Choke for smoke...Full choke from the 16 all the way back to the 27. Maybe someday i'll get back to the 27 so i can tell you exactly how good it works from there.----Matt

 

Hungarian

If you have more than one choke, shoot all of them several practice rounds to see which choke breaks the bird the hardest...find out which choke smokes the targets the most. You may be surprised! Many times a full choke will not throw as tight of a pattern as a more open choke like an improved modified or even modified.

But, by all means, when you find the one that hits the targets the hardest, use that one. Use the one that leaves nothing but a ball of smoke hanging in the air!.

If you stay in this game long enough, you will find out chips are the downfall of a good 16 yard shooter.

Mark Rounds

 

Hungarian, I also shoot a BT-99 and found that an improved modified works the best for me. I use the same choke back to the 23yd line. Makes for great smokeballs. Welcome to the sport. Mike

 

Use modified until you learn to point. Shot 1 straight today with modified, #8s, 7/8 oz., and 1 straight with light modified, #8s, 1 oz.

 

Improved Modified when first starting out. Then switch to full choke from the 16 all the way back to the 27. Ethan P.

 

Improved Modified or Full would be fine. It will not make much difference. The choke really does not change the size of the pattern very much. A more open choke tends to move some of the shot from the inner pattern area toward the edges of the pattern but the overall size of the effective pattern does not change much.

Pat Ireland

 

Great thing about a "fixed full"... one less thing to think about on the line. Stay "full" or go home.

Full chokes leave less room for error. If you start questioning your choke choice on the line, you're not focused on the birds. If you're missing birds, its not the choke its you.

Good luck and enjoy,

Jay

 

Big Leo says "i don't care what choke you use as long as its FULL".

 

Browning rates their choke tubes by the percent pattern in a 30" circle at 40 yards using a system based on performance prior to the plastic wad. Every other manufacturer rates their choke tubes by constriction. A Browning Modified is very weak from .012 to .015 constriction. The Browning Improved Modified is only .020 to .022 constriction. You need at least Improved Modified in a BT-99.

 

LOL, Choke for smoke..." they want you to believe that and then they will beat you everytime with their Mod or Imp Mod..... LOL...

Just think of how many FULL/FULL O/U you see....Grubby

 

A good modified is all that is needed for 16 yard targets a full choke with a hot core looks impressive but the Big Dogs usually have their barrels tuned to give a more even full pattern not the heavy hot core most shooters advise you to shoot. Remember advice is free some times that is it's real value. A good evenly distrubited pattern in modified choke is a excellent choice so pattern for a good even coverage and when you find it use that one.

 

I use a Briley Modified in my 99 and it crushes the birds. Do I get chips sometimes?, yes but that is my fault not the chokes...Bill

 

I switched to a Light Mod recently. I shoot it back to 20 yards and it crushes targets and that is with 1 oz of 8 shot. I just don’t understand why you would use the same choke at 16 yards as you would use at 27, just doesn’t add up too me. Your mileage may vary.

 

Why does alot of the fixed choke guns come from the factory as a "Full"? Example is my buddies Perazzi. Why did the older Bt 99's come from the factory with two barrels fixed choked an "Improved Mod." and a "Full"? Why would the BT 99's which are simply a trap singles/handicap gun come new from the factory with one choke, a "Full"? Why would alot of the fixed choke over/under guns come from the factory as "Improved Mod." and "Full"? I think its because that is the choke that should be used for singles and handicaps. Just an observation of mine and also my opinion.----Matt

 

Don't shoot a Browning, but I use a modified from 16yd line and crush them

 

100 chipped targets beats 99 smokes every time.

 

Why, why, why........ I guess it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks? Or old habits are hard to break?

I am surprised someone has not said, “ I hope I shoot against you and your modified choke at the next registered shoot”. LOL

 

Sargon---I do use afull choke and it improved my scores considerably over the Mod. i once used. That is what works for me and like the ads say for medicines "Results May Vary". I was hoping somebody could seriously answer all the questions i asked in my previous post. Good luck with whatever choke you use.----Matt

 

"the Mod. i once used" Not to be argumentative Matt but if you only used your mod choke once I don’t think you really gave it a chance. I have shot full, improved mod, mod and light mod at 16 yards and don’t see hardly any difference in my break.

I just know that my score goes up the more open I go with my choke. Again your mileage may vary.

 

Matt an answer to your post as to why full and IM. Why do the pre choke tube guns come full or IM in trap guns is simple. They had to because they needed to break targets back to 27 yards, If it is fixed choke that is the only way manufactures could go. With tubes came change and now the pattern board can help you find the best 16 yard tube. If you are a perfect pointer 99 % of the time or better it doesn't matter but we mortals can benefit from a evenly distributed pattern better than one that throws hard balls every time. In the old days before tubes old Herb Orre was the busiest guy at the grand and lots of top shooters had him work on their fixed chokes. The big dogs seem to have their barrels tuned also but what do they know. Just my thoughts as technology changes so do options and results. Matt this was a very interesting post exchanging view points is always good for the open minded .

 

As the choke becomes more open, shot from the center 20 inch ring is moved to the 30 inch ring. The pattern does not become larger. Shot are moved from the center toward the edges. This can give harder breaks near the edge of the pattern and reduce the smoke from a direct hit by the center of the pattern.

I want to know if I did everything right when I hit a target (smoke) or I was off a little and still broke the target (chips). After I get a couple of chips in a row, I know that I need to change something. This requires a relatively tight pattern especially when shooting handicap.

Pat Ireland

 

Old One Eye----That makes sense as to why fixed choke guns come fixed full or IM. I actually had a Browning Superposed that was fixed that i almost had Stu fix it for some chokes but like a true trap shooter does i just got a different gun.LOL

Sargon---I did give my Mod alot of chances in fact i shot with it for almost two years 'til i started playing around with the pattern board and practicing with my light full and just transitioned into my full. I think like Pat does in that i can tell how sloppy my shots are by how the bird breaks.

Matt

 

'Choke for smoke' is a decent guidline and that isn't quite the same as saying 'choke full'. This will take some experimenting on your part but start your short list with tubes marked MOD, IMOD and LFULL. My bet is you will settle on the IMOD or whatever has about 0.033" of constriction.

Smoked tagets don't score better than chunked targets but the feedback your brain receives from smoked Vs chunked targets will improve your game in the long run.

 

Perhaps if one were a "professional" trap shooter you would buy into the notion of "choke for smoke". However if you a just a league shooter like I am and not shooting 1000's of targets a year I don’t personally feel I am interested in "target feedback", I am only interested in not hearing the trap boy calling MISS. By the way I finished #5 in % (90.9%) in our summer league using a Light Mod and 1 oz of 8 shot and that was after an 18 month lay off from trap shooting.

 

Sorry to have ruffled your panties Sarge.

Certainly there are those that believe they are at the peak of their game and the notion of self betterment is folley. But for the rest of us, hearing 'loss' 10% of the time leaves a lot of room for improvement so we train our brain to do better.