Choke Tubes

[Grizz1219]

The fun is calling them in close.. not trying to shoot them at 60 yards... but try Comp-n-choke XX full

[stubbz]

Sited in guns the other night. A Remington 870; 12 and 20 gauge. The 12 has a HS Strut Undertaker ported choke, shells are the Rem. Nitro Turkey 3 inch number 4's shot. Right on the money at 20, 30 and 40 yards, perfect. The 20 has a HS Strut super full choke using Nitro, 3 inch, number 5 shot. Shot at 20 yard, perfect, 25 yards good, and at 30, maybe 5 pellets on the paper. I increased the size of target, and still not gettng any more pellets on the target. Can that shot spread that quickly in 5 yards? Maybe the choke, maybe the shells, maybe the gun? i like to range out to at least 35 yards. Any suggestions? The video is at 25 yds,

25 looks real good, id say its more than likely the shells, try a few different ones, i tried nitros last year with just a full choke and it was barely good for 20 yards, ill be trying out the remington premium shells i got tomorrow afternoon, they should be better than the windchesters from what a lot of people are saying so im expecting to be happy with my setup and a few tests.

i just put a neoprene sleeve on my new pistol grip stock and put some padding under it to make a comb rise, perfectly lined up with the red dot now. really hopin to need a use for it on tuesday haha

Edited April 27, 2012 by stubbz

[Uncle Nicky]

Send it to this guy, it will cost you less in the long run, and you will have a real turkey killer when he is done.

http://gobblerguns.com/pageshr/menu.html

[stubbz]

thatd take all the fun out of building your own gun to your personal liking and doing the testing. shouldnt cost anymore than 150 on top of the price of a bare bones 870 or similar to build a perfect turkey killer. i got less than 150 into my 870 express including red dot and everything

[phade]

Try the Win Supreme no 6 in 3" for the 20 gauge. Pretty cheap at Walmart if one carries it by you.

If the choke is decent, the ammo always seems to be the variable. I can't seem to shoot Remingtons (nitro or premiums) out of my mos 500...but it'll throw Winchesters really well. The wads on the Remingtons are horrible...they looks like thye've been torn up compared to the Wins after firing. I think the wad makes a big difference...the porting in the 12 helps with that.

If you are not happy with the ammo, I'd switch brands before product range and size (low, mid, high).

Edit...another thought...the remingtons are much slower FPS....that'll impact it as well.

Edited April 27, 2012 by phade

[Danny]

to my knowldege

Winchester Supreme

3" 1 3/4 oz #5 1350 F.P.S.

Remington Premier Magnum

3" 1 3/4oz #5 1350 F.P.S.

[phade]

to my knowldege

Winchester Supreme

3" 1 3/4 oz #5 1350 F.P.S.

Remington Premier Magnum

3" 1 3/4oz #5 1350 F.P.S.

He was shooting Nitros...not premiums.

Gonna be 100fps difference give or take.

Edited April 27, 2012 by phade

[Danny]

sorry if my reading comprehesion wasn't up to your par (your pre-edited comment)

however 1350 fps is roughly 920 mph 100 fps less is about 850 mph, really doesnt make much of a difference at 40 yrds

figuring things out on paper is useless, only way to tell is to shoot the load/choke/gun combo period

and i wouldn't expect the same results between Nitro, Lead or HEVI shot

[landtracdeerhunter]

Thanks for all the comments. Also, should clarify. Asked my son month ago if he's going out for turkey. He said no. A week before opening day, he's going now on weekends. Don't get me wrong, glad he's going, just a little advance warning. He's got the 12, leaves dad with the 20. This might get interesting real fast. The 20 GA. Winchester Supreme , Remington Premier shells were sold out at 3 Walmart stores in this area. One gun store has some Winchester, another the Remingtons, and Federals. Shop owner says Federals work good in Remington guns. Get them tonight. I'll be well stocked, write the range on the boxes. Need the 35 yard range, hope that's not to much to ask for, with this gun. I post results when they come in. At the price of shells, it adds up quick. One advantage though, it really feels great getting a gun in hand again.

Edited April 27, 2012 by landtracdeerhunter

[Uncle Nicky]

thatd take all the fun out of building your own gun to your personal liking and doing the testing. shouldnt cost anymore than 150 on top of the price of a bare bones 870 or similar to build a perfect turkey killer. i got less than 150 into my 870 express including red dot and everything

I see you used the words "Shouldn't cost". Have you priced 4 or 5 chokes, and 6 or 7 boxes of turkey loads? Sorry, blasting high-powered loads (often unsuccessfully) to try geting a half-way decent pattern a couple days before the season isn't my idea of a good time. Often, the trick involves lengthening & polishing the forcing cone to get a tight enough pattern, EVERY gun/choke/shell combination is different. But, it's your shoulder, have at it!!

[Danny]

most spend more in GAS for one trip upstate than 10 boxes of shells.

pick a decent choke without breaking the bank, 3-4 different brands of shells and settle for what shoot best, in all seriousness everyone gets caught up in "the latest, the best" ect...

the gun that took turkeys 20 years ago will kill the same turkey today

[nygooseduster26]

i shoot a mossberg 500 pump 20 gauge and i absolutely love it. I tested and tested and tested and the best combo i found for it was the Undertaker ported choke with hevi shot hevi 13 #6's and at 35 yards i had 101 bbs in a four inch circle and at 45 yards i had 84 bbs in the same size circle. I shot a bird the last day of the 2011 season at 45 yards and he dropped stone dead. I would not be afraid to shoot 50-60 yards at a bird standing still with no obstacles in the way. Just be confident in your shots and dont take sketchy shots. Good luck this season guys!

[stubbz]

I see you used the words "Shouldn't cost". Have you priced 4 or 5 chokes, and 6 or 7 boxes of turkey loads? Sorry, blasting high-powered loads (often unsuccessfully) to try geting a half-way decent pattern a couple days before the season isn't my idea of a good time. Often, the trick involves lengthening & polishing the forcing cone to get a tight enough pattern, EVERY gun/choke/shell combination is different. But, it's your shoulder, have at it!!

I see you used the words "Shouldn't cost". Have you priced 4 or 5 chokes, and 6 or 7 boxes of turkey loads? Sorry, blasting high-powered loads (often unsuccessfully) to try geting a half-way decent pattern a couple days before the season isn't my idea of a good time. Often, the trick involves lengthening & polishing the forcing cone to get a tight enough pattern, EVERY gun/choke/shell combination is different. But, it's your shoulder, have at it!!

sounds like you enjoy wasting money thats all. none of that is needed to kill turkey at under 40 yards. one choke one round thats all. i had remington nitros leftover from last fall, tried those in my 20 dollar primos tight wad choke, didnt like um, bought some winchesters to sight my red dot in 10 bucks at walmart, i also heard remingtons shoot federals real well so i said ahh what the heck another 10 bucks is all, used 5 to try out patterns much better than anything else ive tried so im set. $40 red dot, $40 scope mount, $20 choke, $30 in rounds in past year, $130 total none of that porting stuff is at all neccesary. just as others mentioned the same 20 gauge shotgun 20 years ago that killed turkeys will kill them today, some just like to go overboard i guess

Edited April 28, 2012 by stubbz

[landtracdeerhunter]

Tried the Winchesters shells. They extended the range out to 35 yard. Satisfied, although their is more room for improvement.

[Uncle Nicky]

sounds like you enjoy wasting money thats all. some just like to go overboard i guess

Not at all, just trying to pass on a little experience to the penny wise/dollar foolish crowd. I should know better. Save the link I gave you, and I won't even ask you to thank me later.

[Danny]

i havent tried the federals only 2 i tried was the Win supremes and the Rem Premiers the winchesters shot high and ton the left and the pattern was a bit more random, although they did have more of a noticable recoil than the remingtons even though everything was equal shot specs

[stubbz]

winchesters shot like crap out of my 870 also, they were high and random like you said. the best ive found for it have been the federals so thats what im gonna run with.

someday i wanna get a ported choke thatll shoot hevi shots cuz the pattern are 1000 times better with those, just crazy expensive but its more like shooting a rifle almost lol, easily take heads off at great distances keepin the rest of the meat very clean.

[goosecaller]

I have found that the tube that works best in both of my guns is HeviShot turkey tube. I get really tight patterns out of it and it knocks the turkeys for a loop out to 55 yards. I also use Hevi-13 with it and tha combination can't be beat. Last fall I shot Magnum Blend and had the same results-a dead Tom at over 50 yards.

[Grizz1219]

Not just the choke tube that deermines it, also the load being fired... Hevy shot will kill at longer ranges... a lot more money per round though...

[WNY Bowhunter]

It works out to be about $5-$6 per shell for the Hevi Mag Blends that I shoot. I'll gladly pay that to knock down a longbeard!!! They tore this dude's face up @ 40+ yds. this past spring...

Edited February 8, 2013 by WNY Bowhunter

[Five Seasons]

Not just the choke tube that deermines it, also the load being fired... Hevy shot will kill at longer ranges... a lot more money per round though...

i agree. hevi's are great. you get what you pay for.

[dbHunterNY]

i've got lots of different turkey shells and choke tubes for my 12ga turkey gun haven't found that combo that pushes out beyond 50 yards that makes me all warm and fuzzy yet. people that say they can kill turkeys at 70 or 80 yards with hevi-shot are just plain unethical. haven't found a choke that works for almost everything. doesn't seem to be any reasoning some combos just work... that said i'd start with a PureGold or Indian Creek turkey choke. seem to work well with a lot of different combos, but no guarantees if you're real picky or shooting out past 50 yards. biggest thing is keep in mind getting a choke that says right on the packaging that it will work with loads like hevi-shot.

[dbHunterNY]

...also your point of impact will change a little. i put a Burris Speed Bead on my turkey gun and it works great. dial it in at 10 yards and you got pin point precision. last long beard i called into 5 steps by the time he came into the open. head was moving too much so i aimed right at the base of his neck. it hit the ground hard and didn't flop once. if anything else was different i probably would've missed. extremely tight patterns have their downfalls.

[2012_taco]

wow, what an interesting debate!  I know all too well what everyone is going through. I have been trying differt shells for a couple of years with my 870 magnum 12ga. I have a comp n choke xxx full and I have been ok with federal flightwads3.5 #5. but 40 yds is max. I tried winchester 3 & 3.5 #5 and there was a noticable hole in the pattern at 40yds. NG. I recently broke the bank and picked up a box of hevi shot 13 3.5" #5 and they patterned great. Now i worry about missing at 20 yds. I will probaby paper shoot it @ 20 yds so I know where it hits ands how tight the pattern is. I don't see anthing on the choke packeage as to wheither it is ok to shoot hevi shots through it. But it does shoot them well.

[dbHunterNY]

I think the ammo is more important than the choke to get the range and energy.

 

already replied to this but ..... i agree with above.  constriction and ported or not depends on what ammo you're shooting too.  I will say Carlson's, Puregold, and IndianCreek make decent ones that are still affordable.  Then you've got other chokes like Rhino that are a little more costly.  Indiancreek's porting is an awesome design.  Puregold chokes have a wicked long tube/parallel section for even lethal patterns.  then carlson's have a variety to tailor to different loads.