
                  Shotgun Chokes: Myth or Magic ?
                           Ross Seyfried
                       Guns & Ammo/ Jan 1994


     It is doubtful that any invention since he breech-loading
centerfire has influenced the success of shotgunning more than the
addition of choke boring. Initially, all shotguns were of cylinder
bore; that is, there was no appliance near the muzzle to tighten
the pattern. While the early cylinders probably threw the finest
patterns--respective to uniformity--ever launched from a shotgun,
the addition of the choke added an entirely new dimension to the
sport. By being able to keep the shot pellets more concentrated for
a greater distance, the range and killing potential of the gun were
greatly increased.
     With the addition and perfection of the modern screw-in choke
tube, a gunner has a broad and immediate choice of pattern spread.
While the choke has created some answers, it certainly has raised
a lot of questions--namely, when, where and how much choke to use.
Knowing what choke to use for what game and hunting conditions can
greatly add to your success in the field.
     We probably ask more of our hunting shotgun than any other
kind of firearm. I am certain that most riflemen would think that
it was blindly unreasonable to ask their pet .30-06 to perform
perfectly on a charging elephant at 15 feet, make a clean hit on a
mule deer at 200 paces and then clip a mountain sheep at 800 yards.
On the other hand, many shotgunners routinely ask their 12 bores to
puff a buzzing quail just off their muzzle, catch up with a wild
old rooster pheasant at 40 yards or down a towering 70-yard Canada
goose...all in the same season.
     The request for shotgun performance is just as extreme as the
rifle examples and at times requires a similar skill level to
prove. However, the shotgun comes with a "throttle," the choke,
that makes it all possible. With a selection ranging from
cylinder-bore to extra-full choke, the shotgunner can reasonably
ask his gun to perform at its extreme capability. Getting the maxi-
mum out of a shotgun depends greatly on two factors: the distance
at which we want to take the bird and the skill of the Person
behind the gun.
     The selection of a choke, except in instances where the range
will always be minimal, is dependent on the skill of the shooter.
The greater the shooter's skill, the more choke he will be able to
handle effectively. Put another way, using too much choke can
become a very serious handicap.
     The most basic effect of a choke is to decrease the size of
the pattern at any given range. If we look at the extremes, full
and cylinder at 30 yards (which is possibly close to the distance
where the greatest portion of birds are hit), the full choke will
spread into about a 26-inch circle, while a cylinder will cover
about 44 inches. At 30 yards, the fully choked gunner will have
approximately 530 square inches of pattern while the cylinder
shooter will have over 1,500!
     Relatively, the full choke must be pointed very precisely.
Assuming both gunners fire the same 1 1/8-ounce shot charge, the
flip side emerges. The choked pattern will have almost three times
as many pellets per square inch as the cylinder, allowing it to put
more pellets on the bird or the same amount of pellets at a much
greater distance. The action of a choke is not unlike that of a
muzzle on a garden hose. One extreme will spray a fine mist over a
large area but will not move much dirt, while the stream full
choke) will squirt a long way and shove large gravel around. The
kind of pattern you use depends on the job at hand. Just like
shotgun chokes, keep in mind, if you try to water the pansies with
the full choke you will probably blow the petals off and get
fired--which may be a plan...leaving no choice but to get out your
shotgun and Labrador.
     Fortunately, we aren't stuck with the two extremes. Chokes
come in almost infinite degrees from the tightest to the most open.
In Britain, where the art of choking was perfected, chokes are 
measured in fractions: cylinder, quarter, half, three-quarter and
full. These designations correlate with our American names for
cylinder, improved cylinder, modified, improved modified and full,
respectively. The nomenclature, in turn, relates to the theoretical
percentage of the pellets in the load that will strike within a
30-inch circle at 40 yards. These are 40, 50, 60, 65 and 70
percent. The modern means of accomplishing this is to reduce the
diameter of a one to two-inch-long section of the bore at the
muzzle. In a 12 gauge with a .73-inch bore, the stages of reduction
from improved cylinder to full are .01 inch, .02 inch, .03 inch and
.04 inch for full choke. Each gauge requires a different amount of
reduction to accomplish the same choke. That is, a .410 full choke
only needs about .02-inch choke for full while a 12 requires .04
inch to give the same 70-percent pattern.
     All of this sounds very precise, even cut and dried, but
nothing could be further from the truth. The variation in actual
performance is infinite from cylinder to full. Each barrel, choke
tube, kind or even lot of ammunition has its own characteristics.
The famous Briley firm in Houston,Texas, and some other makers
offer chokes ranging from one to 10. That is at least 10 different
increments from cylinder to extra full. Some special guns are
capable of surpassing the 70-percent full-choke requirement. In
fact, with some loads, the mystical 100-percent pattern
exists--performance akin to shooting a rifle...patterns that would
down a goose every time at 80 yards or totally destroy (if you were
lucky enough to hit it) a pheasant at 40 yards.
     With all of these choices, it is easy to get lost in the
process of deciding what choke is right for you and your kind of
hunting. There are few hard, fast answers except at the extremes,
but there are some reasonable guidelines. What I will attempt to do
is to tell you how I select a choke that in turn will allow you to
apply the same mental and scientific process to find the right
choke for your hunts.
     Let's begin with my basic shotgunning rule: It is always
possible to let a bird get farther away. Then I will quickly follow
with the exception of heavy brush/cover that forces you to shoot as
fast as possible. This can often apply to quail, grouse and
woodcock. Under these conditions, we will almost always choose a
very open choke and may even go to the extreme of using spreader
wads and flat or square shot. Beyond this, I will apply my choke
axiom that says that the more choke you use, the more effective you
can be...if you can hit with it.
     Some years ago, my field-gunning skills hit their peak. I
hunted several days a week for many months each year. In the
process, I fired thousands of rounds at everything from doves and
quail to geese. The result was that I became a very good game shot.
My choke choice was extremely simple--as tight as I could get it.
When the quail buzzed out of the Platte River willows, I just rode
them out until they were far enough to prevent damage to the
delicate dinner. If a mallard really wanted to decoy, I clipped his
beak with the tiny pattern. The close shot wasn't a handicap, and
the long one was a bonus. With an ounce and a half of number fours,
I could still sledgehammer a mallard or rooster at 60 or 70 yards.
I also delighted in hunting doves with my extreme-choked
live-pigeon guns, making 50-yard shots routinely. Now, while all of
this sounds like a serious case of bragqinq. it is not--really, it
is a lament. I can't do it anymore. I lived for a while in the
rarified atmosphere of a fellow who could command a full choke. Now
my best work is done with something less.
     Only last week I received a lesson in how not to be greedy or
lapse into the past. I was shooting doves with a 28 bore. Even
though I know better, the "little" gun makes me feel like I must
choke it to get success. I had turned in my Briley modified and
full tubes. At the end of 30 shells, I had five birds. Admittedly,
the two or three that the three-quarter ounce of Federal copper 7
1/2's had really slapped at 50 paces were impressive, but the easy
25- and 30-yard misses were downright frustrating. Just before
sundown, my lights came on, and I swapped chokes to improved
cylinder and modified. I killed the next six straight, including a
very impressive left and right screaming downwind.
     In the dove field, especially if the birds are coming to you,
chokes below half are the most effective. I wouldn't be at all
afraid to go after them with a cylinder, making hay from 15 to 30
yards--the range where most birds will be taken, at least among
honest men. If you start to notice the birds not being killed
cleanly but you are hitting them, by all means, tighten the choke.
     Pheasants are another bird that are pursued by a great many
hunters and present some special problems. In America, there are
basically two kinds of pheasant hunting: in preserves over pointers
and the pure-flushing wild kind. A pheasant is a tough bird in
general, and his ability to run when winged makes giving him a good
slap mandatory. You need to hit him with several pellets, and in my
opinion, those pellets need some size for adequate penetration
because virtually all shots will be going away to some degree. I do
not approve of 7 1/2 shot for pheasants; instead, I opt for sixes,
and my absolute pick is number five. What this says is that unless
the range is very short, we will need some degree of choke to give
us enough pattern density to hit the bird with the required four or
more pellets. If you are hunting preserve birds over pointers, a
quarter or improved cylinder is about perfect.
     For wild birds, I think modified is about the minimum and
probably the ideal choke. In the late season, when the fowl flush
at great range, full chokes and heavy loads are necessary. If you
happen to have a bird flush right under your feet, simply ride him
for a few beats, settle your feathers and make a cool shot.
     Waterfowl present another set of problems, especially with the
steel-shot consideration. While steel has poor density, velocity
retention and penetration, its hardness and perfectly round pellets
will throw dandy patterns. What this says, in part, it that most
choke designation will
     pattern more densely than predicted with lead. However, there
are no hard, fast rules. With steel, even more than lead, it is
absolutely essential to go to the pattern plate and test your
barrel, choke and load to see exactly what you are getting. With
the wrong choke/load combination, I have seen steel throw the very
worst patterns imaginable.
     If you are hunting ducks or geese that are really decoying,
under conditions that let you make your shots at less than 40
yards, the mid-tight chokes will offer you the best combination of
density and pattern size. Improved-cylinder to modified
performance, with 40- to 50-percent patterns at 40 yards, is very
effective. If your shots fall in the 30- to 50-yard category, you
will want to begin to lean towards tight modified and light full to
hold the killing potential.
     As you can see, choke selection is a very personal thing. If
I can offer a good guide it is this: If you are missing, open your
chokes. Just like rifle shooting, most shotgun shots are not as far
as you think. I think without question there are more 25-yard hits
than 50-yard ones. If you are not downing the birds cleanly and you
pace an actual distance to the fallen birds over 35 yards, try more
choke. Also, with
     the modern crop of screw-in chokes in a double-barreled gun,
don't be afraid to step away from the conventional choke
combinations. That is, you are not restricted to IC/mod and
mod/full.
     A fascinating concept is the use of radically different
chokes. I find many vintage British doubles bored cylinder and
full. This allows you to jump right on the close shot or to find
the crossing bird with the first barrel, following up, if
necessary, with the tight choke. This kind of combination is magic
on pheasants, which, by the way, is where it came from.
Alternatively, if a good, long shot presents itself, unleashing the
full-choke barrel as a single-shot can add to the bag and your
shooting skill.
     Finally, I think you can tell that I still lean toward more,
rather than less choke when I'm in doubt. There is a reason for
this--my respect for the birds. I prefer a clean miss to
"feathering" in a too-thin pattern. Balance your choke and range
with your skill. When in doubt, shoot at less range with less
choke, and your success will increase.
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