SBE choke questions

[Player]

I have a new SBE2 26" on the way and kinda new to all this turkey choke business. I've read everything I can find and it seems everybody uses the extended chokes for turkeys.

The tightest flush fit tubes I can find are .690 but the extended go way on down to .650 or so.
Why is that?

Are there any flush fit chokes that throw really tight patterns?

Thanks for the help!

[Happy]

Not real familiar on the benelli's but typically the tightest flush fitting choke you can get is a full choke. That will typically work well for about 30 yards or so out of a 12 gauge. Turkey hunting requires putting a lot of shot in a small area as opposed to wingshooting which requires an even distribution of pellets over a wider area to better the odds of taking flying game. Hence the extended turkey chokes which are even tighter than the full and reguire a little more distance to get the shot column to tighten up. This gives a little more range to the hunter and enables him to put a lot of pellets in the head/neck region for clean kills. Everything has its limitations though and the only way to know is to pattern the gun and make sure the shot size you are using has adequate energy to kill at that distance.

Sent from my SM-G800R4 using Tapatalk

[SumToy]

you need to go with a longer choke to get the taper in the choke to get that small.   

[allaboutshooting]

I have a new SBE2 26" on the way and kinda new to all this turkey choke business. I've read everything I can find and it seems everybody uses the extended chokes for turkeys.

The tightest flush fit tubes I can find are .690 but the extended go way on down to .650 or so.
Why is that?

Are there any flush fit chokes that throw really tight patterns?

Thanks for the help!

First of all, welcome to OG. I see this is your 4th post but I must have missed your 1st. This is a great site and folks here will do their best to be helpful to you. I'd also like to congratulate you on your choice of shotguns. Benelli makes some of the finest guns on the market today. I have owned and shot Benellis since 1991 when I purchased my first SBE.

Benelli shotguns, like several European guns, have a tighter bore than many other guns and sometimes respond better to tighter chokes. It's important however to remember that choke exit diameter is only one part of the design of a choke tube. It's really all about the "internal geometry" of the choke. Each designer believes that his design is the best or the best that he can make using the skill and materials available to him.

There are several reasons for extended chokes. They allow a designer more length to create his design and they potentially protect your barrel in the event of "bridging" of shot that can create damage. Bridging is when too many shot pellets are side by side or in a clump and create pressure on the inside of the bore or choke. That can happen with lead or other materials, steel tungsten, shot. It's better to have choke damage than barrel damage.

Tight patterns are largely a factor of distance. You can for example use a flush fit .690 choke and get a tight pattern but only for a short distance. By using a properly designed extended choke, you can increase that distance. We all want ethical kills, so we try to get good even patterns, with some "wiggle room". We usually refer to them as tight "core" patterns with a "halo" pattern around that.

We have come to recognize 10" as a good measurement tool at 40 yards, the maximum distance we should be shooting at turkeys.

There are several other important subjects to discuss when it comes to turkey guns, so please let me know if I may be of any help and I'll do my best to be of assistance.

This can be a confusing subject but I hope this helps some.

Thanks,
Clark