Choke

[Mickyblue 0]

i am new to shooting , i am at the moment clay pigeon shooting and i am enjoying it a great deal , so much so i have applied for my licence , i will at some point be ready to buy my first gun . can some one please explain chokes , what do the different sizes mean ie 3/4 choke does that mean it is open buy 3/4 or tighter in other words does the bigger the fraction mean a smaller bore or bigger bore, and does this limit shot size does it effect wade , i would ask at the club but feel its a technical question that may put some one on the spot.

[andyf 144]

1/2 means what it says, halfway between 0.729" and -0.020 (full choke) less than that, i.e. measured at the muzzle, it's 0.709".

Full choke on a12G is 0.709"

Open choke or 'Improved Cylinder' is normally 0.002" under that i.e. 0.727" measured.

Advice get a choke gauge off of Ebay (circa £15.00).

[walshie 2,804]

In layman's terms, full choke is the tightest choke (most constriction) with cylinder at the other end of the scale.

 

Yes, the bigger the fraction, the smaller the effective bore.

[SportingShooter 0]

One thing to add with regard to shot size,

 

With Lead shot, there is no restriction on the size of the shot you can put through a certain choke, i.e. you can put L.Gs (largest shot size you can buy on an SGC) through an Extra Full choke with no issues. It won't blow the gun because Lead is a soft metal that will deform when you restrict the size of the bore.

 

This will differ with other types of shot, mainly those made from Steel where the gun must be specially proofed to take certain steel shells and the recommendation is to use Half choke or less to avoid excessive wear.

 

In general though, if you put a lot of large shot through a very tight choke you are likely to have quite a few deformed pellets which don't fly straight and are good to no one.

 

Choke is one of those subjects that always gets a good debate going because so much of it is down to preference. Personally, it's good practice and good fun to find out which works best for you in your gun as every gun will pattern every cartridge differently. Or, if you're a bit ballistically mad like me, then you can put up a pattern plate and see what it looks like on paper

[charlie caller 3,654]

Choke is an invention of the devil quote...... the late James wentworth-day, and I tend to agree, I have a full set of chokes with my Benelli and it has never had anything but improved cylinder in it, and I have pulled some high duck and geese down

[Mickyblue 0]

thanks for your replies i feel i know a bit more which is good , my first purchase will have to be a multi choke to see what suits me best , i think buying a fixed choke will be guessing at what is best

[Alsone 789]

For clay shooting, multichoke is a good idea.

 

I'll almost guarantee though you'll use 1/4 and 1/2 99% of the time unless you shoot skeet or a range with high towers.

 

Same with game shooting.

 

However, there are occassions when changing choke can be a good idea and multi-choke gives you that flexibility.

Edited December 27, 2014 by Alsone