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Choke Tubes for sporting clays-

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#22 ·
Most folks throw too much shot, too fast, in tighter chokes than they need. A really good shot I know seldom uses anything but an IC in her 400 Beretta. One of the better shots on the planet, Ben Husthwaite, uses LM/LM as default chokes. He breaks stupid long targets with these chokes.

I have gotten away from 1 oz 1350 to 1 oz 1150 with little difference in breaks, but a monumental reduction in recoil. Same with 1 1/8 oz. Went from 1250 to 1090 with no noticeable difference in breaks or leads. Our Main course is set up so as to not scare off newer and casual shooters, with targets no further away than 50 yards or so. Oddly enough, I get good breaks with SK/SK, or sometimes SK/LM.

Our MEC course is a Big Boy course, but nothing tighter than LM/MOD is needed.

I will say I encourage practicing with tighter chokes. XF/XF will instantly show flaws in reading targets and applying correct lead. However, using these on close in targets will make you talk to yourself. LOL

When shooting targets, worry less about the amount of smoke and more about an "X" on the card.
 
#25 ·
Unlike in trap where people literally will have the dumbest discussions in the world about 7.5 vs 8, and a LM versus a mod...and think they need a full choke to shoot 16 yard targets...sporting clays is a different beast where none of this really matters. What matters more than anything is reading targets, determining how to hit a target you may never have seen before, and executing.

As a previous poster said, you can't go wrong putting in two mods and forgetting about it. Brand does not matter as long as it is a quality one. I use factory Kreighoff. Personally, I went from E to AA in a little over two years shooting two IC's. Every target I've ever missed was because I screwed it up. I've broken 60 yard shots with an IC and crushed it. I've broken a target that was 10 yards in front of me and crushed it. And, before you say I'm on a club course where the targets are soft, I'm shooting Matarese's M and M courses, Scull's Cedar Creek courses, and Hopkins in Maryland. These are some of the best and most challenging targets around. I can think of one instance where I should have changed chokes...a rabbit with very little speed that was pretty far off. It had no spinning force to break the bird and I had to rely solely on a squared up shot. I managed to break it 2 of the 3 times, but the breaks were weak.

Ammo is another area you can waste your time on. Shoot 1oz or 1.125oz 7.5's and call it a day. Pick the fastest load you can comfortably shoot without getting beat up and the best quality you can afford. 1250 is fine. If you have plans on shooting FITASC, buy 1oz and call it a day. I've tried everything from 1200 to 1400 and have seen no difference.

Matarese said it best in one of his podcasts..."If you are behind the squad or in the box thinking about ammo or chokes, you aren't thinking about how to hit that bird."
 
#27 ·
Jon Arnett said:
Who is the most decorated sporting clays shooter in the world? What chokes does he use? Hint, he won his first world skeet championship shooting full over full.
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Terrible analogy. This is like trying to compare the skills of Michael Jordan to a 6th grader. They aren't in the same league so what works for one won't work for another. An 6th grader can't dunk, can't push around men, etc. The better question is...if you want to use a better analogy, take a look at all the gun racks at your local shoot. You'll learn who the real master class shooters are after a few shoots. Or, head to a regional event and follow around the big names.

I've got a $20 bill that says 95% of the chokes you will find in everyone's gun at a NSCA event is somewhere between an IC and IM. Likewise, go to any NSSA shoot and I'd bet 99% of those shooters are using skeet chokes, not full.

But you keep running full chokes in everything if that's what makes you happy in your head.
 
#28 ·
K80fullchoke said:
Yes this is an ongoing topic discussed, with little scientific/actual proof, but I still like to hear people’s take on the brand of chokes they use and why?

if anyone can please share the chokes you use and why you prefer them, I’d much appreciate. I will start.

I shoot an auto- A-400 xcel and use pure gold titanium diamond series chokes.

I also shoot an over / under - k80 with Briley chokes.

reason for Briley w/k80- they are thin walled and fit the gun (parcours).

Reason for pure gold- was told they pattern well. No proof, no comparison, no reason in essence other than the referral to use them.

thank you.
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I shoot mod and mod or mod and full. If your missing targets most likely is not the chokes. If depending on fringe hits you got more problems than chokes can fix. JMO
 
#29 ·
No one has ever shown that one brand of choke throws a “better” pattern than any other, despite all the marketing claims. 0.015” of constriction from any brand of choke will throw a LM pattern.
When I shoot a screw choke gun I almost always have 2 Mods in and shoot 1oz of #7.5s. I’m currently shooting a fixed choke Parcours that is 0.030”/0.020”. I like not messing with chokes.
 
#31 ·
I subscribe to the "easy choke" method- Skeet if the target is close, and Mod if the target is not close. If the target is too far for a Mod choke, I don't think I can hit it, so I don't even shoot it! Works for me!
 
#32 ·
The target range where SK and IC chokes throw a pattern that can actually help is so close that it seems like a decent shooter wouldn’t need the few inches of help. I haven’t shot much sporting, but I do understand what chokes can and cannot do. Shoot some 23+ yard handicaps with a skeet choke and you will find that your shot placement must be much more precise than with a .030+ choke in order to break targets.
 
#33 ·
I shoot a Browning 725 with Briley IM over IC, and my son shoots a Browning CXS with Muller U3 over U2. For ammo we shoot 1200fps 1-1/8oz #8.

We don’t change chokes or ammo during the course, the most we’ll do is alternate between over and under barrels for the first shot. The local sporting clays courses we shoot are shot at mostly longer distances.

Neither of us are very good at sporting clays but we have fun. We’re competitive in trap and skeet.
 
#34 ·
Call_me_Tom said:
For ammo we shoot 1200fps 1-1/8oz #8.
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Call_me_Tom said:
The local sporting clays courses we shoot are shot at mostly longer distances.
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You might want to try to use nothing but 7 1/2 sized shot. I think it will help you on all your longer shot courses!!! Especially if your shooting a lot of European shells. The shot size runs smaller on European shells. They use the metric system. So they're shot sizes run about a 1/2 size smaller than American sized shot. I don't like to use European shells on shots over 45-50 yards for this very reason. Rabbits are very hard to break as well. #8 shot is a poor choice to shoot many Rabbits with. You can get away with #8 shot, if the Rabbit is close, say inside 25 yards. I personally use nothing but 7 1/2's for Sporting clay hard courses. Which does not mean I can't use #8 1/2 or #8 shot for my loads on the easy courses!!! I load a lot of #8 1/2 shot for my 28 ga. and 410 bore on the easy courses. Now, I am shooting sub-gauge for fun most of the time. If I am shooting NSCA sub-gauge event, I will bring enough #8 and enough 7 1/2 sized shot, to shoot the entire course with either size!!! Since you have no idea how tough the course might be??? Until you see each station!!! Good Luck to Ya. break em all Jeff
 
#36 ·
Call_me_Tom said:
I’ll look into picking up some additional #7.5
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Why not start looking for deals now??? You can always just purchase a few flats to get started. Then use your current stash of #8's for your closer shots. Just use your 7 1/2's for your longer shots. Believe me, you'll use up all the ammo!!! LOL

I just picked up a Win. Universal 4-pack of #8 shot, at my local Walmart today. I got the 4-pack for $21.50 plus tax. It was the only 4-pack they had left on the shelf!!! I will be using these shells for my closer shots. So it works both ways. LOL. At that price, I could not pass them up!!! Good Luck to Ya. break em all jeff
 
#37 ·
Pull & Mark said:
Why not start looking for deals now??? You can always just purchase a few flats to get started. Then use your current stash of #8's for your closer shots. Just use your 7 1/2's for your longer shots. Believe me, you'll use up all the ammo!!! LOL

I just picked up a Win. Universal 4-pack of #8 shot, at my local Walmart today. I got the 4-pack for $21.50 plus tax. It was the only 4-pack they had left on the shelf!!! I will be using these shells for my closer shots. So it works both ways. LOL. At that price, I could not pass them up!!! Good Luck to Ya. break em all jeff
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Our primary focus right now is my son’s trap and skeet competitions. All our #7.5 is being used for trap and since he won’t compete in sporting clays until the fall season, sporting clays ammo is lower on priority.
 
#38 ·
Call_me_Tom said:
Our primary focus right now is my son’s trap and skeet competitions.
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I prefer to use #8 1/2 size shot for all my skeet shooting. If you buy European made shells, just buy the #8 shot size. Its perfect for skeet. Since European shot size runs about a 1/2 size smaller than our shot size. Good Luck to the both of you!!! I hope your son---breaks em all Jeff
 
#39 ·
stocker1042 said:
Terrible analogy. This is like trying to compare the skills of Michael Jordan to a 6th grader. They aren't in the same league so what works for one won't work for another. An 6th grader can't dunk, can't push around men, etc. The better question is...if you want to use a better analogy, take a look at all the gun racks at your local shoot. You'll learn who the real master class shooters are after a few shoots. Or, head to a regional event and follow around the big names.

I've got a $20 bill that says 95% of the chokes you will find in everyone's gun at a NSCA event is somewhere between an IC and IM. Likewise, go to any NSSA shoot and I'd bet 99% of those shooters are using skeet chokes, not full.

But you keep running full chokes in everything if that's what makes you happy in your head.
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I’m not really interested in what everybody does, only the extremely talented. Comparing Digweed to any average shooter is not like comparing Jordan to a 6th grader. What does Digweed have that other shooters don’t, besides great eyesight and 100 extra pounds? I don’t think he can dunk a basketball or even block a 6th grader’s shot. 🙂

Digweed has skills for sure, but aren’t you interested in how he developed them? Don’t you wonder, even a little bit, if Digweed has always shot tighter chokes because he is good, or if he’s good because he has always shot tighter chokes? I don’t pretend to have the answer, but it is a question that I’m interested in.
 
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