choke on shotguns

oflynno

what does the choke do on shotguns
i have seen it in some threads

will someone explain what they are and what they do

t.v.m

shinobi

It Varies the spread of the pellets over distance.
Full choke will keep the pellets tightly bunched together over a longer distance.
Which is for further away targets.
3/4 Choke Less compact load not as far a distance
1/2 Choke Less again.
Open or Cylinder choke Is good for targets which are close & you need the load to open as quick as possible.

Hope this helps...

pullandbang

shinobi explains it well.

To give you an example - a 28g cartridge will give you a 35" diameter spread at 20 metre distance with a cylinder choke (wide) while a full choke (tight) will only give you an 18" diameter spread.

Logic implies you should use open chokes for everything but as the pellets travel out and the circle expands, gaps appear and a target can easily be missed through the gaps. Thats why skeet shooters use open chokes and trap shooters use full chokes. Skeet shooters are hitting targets anywhere from 5m to 20m away and trap shooters can be second barrelling at 70m!

In game shooting you would probably be taking pheasants at 25m to 40m so half and three quarter chokes would be adequate.

J.R.

IRLConor

There's some more explanation in Wikipedia too:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun#Pattern_and_choke

oflynno

thanks for that guys
i now understand the concept

now for the next no-brainer

shotguns shell numbers
me father uses no.6's,is this number the size of the grain or the range of the shell?

a friend of mine uses "duck" cartridges for shooting rabbits as he reckons they are the job!


so explain the number thing
is 6 a general hunting rabbits,crows and all that
is 12 the duck cartridge?

thanks again
i just don't want this explained to me in the pub and get it all wrong when i need the info

shinobi

so explain the number thing
is 6 a general hunting rabbits,crows and all that
is 12 the duck cartridge?

As you go down the Numbers the strength of the shell Increases. In addition to the Cartridge number there is a weight on the side ie 32g or 36g. This indicates the weight of shot in the cartridge. Again, the more weight there is the more pellets there are in the shot pattern.
Typically a 5 or 6 for Duck shooting as they are well protected by the thick layer of feathers under them & they may be at a good height also.
7's for the pheasants & usually 7 1/2 for crows, pigeons or rabbits & 8's for clay pigeons.
I have used BB's 0's for Foxes only a few pellets, but they are almost the size of ball bearings, weigh about 40g.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun_shell

oflynno

again i thank you for the help at understanding whats what

we have 6's 32g shells

so that's 32 grammes of pellets and 6 is for ducks and smaller

thats the job

Jonty

shinobi wrote: »

As you go down the Numbers the strength of the shell Increases.

Not necessarily, it would be more correct to say as you go down the numbers the shot size gets bigger, and up the numbers shot size gets smaller.

To the OP, 5 and 6 is fine for winged vermin, Pheasant and rabbit. Its too big for snipe and I'd recommend a 7 or 7.5 for them. I'd even go so far as to say a number 4 for duckies.

The main thing here is that from 0-20m all cartridges will do the same thing on a rabbit or crow etc. Its the "range" at which you are likely to engage your target is what will affect your shot size and choke choice.

shinobi

Jonty wrote: »

Not necessarily, it would be more correct to say as you go down the numbers the shot size gets bigger, and up the numbers shot size gets smaller.

If you take a Duck at 40 Yrds with a 5 or the same Duck at 40 Yrds with an 8, you'd have a greater chance of getting it with the 5. Shot size, is not necessarily the case.

Jonty

shinobi wrote: »

If you take a Duck at 40 Yrds with a 5 or the same Duck at 40 Yrds with an 8, you'd have a greater chance of getting it with the 5. Shot size, is not necessarily the case.

Assuming choke is the same. This is my point, the range at which you intend to engage your target affects choke choice and shot size, in order to maintain a good pattern. You've got to find the middle ground, ie no 4 @ 40 yards half choke plenty of power but a bad pattern so try a no 5 or 6.

Its multiple pellet strikes that will kill your quarry quick, not 1 or 2 pellets unless he's hit in the head.

The number on the cartridge is the pellet size. To say a number 5 is more powerful than a 6 is incorrect. There are "reduced recoil" loads commercially available.

shinobi

Apologies, My Mistake. I genuinely thought that the cartridge number was also to do with power.

meathstevie

Personally I find a nr5 or nr6 32 gram load in 12ga. a good allrounder for just about anything small game and small vermin.

The exceptions would be hares ( 4 or 2 at extreme distances in hard cold weather ) and snipe ( 7.5 or 8 ).

J.R.

meathstevie wrote: »

Personally I find a nr5 or nr6 32 gram load in 12ga. a good allrounder for just about anything small game and small vermin.

The exceptions would be hares ( 4 or 2 at extreme distances in hard cold weather ) and snipe ( 7.5 or 8 ).

totally agree

kowloon

34g No. 5 for Bunnies. Lost a choke though so now I only have a choice of Imp. Cyl., Full and Turkey "eye of a needle" chokes.

What shells would you use in a cylinder bore?

meathstevie

Smaaaaallllll pellets...10 yards downrange a bull elephant can probably easily dance through the pattern of anything bigger than a nr5 . Handy for sporting clays with a 7.5 or 8 though.

cavan shooter

Couple of things, personally 32g no 6 for pheasant pigeon, 34 g no 6 for duck half choke

I also believe that:
Chokes where invented so that clay shooters can torture themselves prior to standing into take their shot and then have something to blame when they shoot badly

On the subject of clayshooting I use quarter & half for all my sporting (30 inch barrells) I use half and three quarter for DTL and if I shoot skeet I use cyl and by Berretta semi (no 8 cartridge for skeet and 7.5 for everything else)

oflynno

i'm assuming that cylinder bore means either no choke fitted(au naturelle) or no choke on?

cavan shooter

oflynno wrote: »

i'm assuming that cylinder bore means either no choke fitted(au naturelle) or no choke on?

I have a screw in cylinder choke (very little if any restriction) shots spreads very quickly

Jonty

What ever you do don't fire a multichoke shotgun with no chokes in - you'll wreck the threads.

pullandbang

Jonty wrote: »

What ever you do don't fire a multichoke shotgun with no chokes in - you'll wreck the threads.

++1 for that.

Most important....never ever even think about it!

You will here some "experts" in the pub tell you it's ok. It's not. In fact the threads can cause a restriction to your shot which can result in a bulge in your barrell.

Double Barrel

i'm assuming that cylinder bore means either no choke fitted(au naturelle) or no choke on?

You are correct - no choke.

A typical 12 gauge barrel has an inside diameter of .729" the chokes for this bore size would run from cylinder at .729" to Full at .689".

Bore size .729" for a typical 12 ga. a cylinder has .000 constriction (no choke) and will put about 40% pattern* in a 30" circle @ 40 yards
...with a .020 constriction ( 1/2 choke aka modified ) - and will put about 60% pattern* in a 30" circle @ 40 yards
... with a .040 constriction ( 1/1 choke aka full) and will put about 75% pattern* in a 30" circle @ 40 yards

Pattern percentages are normally taken at a distance of 40 yards.

*The number of pellets striking within a 30 inch circle, drawn so as to encompass as many pellet holes as possible, is counted and compared with the number of pellets contained in an identical unfired shell.

What ever you do don't fire a multichoke shotgun with no chokes in - you'll wreck the threads.

+++2 ......Jaunty & pullandbang