Blockers, what chokes are you using.

5

5akman

New member
I just returned from my yearly trip to hunt wild birds outside of Onaka SD. Since I'm out of shape, overweight, 61yrs old with bad knees, I'm the designated blocker which I'm fine with. I usually get 50% of the shooting the walkers do but tend to get my limit. This year it seemed like the birds were flying higher and faster than I remember in past years and I don't know if it was because of the great weather/conditions (no snow, corn/beans harvested) or what. Anyway, I struggled connecting this year and it seemed like I had more shots at 35 - 45yds than normal. I shoot a 12ga Weatherby with PS #4 and light modified choke. What chokes are other "blockers" using? I'm thinking I need to tighten things up.......
 
If I'm pretty sure my shots are going to be limited, whether blocking or not I always shoot full. Lots of birds and a good dog, improved or mod. If I'm having a mental breakdown and can't hit, no choke change will fix it.
 
5akman said:
This year it seemed like the birds were flying higher and faster than I remember in past years and I don't know if it was because of the great weather/conditions (no snow, corn/beans harvested) or what.
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One guess is the percentage of older birds might be higher if the area had too much rain in the spring and the young ones didn't survive. Were you able to check the harvested birds to see if they were mostly 2nd year birds?

If you are shooting steel, #4 is getting down there in weight, and loses speed pretty fast. Is it possible your longer shots weren't penetrating? When I used to shoot steel, it was #2, since I was trying for the equivalent to #4 lead.

These are just guesses.

If you are shooting steel, a lot of manufacturers warn to stay at modified or lower (no full or improved modified) so you don't balloon the end of the barrel. Some aftermarket stainless steel chokes don't have that limitation.

Unrelated to the question, did your group find more or fewer birds than past years? Private or public?
 
I patterned some federal bismuth with the flight control wad. It went from 192 pellets at 30 yds to 111 at 35. It was through a light mod. Maybe improved cylinder would have done better. I think you choke looser with that wad to get tighter?
 
You have to get out in front of them...keep increasing your lead until you are connecting....they are going so much faster when they get to the blockers. IC or maybe Mod. Put it on paper and decide. Good luck next hunt.
 
At that distance, blocking or not, I would be shooting LM first shot, and then IM, with either #5 or #6 shot for the additional lead in the air and pattern density.
 
remy3424 said:
You have to get out in front of them...keep increasing your lead until you are connecting....they are going so much faster when they get to the blockers. IC or maybe Mod. Put it on paper and decide. Good luck next hunt.
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I would say 90% of misses are behind birds.
 
First off pattern the shells at 35-45 yards. Federal's flight control flex wad reacts to chokes differently vs. the old flight control wad. Second, time to fire up the clay pigeon thrower and work on those 45 yard crossers, using your preferred pheasant load.
 
Modified choke for me. This year in my 20 gauge O/U, I shot imp mod and full. I really liked that combo. I started with light mod and mod and found i wasn’t hitting them solid enough with the first shot. When I switched, it was putting them down hard. Shooting #5 or #4. All Fiocchi
 
Obi_Wan said:
Modified choke for me. This year in my 20 gauge O/U, I shot imp mod and full. I really liked that combo. I started with light mod and mod and found i wasn’t hitting them solid enough with the first shot. When I switched, it was putting them down hard. Shooting #5 or #4. All Fiocchi
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That combo sounds like a winner.
 
Limitless said:
One guess is the percentage of older birds might be higher if the area had too much rain in the spring and the young ones didn't survive. Were you able to check the harvested birds to see if they were mostly 2nd year birds?

If you are shooting steel, #4 is getting down there in weight, and loses speed pretty fast. Is it possible your longer shots weren't penetrating? When I used to shoot steel, it was #2, since I was trying for the equivalent to #4 lead.

These are just guesses.

If you are shooting steel, a lot of manufacturers warn to stay at modified or lower (no full or improved modified) so you don't balloon the end of the barrel. Some aftermarket stainless steel chokes don't have that limitation.

Unrelated to the question, did your group find more or fewer birds than past years? Private or public?
Click to expand...
Way fewer birds this year. 5 of us got 13 day one, 7 of us got 7 the next day (it was raining) and 7 of us got 19 the last day. We worked hard for the birds with 5 labs. All wild birds. We saw much fewer birds along roadsides, while driving through cut corn/beans, flushing up 1/2 mile away etc. Shelter belts and thick grassy areas produced the most birds and many were 1st yr birds that were hard to even identify with shorter tails and not so vibrant color.
 
5akman said:
Way fewer birds this year. 5 of us got 13 day one, 7 of us got 7 the next day (it was raining) and 7 of us got 19 the last day. We worked hard for the birds with 5 labs. All wild birds. We saw much fewer birds along roadsides, while driving through cut corn/beans, flushing up 1/2 mile away etc. Shelter belts and thick grassy areas produced the most birds and many were 1st yr birds that were hard to even identify with shorter tails and not so vibrant color.
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That's a darn good harvest, especially with rain in the middle, even if the were tougher to get than most years. You might have just hit it when they were antsy about the coming rain and hadn't gotten back to the cover as much after it.

I can say that the birds have been moving a lot more this whole season (running roosters and hens, more wild flushes, etc) in Minnesota. It was like that from opener onward. I think it is the dry conditions of the vegetation, but not exactly sure why it is having that effect on them. Maybe it is just easier for them to move through it. Not sure why that would make them fly faster in your hunt, unless they are generally in better shape due to the extra exercise?

Good that there were a lot of young birds over there. I was hoping they had a drier spring.

I'll be doing some hunting in that area next week.
 
5akman said:
My buddy who organizes the hunt buys the shells and he loves the Prairie Storms......
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I’m not sure they are necessary. A good #5 going 1250-1300 has been killing roosters just fine for many years. Lots of guys I hunted with this year bought some because they were enamored by the speed. Not one kept shooting them after the first day. They went back to fiocchi, kent, and Remington’s.
 
Obi_Wan said:
I’m not sure they are necessary. A good #5 going 1250-1300 has been killing roosters just fine for many years. Lots of guys I hunted with this year bought some because they were enamored by the speed. Not one kept shooting them after the first day. They went back to fiocchi, kent, and Remington’s.
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This is from memory, so I could be wrong, but I think the typical lead shells from the pre-non-toxic shot mandate were only going at 1100 to 1200 fps too. I'm not saying some of the faster shells don't produce better outcomes, but people were somehow killing them with much slower stuff back then.
 
Limitless said:
One guess is the percentage of older birds might be higher if the area had too much rain in the spring and the young ones didn't survive. Were you able to check the harvested birds to see if they were mostly 2nd year birds?

If you are shooting steel, #4 is getting down there in weight, and loses speed pretty fast. Is it possible your longer shots weren't penetrating? When I used to shoot steel, it was #2, since I was trying for the equivalent to #4 lead.

These are just guesses.

If you are shooting steel, a lot of manufacturers warn to stay at modified or lower (no full or improved modified) so you don't balloon the end of the barrel. Some aftermarket stainless steel chokes don't have that limitation.

Unrelated to the question, did your group find more or fewer birds than past years? Private or public?
Click to expand...
He is shooting Prairie Storm not steel.
 
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