Chokes for wild pheasants in a 16 ga. O/U

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870-Lefty

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What would be the best combination of chokes in a 16 ga. O/U for wild pheasants shooting #5's in the more open choke & #4's in the tighter choke? I'm thinking L.M. & I.M.
 
870-Lefty said:
What would be the best combination of chokes in a 16 ga. O/U for wild pheasants shooting #5's in the more open choke & #4's in the tighter choke? I'm thinking L.M. & I.M.
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You left out the only part that mainly determines what choke to use. What range are you going to be shooting?
 
I mainly shoot 1 ounce #5 Boss bismuth loads in an IC/Mod combination over pointy dogs. Freaking deadly!

I also shoot the same chokes with lead. I can't say I notice any difference in 4, 5 or 6 shot. Those are 1 ounce or 1-1/8 ounce loads. I also have a few handload 1-1/4 ounce loads, but they're not necessary and I won't cook up any more of those.
 
Generally speaking for a 200 pellet load.
Cyl to 25yd
IC to 30yd
LM to 35
Mod to 40
IM to 45
Full to 50

Now these numbers are just guidelines to start at the patterning board. Always pattern your gun- you owe it to the bird and your wallet.

Theres other things that influence the necessary choke, such as pellet size. If you are shooting 6s or 7.5s you can use a more open choke because the increased pellet count will fill in the pattern more than 5s or 4s. The same goes for shot weight, 1 1/4 field load is going to have more pellets than a 1oz target load obviously. 1 1/8 5s and 4s is not a lot of pellets, 190 and 150. You need roughly 100 pellets in a 30" circle to make consistent kills in the air from my experience.

In comparison:
A guy shooting a 12ga 1 1/4 #6 has 280 pellets to work with, so an IC pattern that lets say puts 70% on target at 30 yards is equal to you shooting 1 1/8 5s in a turkey choke putting all 190 pellets in that 30" circle. Thats why you cant just go by what choke people say they use without asking specific questions.
 
For approximately 30 yrs. I shot copper plated 6's, from I/C & I/M. Killed 100+ birds per season. This was over pointing dogs, and a 12 ga.
 
KEOutdoors said:
Generally speaking for a 200 pellet load.
Cyl to 25yd
IC to 30yd
LM to 35
Mod to 40
IM to 45
Full to 50

Now these numbers are just guidelines to start at the patterning board. Always pattern your gun- you owe it to the bird and your wallet.

Theres other things that influence the necessary choke, such as pellet size. If you are shooting 6s or 7.5s you can use a more open choke because the increased pellet count will fill in the pattern more than 5s or 4s. The same goes for shot weight, 1 1/4 field load is going to have more pellets than a 1oz target load obviously. 1 1/8 5s and 4s is not a lot of pellets, 190 and 150. You need roughly 100 pellets in a 30" circle to make consistent kills in the air from my experience.

In comparison:
A guy shooting a 12ga 1 1/4 #6 has 280 pellets to work with, so an IC pattern that lets say puts 70% on target at 30 yards is equal to you shooting 1 1/8 5s in a turkey choke putting all 190 pellets in that 30" circle. Thats why you cant just go by what choke people say they use without asking specific questions.
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This. Really depends on distances. Preserve birds or closely flushed birds I like Mod or LM over IC. I also like IM over LM at times. My Ithaca SxS is IC and Mod. Kills them just fine. Last time I used my 16 ga SxS I used IC and Full. Its a double trigger and when those birds got up and distance, it was nice to slide to that back trigger and give them a load of #5s with a full choke. In my semi autos i find myself using LM most of the time. But I keep a set of chokes in my gun bag in case I need to adjust to where the birds are flushing.
 
I tend to prefer LM with Mod on top. Can always let a close flusher get out a bit if needed. cant go the other way.
 
You can't go wrong with IC/Mod. When we start talking about IM and LM we are really splitting hairs. But hey, if that's what works best for you, go for it!
 
I acquired a ‘79 Beretta BL 4 O/U 20 gauge recently…had it opened to .05/.12 (skt1/LM)…shot an ounce of lead #5’s at 1220 fps…getting acclimated to her, but killed birds pretty well…maybe 10 out of my total? Most of the time I shot my 12 gauge Benelli Ultralight with IC choke…1 1/4 oz #5 lead at 1200 fps. Shot and recovered many at 50 yards +/-, some markedly on the + side…not straight aways, however. I shoot 16 gauge S x S’s a fair amount that are skt1/skt2….#4 lead, cause I have it…now I have some #5 lead, too…those kill roosters just fine, all season long. Late season, with snow, birds often hold super tight in cattails…or nasty food plots…like that skt1/skt2 choking….I‘m not so effective when waiting for the bird to get out.
 
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Yes, pattern your guns/loads…helpful. Buddy of mine got hosed by his employer of 30+ years in 2020…I passed the hat, and found a great Miroku O/U 12 gauge (they made Citori’s for Browning for 50+ years, may still). Had Pat Laib open her to Skt1/Skt2…I hunt with her owner a lot, and what he does with that gun is freakin amazing! He drops birds past 50 yards so often we hardly comment…sharptails, and pheasants in lighter cover…he won’t shoot at the latter at long ranges in heavy cover…again, pretty amazing. I’d outfit guns, chokes, and loads for 25-40 yard shots…ymmv.
 
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If you don't plan properly patterning your gun/choke/load, then you're just taking a stab at it. Which is what most people do, somewhat successfully, almost all the time. First, assuming we're talking about lead shot here, I'd leave the 4s at home. Only time they'd come in handy is sky busting driven birds (60+ yds) or trying to make 40+ yd straight-away kills, which will still result in more cripples (& probably lost birds) than kills. 5s will suffice almost all the time in "normal" pheasant hunting. Since we have no way of really knowing how your loads act in your gun w/ your chokes, I'd just go with MOD/IC if you think your hunting will be "normal". IM/MOD if you think for some reason your shots will be longer on average. Try it & adjust as you see fit.
 
benelli-banger said:
I’d outfit guns, chokes, and loads for 25-40 yard shots…ymmv.
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This, most of the time. The vast majority of my shots are 25-40. But...there are enough times my FIRST (& best) shot is 40+, so I'm set up for 40-45 all the time. Has no ill effect on the closer shots. As we know, though, I'm often hunting very experienced birds, late in the season, with a flusher, who's pretty good at recovering not-quite-dead roosters in heavy cover. Lots of people don't have that situation, so 25-40 would be a great starting point.
 
I acquired about 70 rounds of 12 gauge hevi shot #6’s…can’t wait for January WPA’s! I’m often hunting solo that time of year, still getting lots of close flushes…if the limit was 8 or 10 I’d be doing things a bit differently…always some longer flushes, for sure…hunting with 2 labs, who at times are a bit far out…but that’s the beauty of cattails, harder to get too far out…I’ll leash a dog at times approaching smaller covers…helps a lot.
 
Been debating this topic internally for a couple of weeks as I am debating about ordering a fixed choke 16 for upland only hunting. That is why I was pretty quick to answer LM/Mod. I agree splitting hairs when debating IC vs LM.
 
I’ve found a fondness for LM on the bottom and IM in the top tube.
 
The standard bore for a 16 gauge is .662". So, if we assume you gun has a standard 16 gauge bore, the cylinder choke will be .662". Here are the choke constrictions for a 16 gauge, at least according to Briley:

Skeet (.005") = .657"
Improved Cylinder (.010") = .652"
Light Modified (.015") = .647"
Modified (.020") = .642"
Improved Modified (.025") = .637"
Lite Full (.030") = .632"
Full (.035") = .627"
Xtra Full (.040") = .622"

Kind of hard to believe that .005" one way or the other would make much difference. And unless you went out and patterned your gun with each of these choke constrictions you would never know.
 
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