Prefer fixed chokes, but I’ve bought both Brileys and Trulock and they are both well made products.

 

Well everyone is entitled to their opinion aren't they?

Hope springs eternal that a score can be bought

 

before beretta made extended chokes; i had a factory flush choke become loose (no damage done) since i am anal about stuff i purchased briley extended, so that i can check them by hand. never patterned any choke tube for a uniform pattern. too many of you think that a aftermarket choke tube will make you a champion

 

I switched to Carlson simply due to easier changes over my Invector DS factory chokes. I do have to clean a bit more often because the Carlson tubes don't have the seal, but if you shoot mostly sporting clays like I do, being able to switch one out quickly is really nice.

 

Could you explain ‘the seal’ for us please Howareya..???

 

There was a recent article that tested a variety of choke tube manufacturers with a variety of guns, I think it was in Shotgun Sports Mag. The test result for pattern density and consistency showed 1] solid chokes always patterned better than a ported chokes and 2] aftermarket chokes nearly always outperform factory chokes. After exhaustive testing of various combinations and permutations, he found the single best choke for pattern uniformity was... wait for it... wait for it... Muller chokes. I didn't see that coming, so I gave Muller #3 (LF .030) a test in my CG Summit. I have used CG factory, Briley and Rhino and I noted for some reason Muller stay a little cleaner, patterns well, but as many of you know, they have had a few catastrophic failures with their chokes that gives you pause. Moreover, since Muller chokes are aluminum they don't work with a flat magnetic rest pad, so I had to get a side magnet pad from Heritage Workcraft. Muller #3 (LF) felt a little tight for 16 yds, I liked it for practice, but I went back to my Rhino Gen2 IM (.025). Albeit Rhino's are stainless or titanium, they finish their extended chokes with a steel color band of your choosing that works with a normal flat magnetic rest. I don't know if the differences in Briley, Carlson, Muller, etc. are noticeable from 16 yds for the sam constriction, but would guess the variances would have an impact at 27 yds on a .025 and higher constriction.

 

Let me know what issue of Shotgun Sports that was in if you can. I'd like to read it. Just for curiosity's sake.

 

Magazines are notorious shills for advertisers. Much like relying on advice solicited on the internet.

 

Like this forum?? 😂

 

Turlock is my first choice.

None are magic....

 

Wilkinson 😉

 

Could you explain ‘the seal’ for us please Howareya..???

This is what is referred to as "the seal" on an invector DS (which stands for double seal)

 

This is what is referred to as "the seal" on an Invector DS (which stands for double seal)

I use mostly the OEM Browning Inv DS chokes. The seal seems to do two things. It keeps muck from accumulating on the outside of the choke and it also keeps the choke from getting loose. Other chokes in other guns always seemed to get loose with shooting. The trade off is that they do require a little more effort to remove.

Because Browning INV DS chokes were getting dumped on in other threads, I did some of my own testing a few months ago. That work is posted here.

https://www.trapshooters.com/threads/head-to-head-comparison-of-browning-invector-ds-chokes-vs-briley-inv-ds.940399/#post-9192173

I learned a lot in doing that testing from other folks here, especially Tim. The goal was to see if there was anything intrinsically bad regarding the OEM chokes. There isn't. I learned that to compare chokes, you need a bore gauge. I learned that companies that only post "constriction" rather than actual input and out bores are annoying. Constriction doesn't tell you much unless you know the input-side bore and they vary from brand to brand. For example, Briley chokes have an input bore of .740 while the Browning OEM chokes have an input bore of something over .75 (I forget the exact measurement I made). So for a given output bore, the Brownings have a steeper taper than at least Briley. Can't say for other brands and I don't think the taper angle makes much difference. Mostly it is only the output bore that matters. I learned that for a given designation (EF, F, LF, IM, M) different brands bores vary. In brands that I could find info on, F chokes varied from .700 to .710 (table posted in my other thread). You need a Briley EF to compare with a Browning F because they both have .700 output bores. Briley F is .705.

No single shot produces a perfect Gaussian distribution but if you average a number of shots, the fit gets very good. I like the coin flip analogy. The probability of a Heads is 50% but on any given flip it may be Tails. You have to perform a large number of flips to "see" the 50% probability.

I am not sure if any particular brand tends to be "more Gaussian" on a single shot. I didn't look at my data that way. I was more focused on 75% circle size. I think I will go back and look at the Gaussian fit statistics for the single shots.

 

I like Briley for hunting guns, and Extreme Chokes for comp guns

 

Carlsons

 

Things more important than the brand of choke you use:

Gun fit

Talent

Shot quality

Talent

A consistent pre-shot routine

Talent

Proper coaching

Talent

Proper training

Talent

Mental aptitude

Choke brand fits in about here.

 

So are aftermarket chokes worth spending the money on? Because I got extended factory chokes with my cz?

 

If they are correctly made and correctly labelled, they are unlikely to perform in an inferior way to aftermarket tubes.

The short answer is no, it probably isn't worth the money.

 

I have Rhino chokes and I’m pretty impressed with them. But like others have said, briley is a great option.

 

Rhinos are what I use for every gun I own.

 

I’m the oddball here , I shoot Teague chokes After patterning them they seem to shoot a bit tighter.

 

How did you pattern them?

 

You’re not alone. I shoot Teague Ti’s half choke in each barrel for sporting, and FITASC. Only change to 1/4 when something is less than 20yards. Mine also seem to pattern a tad tight.

 

Logical choke tube constriction decisions must start with measured bore ID identification. As the old saying goes, to get where you want to go you must first know where you are.

I purchased a telescoping bore gage and did all of my own measurements and this is what I discovered for my 28 Gauge TriStar Setter ST O/U while trying to determine proper choke constriction for Skeet and Skeet choking:

Barrels:
--------------------------
Lower Barrel ID = 0.5410"
Upper Barrel ID = 0.5444"
-----------------------------------------
Here's how my factory provided chokes measured by notch markings:

Factory Five Notches Choke Tube = 0.5503"
Factory Four Notches Choke Tube = 0.5437"
Factory Three Notches Choke Tube = 0.5339"
Factory Two Notches Choke Tube = 0.5260"
Factory One Notch Choke Tube = 0.5182"

The 5 notches Cylinder choke is a spreader choke. The 4 notches Improved Cylinder choke would essentially be a Cylinder choke if installed in the upper barrel, and would be a spreader choke in the lower barrel. Etc...
-------------------------------------------------------

My conclusion as to which aftermarket choke tubes to purchase for my TriStar for 'effective' Skeet and Skeet choking:

Ideal Lower Barrel Extended Carlson Skeet Choke Tube to purchase = 0.538" Modified
Ideal Upper Barrel Extended Carlson Skeet Choke Tube to purchase = 0.541" Light Modified

Without first measuring my O/U's actual bore ID's I would have been buying choke tubes in the dark. And wasting money.

 

For the Skeet & Skeet choking of my O/U I just ordered one each of 28 Gauge Carlson's Extended Mobil Chokes in "Light Modified" and "Modified" per the measurements and conclusions which I detailed above.

 

I’ve drawn my own conclusions about what works best for ME ONLY. Everyone else can do what they want. Because at the end of the day nobody is turning my score card in but me. That’s the great thing about shooting , everyone has to do what works best for them. I appreciate the insight on the topic.

 

I'm always great to see another 70 comments on a topic that already has about 37 bazillion comments spread out over the last twenty years or so.

Keep up the good work