

ssx is a fine choke, not knocking it at all.  Making a point that just because Clark is sponsored did not mean he doctored results to make truglo products look better.

[Ruger M77]

Was the ssx the top performer, really?. Kind of hard to beleive for me. It just so happens you have a truglo logo on your hat,your shirt and your gun! What a coincidence!.Now most of us understand my next point, its an evaluation of what chokes do in YOUR guns. I could go out and buy every gun you tested with every choke you tested and have completely different results. Guns are individuals. A choke that patterns great in your 21"bbl 870 12 ga probably is going to pattern differently in your buddys 21" bbl 870 12 ga. And an honest evaluation would have been to not approach the choke manufacturers @ all. How do you know the chokes they sent you werent modified in some way to pattern better with those particular shells?? Its hard for anyone to take these results with more than a grain of salt with all the "sponsorships" involved.Sorry but i call 'em like i see 'em

Did you even read the article? The tuglo chokes weren't the best chokes with any of the guns tested I'm not sure what you're trying to do but I think you're just making a fool of yourself "sorry just callin it like I see it"

[SKFOOTER]

 

[Gobble!]

 

[jordanz7935]

Well no i didnt read the article. I just took another posters word that the ssx was a top performer.Not big on "hunting" magazines.90+% of what most hunting mags print is pure marketing. You can call me whatever you want m77 but i think i have multiple valid points.

[alloutdoors]

Well no i didnt read the article. I just took another posters word that the ssx was a top performer.Not big on "hunting" magazines.90+% of what most hunting mags print is pure marketing. You can call me whatever you want m77 but i think i have multiple valid points.

You attacked someone's credibility and questioned their integrity without ever actually reading the material you were criticizing and you think you have valid points?!?

Wow, incredible...

[chatterbox]

Was the ssx the top performer, really?. Kind of hard to beleive for me. It just so happens you have a truglo logo on your hat,your shirt and your gun! What a coincidence!.Now most of us understand my next point, its an evaluation of what chokes do in YOUR guns. I could go out and buy every gun you tested with every choke you tested and have completely different results. Guns are individuals. A choke that patterns great in your 21"bbl 870 12 ga probably is going to pattern differently in your buddys 21" bbl 870 12 ga. And an honest evaluation would have been to not approach the choke manufacturers @ all. How do you know the chokes they sent you werent modified in some way to pattern better with those particular shells?? Its hard for anyone to take these results with more than a grain of salt with all the "sponsorships" involved.Sorry but i call 'em like i see 'em

I'm looking at the article right now and the ssx (or any Truglo, for that matter) is NOT listed as the top performer in any thread pattern.  Actually, the Truglo used to test the Rem-Choke was the WORST performing, still acceptable by the conventional 100 hits in the 10 inch circle, but 20+ pellets lower than the next one.

There was one category where the truglo hit extremely high, just below the jebs or rhino. Did it perform best in all categories? No. However, there wasn't much difference in some cases especially when you factor in price $40 vs 80+. I'm an ssx fan. I have it on all my guns and would put it up against anyone scatter gun.

ssx is a fine choke, not knocking it at all.  Making a point that just because Clark is sponsored did not mean he doctored results to make truglo products look better.

That is not how Clark operates.

[Benelli Man 22]

The article I read said three chokes performed beter than the rest.  The ssx was one of the three so that sounds like top performer to me. 

[Cut N Run]

Well no i didnt read the article. I just took another posters word that the ssx was a top performer.Not big on "hunting" magazines.90+% of what most hunting mags print is pure marketing. You can call me whatever you want m77 but i think i have multiple valid points.

You attacked someone's credibility and questioned their integrity without ever actually reading the material you were criticizing and you think you have valid points?!?

Wow, incredible...

^X2 
Really?  You might consider doing some background on Clark and what he has done for turkey hunting & shotgun shooting before crying foul.  Clark has helped me improve my gun's performance (& turkey hunting success) without playing favorites.  He has objectively pointed me toward what works best in the the brands of guns I shoot and I'm grateful for it.

[bcknuts]

Well no i didnt read the article. I just took another posters word that the ssx was a top performer.Not big on "hunting" magazines.90+% of what most hunting mags print is pure marketing. You can call me whatever you want m77 but i think i have multiple valid points.

You attacked someone's credibility and questioned their integrity without ever actually reading the material you were criticizing and you think you have valid points?!?

Wow, incredible... :TrainWreckx2

[darron]

The article I read said three chokes performed beter than the rest.  The ssx was one of the three so that sounds like top performer to me.

same article I read. Say what you want, but if I have a new scatter gun I'm going to invest in $35 with the ssx first before I drop $80-100 on a Jebs, rhino, etc. I don't know clark at all. But I do know for the money the ssx is hard to beat. Too many people on here use it.

[jordanz7935]

Ok guys looking back at what i wrote maybe i was a little harsh.I apologize. I know the ssx can and will shoot great patterns. I also know that the chinese made truglo ssx has swelled in many peoples guns. Their chokes have failed time and again and there C.S. isn't very good. Only choke tube failure Ive seen personally was a chinese truglo. My issue is people pushing inferior products on impressionable people to make a profit. 95% of the time newbys come on here looking for a choke recommendation. Like a true salesman he chimes in and recommends chokes that he sells. Don't take this the wrong way guys, Ive seen enough already. I'm not saying the chokes he recommends are bad recommendation's because he knows chokes and loads more than me or any other keyboard jockey. What i am saying is he doesn't ever recommend or even acknowledge certain other proven, world record setting, chokes made and sold by AMERICANS. But then again i can understand why when you are a "competitor" and sell chokes for a living.And Cutnrun Ive done tons of research,while i agree hes done alot for shotgun shooting, please enlighten me on all he has done for turkey hunting? Not saying he hasn't but I'm just not aware of anything "groundbreaking".

[allaboutshooting]

Thank you all for the positive feedback on the article. I hope that you find the information interesting and helpful in making a decision about what may work best for you with your particular shotgun.

I fired a total of 96 shells in the evaluation, through 32 different choke configurations and 6 different shotguns. I scored all of those targets, counting hits and using a 2" circle to measure gaps.

The shooting process took quite some time because I shot 32 shots at each range visit and wanted to duplicate the conditions as closely as possible, including temperature, humidity and barometric pressure. I alternated the times that I shot each brand of choke, so that none would have an advantage over the other.

I shot in temperatures that were as close as I could find to what many turkey hunters encounter in the spring and fall, low to mid 50s, so if you hunt in higher temperatures, you may expect density to be greater (pellet counts) higher than those listed in the chart. When I shot these shells/chokes in the 60s and 70s they were numbers were much higher. We sometimes underestimate the difference 10-15 degrees can make in the overall performance of a shotshell/choke combination.

As in most studies of this kind, it's proper to eliminate the highest and the lowest score. In that way you do not count the "hot" shell or the "bad" shell. In reality however, in this particular exercise, there was very little difference between the high and low scores of any of the targets shot. The shells were quite consistent in performance. The scores were just as you see them.

It was a good bit of work. If any of you have individual questions about a particular combination, I'd be happy to answer them as best I can. It may be best to send me a PM or an e-mail however to make sure that I see it. I'll answer as soon as possible that way.

Again, thanks for your feedback.
Clark

[bcknuts]

Clark Bush has helped this sport and the shooting sports so much.For one I am glad we have him here.He has help so many people with shooting problems.Weather with chokes or gun questions or ammo.And in less you use a bow for turkey that is one way he helps turkey hunting.So in till the next groundbreaking research comes along I'll go with this one. Thank you Clark
          Kevin