Chokes And Cartridges

[.357shooter 1,181]

a little history first i have been shooting clays for about 6 years and my average has climbed up and up at my latest club until this last 4-5 weeks.last week using 1/4 and 1/2 chokes and fibre white golds 28gr 8,s i score 25 ex 50.very upset started thinking about having the gun re fitted and so on.so this week i change to cly and 1/4 and plastic evo 28g 7.5s and the score is 45 ex 50.looks like the gun fits well enough but the choice of carts must make a massive difference in my gun at least.

[philpot 4,969]

This is like how long is a piece of string and my thoughts are with you.

 

Firstly, I will say that I have been clay shooting at all levels for over 40 years trying all manor of combinations to get the highest result possible but the bottom line is to test any combination over a period unless of course your test fails immediately.

 

Distance to target has a bearing and providing the clays are within 15 - 50 yds, 1/4 & 1/2 will do you very well HOWEVER you will find tighter chokes will produce a longer shot string giving more chances of hitting the clay. Many top shooters use 3/4 & full or full & full to gain the best shot string possible so that even if the lead given is not perfect, the clay will hopefully be broken somewhere along that shot string.

 

Using an open choke will give better results at closer distance with 9 shot but as you move out further, the advantage starts to disappear. To offer you a couple of examples using my Beretta DT10 with 32'' barrels, at my little Tuesday evening shoot where no target is at distance, I use 1/4 and light half (a Beretta choke size) and 9 shot for 95% of my shooting keeping a few 7.5 shot in my other pocket for any target I think may need it including ALL rabbit clays. When shooting a John Bidwell's ground, Highlodge in Suffolk, 3/4 & full are my normal chokes again using 9 shot whenever possible and 7.5 for any others.

 

The above examples are based on sporting clays but at least once or twice per week, I shoot trap targets, DTL, ABT, UT and OT which require tighter chokes to make full use of the shot string although I have shot some trap targets with 1/2 & 3/4 chokes to great effect so there is no hard and fast rule in this game.

 

A good friend of mine who has shot clays for as long as myself suddenly found a loss of his form so I got him to switch to tighter chokes and very quickly he was back on song.

 

It can be very frustrating but spending some time testing will be of benefit but don't change everything at once as you won't know what is working for you.

 

Lastly EVO's and White Gold are in my humble opinion very different cartridges and EVO's are my 'go to' 9 shot shell. If I were you, I would get some 9's and go back to your previous chokes or tighter and try that combination. Make no mistake, 9's will do more than most shooter give credit for. I use plastic wads on everything but if I have to shoot fibre wads at some grounds or on league shoots, I switch to Hull Cartridge Pro Fibre or Sovereign Fibre in 9's and 7's.

 

I hope this might be of some interest or help.

 

Phil

Edited June 24, 2017 by philpot

[.357shooter 1,181]

thank you very much for your experience.now using the 7.5,s and 1/4 and 1/2 my scores are up to 45 ex 50 for the past two weeks so i am very happy and confident in saying the fibre white golds were the problem.will have to give the tighter chokes a go to see if they work for me.

[philpot 4,969]

Good, I'm pleased to hear it but don't forget to buy a couple of boxes of 9 shot and give them a test.

 

Phil

[.357shooter 1,181]

well this week i went to 3/8 and 3/4 and beat my group that i shoot with all of there scores were down this week so my score of 41 ex 50 was better than expected.just need to get some 9,s now to see if that helps further

[Rowan 308]

On 24/06/2017 at 19:39, philpot said:

This is like how long is a piece of string and my thoughts are with you.

 

Firstly, I will say that I have been clay shooting at all levels for over 40 years trying all manor of combinations to get the highest result possible but the bottom line is to test any combination over a period unless of course your test fails immediately.

 

Distance to target has a bearing and providing the clays are within 15 - 50 yds, 1/4 & 1/2 will do you very well HOWEVER you will find tighter chokes will produce a longer shot string giving more chances of hitting the clay. Many top shooters use 3/4 & full or full & full to gain the best shot string possible so that even if the lead given is not perfect, the clay will hopefully be broken somewhere along that shot string.

 

Using an open choke will give better results at closer distance with 9 shot but as you move out further, the advantage starts to disappear. To offer you a couple of examples using my Beretta DT10 with 32'' barrels, at my little Tuesday evening shoot where no target is at distance, I use 1/4 and light half (a Beretta choke size) and 9 shot for 95% of my shooting keeping a few 7.5 shot in my other pocket for any target I think may need it including ALL rabbit clays. When shooting a John Bidwell's ground, Highlodge in Suffolk, 3/4 & full are my normal chokes again using 9 shot whenever possible and 7.5 for any others.

 

The above examples are based on sporting clays but at least once or twice per week, I shoot trap targets, DTL, ABT, UT and OT which require tighter chokes to make full use of the shot string although I have shot some trap targets with 1/2 & 3/4 chokes to great effect so there is no hard and fast rule in this game.

 

A good friend of mine who has shot clays for as long as myself suddenly found a loss of his form so I got him to switch to tighter chokes and very quickly he was back on song.

 

It can be very frustrating but spending some time testing will be of benefit but don't change everything at once as you won't know what is working for you.

 

Lastly EVO's and White Gold are in my humble opinion very different cartridges and EVO's are my 'go to' 9 shot shell. If I were you, I would get some 9's and go back to your previous chokes or tighter and try that combination. Make no mistake, 9's will do more than most shooter give credit for. I use plastic wads on everything but if I have to shoot fibre wads at some grounds or on league shoots, I switch to Hull Cartridge Pro Fibre or Sovereign Fibre in 9's and 7's.

 

I hope this might be of some interest or help.

 

Phil

Great post mate, helpful info for us all. i've just switched to eley olympic blues , 28grm 7.5s and they suit me really well. Each to theur own i guess.