What do chokes do on a shotgun

The American idea inspired European gunsmiths, and choked barrels became so popular that today all smoothbore shotgun makers use chokes to improve the performance of their guns.

During the last century, many gunsmiths realized that it would be a much better idea to be able to change the choke on a gun so it would be better suited for different hunting conditions depending on the environment and the type of game being hunted. Being able to change the choke by simply changing the last part of the barrel with the choke made shotguns a lot more versatile as they could be adapted to any conditions, and used for hunting or competitions. There are external and internal chokes, chokes that extend the length of the barrels and ones that fit into the last part of the barrel, threaded on, or in a few cases held in place by a locking ringnut that screws onto the barrel.

One of the first Italian gunsmiths to start an in-depth study on the development of interchangeable chokes was BREDA a gunsmith from Brescia, who developed a choke that screwed onto the outside of the muzzle. It was called the Quick Choke and was locked in place by a tiny wire spring, which protruded from the area near the front sight and engaged with a crown on the part at the base of the choke with the largest diameter when screwed on.

BREDA developed six standard chokes from 0. In Beretta presented its A automatic with short interchangeable Mobilchoke chokes held in place by a big locking ringnut screwed onto the end of the barrel. Their next mod. A had chokes of a similar design, but without the locking ringnut, as they had their own thread on the end.

Many companies immediately started specializing in the production of chokes. Gemini opened in Italy a few years ago , a company specialized in producing fine chokes of every brand, design and degree of restriction. This obviously makes a gun much more versatile and perfectly adaptable to various types of hunting and environmental situations.

One very simple way to explain how a choke works is to compare it to an adjustable sprinkler. If you close it, the jet is narrower but reaches further. The hose is the barrel of the gun, the water represents the pellets, and the adjustable sprinkler is the choke. There are many different chokes, but major gunmakers mostly use 5 on hunting shotguns:.

As well as these basic chokes there are also extreme chokes with more choked profiles Ultra Full or bottleneck profile, or spreader chokes Skeet. The extreme chokes are designed to produce very compact spreads and are mostly used for hunting waterfowl and turkey, while spreaders are used for hunting game at very close ranges in woodland or for skeet.

Chokes are classified, as is the typical European custom, on the basis of the choke value, marking them in various ways. In the past they were marked with the two entry and exit bore diameters in millimeters, but in modern times asterisks, stars or crosses are used that refer to the specified values. The higher the number of asterisks or stars, the more open the choke is so more effective at short ranges, while for longer range shots a choke with fewer stars or just one star is used.

This is clearly the ideal choice when hunting or shooting in competitions at very long ranges. In other words for smaller bore sizes, the choke will also be less extreme.

This produces a wider spread which will only be changed by the type of cartridge and to a great extent the wad used. Unchoked barrels are also ideal for slugs. When hunting in dense vegetation a cylinder bore barrel is often a must, because most of your shots will be taken at very close range, and the thick foliage makes long range shots impossible. A Briley interchangeable choke with compensation holes.

The choke values in this case are from 4 to 6 tenths , so half that of a Full choke. The fine balance of the medium choke values p roduces more and very regular, well-distributed shot patterns than other more open or closed chokes. The medium choke can be used for most types of hunting and almost all feathered or furred game.

I recommend reading the following article if you want to find out how to do just that. There are many tables online that show the percentages of pellets that hit the target on the basis of the chokes used at various ranges.

Before taking a choke on a hunt, take the time to visit a patterning range and figure out the range and pattern of your particular choke. Ammunition types can change how a choke tube fires as well. Steel shot fires in a significantly tighter pattern than lead shot.

Rifled chokes will change how a sabot slug travels. A shooter must be aware of the level of constriction inside a choke, but chokes also come in a variety of styles like ported and external. These additional styles can also affect a shot's sound, range, or pattern. Some chokes are designed specifically for steel shot and all chokes are designed to fit specific makes and models of firearms. People are still debating how effective some of these other types of chokes are, but what matters is how it feels when you shoot with them.

In the end, it's important to discover what works best for you and your style of hunting. Previous: Why is Firearm cleaning important?

The cause is far more likely to be the direction the barrels are pointing. Choke is one of those things, like gunfit, that should be visited occasionally and put out of mind once an informed decision has been reached concerning what best suits your needs. You should take your gun to a pattern plate or improvise one with paper or card sheets and a suitable frame and safe back-drop and shoot it at different ranges — 20yd, 30yd and 40yd — using the cartridge you prefer.

You hope to see an even pattern without too many clusters, gaps or excessive central concentration. If there are holes a bird could fly through — a 5in circle test is sometimes applied — or if the pattern is obviously too tight, your shotgun and its chokes may be working against you. Once you have tested with your usual ammunition, experiment with different cartridges. You might, for example, try to observe the terminal effects of switching between fibre and plastic wads the former often throw more open patterns or increasing pellet payload which may be an alternative to increasing choke.

If your gun has multi-chokes, try different tubes. The tools of the trade for measuring shotgun choke. Sportsmen develop strange prejudices concerning shotgun choke.

My approach, and I happily admit to passing through the stage of confusion, is practical. I have discovered what works for me in different situations and now stick with it. For general game-shooting, I like a bit of choke in the first barrel but not too much — it is the first few thou that makes the most obvious difference. A slightly choked barrel is much more efficient than a true cylinder and inspires confidence, too.

Many and bore game guns are over-choked for their task. Tight patterns may be a means to cleaner kills at longer range but they are an impediment at shorter distances because they demand more accuracy.

If you are going out on the average driven day or walking-up, you do not need much choke in a bore. The first few thou does make a real difference; thereafter the law of diminishing returns takes effect. Those who can see shot will confirm this. You can often observe what looks like a tennis ball-sized cluster of shot moving past the bird at short range. The tighter the shotgun choke, the smaller the pattern.

Having very tight chokes, particularly full or extra full, and squeezing heavy loads of large shot through them will often result in deformed pellets that do not fly true. Frantically changing chokes rarely helps matters. So opt for fixed chokes or ones that are very open. However if you are a very good shot then screw-in chokes may help. The first wave of screw-in chokes appeared in the late s with the Winchester series of guns.

Since then, multi-chokes have been very popular, both as factory standard and as custom attachments from specialist makers. If your gun has multi-chokes, ensure they are tightly screwed in. Multi-chokes offer tremendous versatility without the need to own a number of shotguns, but they need to be looked after if they are to remain trouble-free.

Multi-chokes sit in a section of the muzzle that has been specially machined to receive them. It is vitally important to ensure that they are screwed fully home so that there is no gap between the inside of the barrel and the base of the choke section. If even the tiniest gap exists, there is a very real possibility that serious damage will occur to the gun. As a general principle, multi-chokes should have their threaded sections very lightly greased with something similar to Vaseline before they are screwed home.

Check that your chokes are screwed home fully before use and repeat this check after and periodically during use.