Full choke

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NOPLCLKNEB

Banned
Just got back last night from a wonderful hunt in South Dakota. I want to run something by you guys and see what you think.

Sat I was having a hell of a time, I was hitting the roosters but they just kind of wiggled it off and kept flying. Very frustrating, and this time of year is tough these birds are jumpy. I was shooting a 28" 12 gauge Benilli Montefeltro, with Modified choke, #5, 2 3/4 inch, 1 1/8 oz.

Sat night I said the hell with it, Full Choke and I'm either going to miss or knock them down.

I knocked the hell out of them on Sun. I remember when I was in high school and hunting in South Dakota, my dads buddy swore by a full choke and #4's and I have now converted.

Either miss, or dead bird, no more runners, or cripples.

He would always say, if they get up close let them get out there a little and then let them have it.

What do you guys think about full choke late in the season?
 
Fiocchi, winchester, remington, and federal all make 1 3/8 ounce loads. I'd try that before going to a tighter choke if I was having problems with the light load you are shooting.
 
I hear Ya!

Your post sounded identical to my hunt a few weeks ago. Never have I hit so many birds and either knocked many feathers out of them or dropped them and they disappeared even with my dog only a few seconds behind. It was the worst outing I ever had and I have considered doing the same on my next trip. I was shooting 5 shot 1 1/2 ounce loads with a modified choke. Next outing I may run full choke but use 6 shot instead to give a larger pattern at greater distances. I have never done very good with 4 shot as it seems to lack enough BB's or maybe it is just my shooting with it. The tremendous amount of cover this year in places seems to be giving birds an advantage over the dogs like I have not seen before I will say.
 
The full choke may solve your problems, but I would still pattern the loads you are shooting. Some loads just don't pattern well in some guns. I've had it happen to me enough over the years that if I'm serious, as I am at going as far as SD, I will pattern the loads I'm shooting. Then you know. Pattern with the modified and full at say 20 and 30 yards. The only time I really dislike doing it, is with 3" mag turkey loads. Man! those things kick my a$$, I mean shoulder!

When I was a kid I had an old Stevens pump 12 ga., 30" barrel, full choke. Dad bought a used 20 ga. semi-auto and every bird that got up he emptied 3-4 shots at it and missed! Then me swinging up the old Stevens and would whomp that bird at a pretty long range. Two things, Dad was too quick with that new auto and who knows how those loads shot. He sure was disappointed at his shooting and I know now [with a few years under my belt] it may not have been his shooting after all.
 
Had the same problem in KS a few weeks ago while shooting the same gun with 5's through a modified choke...went with high brass 1 1/4 7.5's and changed from modified to improved modified and birds fell. Here is what I shoot now...http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/34319-5.html.
 
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That load should be just fine for pheasants, with lead I never see a reason to go tighter than mod and most folks should probably go more open than that. With steel shooting full is not wise at all. I am assuming your load was not a light one--but a fast one?

Once you get above an ounce or ounce and 1/8 I don't see a huge difference in shot load weight. I do see difference in how fast that load is propelled at times.

Like ranger rick said I'd guess the answer could be found by doing some patterning work. Loads vary and sometimes even different chokes by the same manufacturer in the same gun can vary quite a bit.
 
I've been tossing this around in my head a little. I flubbed a shot on a rooster on Saturday, raked some feathers on my first shot at about 25 yards. By the time I got back on him he was pushing 40 and I put him down, but we had one hell of a time finding him. He was alive and running, hard, and finally got away. I had my IC tube in with those Rem Nitro pheasant loads 1 1/4 oz of 6 at 1400 fps. I'm thinking of moving up to 5's and my improved modified tube. They are just tough birds.
 
I agree, I need to pattern my shot gun with the loads that I use. I bought a case of #5 1 1/8 oz so I'm stuck with them for a while. My main point was this. I am a pretty decent shot, and on Sat lots of birds got a load of my pellets, it just didn't put them down. I switched to Full Choke and knocked the hell out of them. Dead on arrival to the ground.

I like dead on arival to ground, I hate wounding birds and not finding them and I did a lot of that on Sat. Also 7 of the 10 other guys I was hunting with were shooting 3" mag #5s and doing the same thing I was. I was the only one that switched to Full Choke Sunday, and the results were obvious.

Like I said earlier, I agree that I need to do some experimenting on the patterns with different loads, but I would much rather spend $10 per box and shoot full choke, than spend $20 per box shoot mod choke and have inferior results.
 
I've said it before, there is nothing that I hate more than losing birds. It pisses me off to no end. Full choke is the only way to go in my opinion.
 
I have never used a full choke on Pheasants and I have never shot a pheasant in South Dakota with anything but a 20 guage with a modified choke tube.
 
NOPLCLKNEB,

Check out this thread. It's about the same situation that you described. There is some good information there.

http://www.ultimatepheasanthunting.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2759

Personally I see absolutely no need for a full choke with today's loads. I shoot IC nearly the entire season. I might switch to Mod that last couple of weeks but nothing tighter and I have no problem killing birds beyond 40 yards.
 
Alright help me out. Are you shooting lead? We are headed to SD but because we will be hunting the GPA's and WPA's along with the walk in areas we usally just bring steel. Would you recommend bringing both using the lead in the walk in areas and then switching to steel for the GPA's and WPA's?

Thanks
 
Would you recommend bringing both using the lead in the walk in areas and then switching to steel for the GPA's and WPA's?
Click to expand...

I live here and that's what I do. I use lead when ever I can. I still think it kills better than steel. Most Hevi-Shot is just more money than I want to spend.
 
I still do some switching back and forth defenseman's dad but at the moment that's only because I have some lead to shoot off.

I am finding steel as cheap if not cheaper, I have been shooting steel a bit better than lead in recent years, and shooting only one saves you from a potentially costly mix-up.

Best way to use both IMO is to bring two vests and do not mix any lead with non-tox--one vest for lead, the other for non-tox. Gets to be a pain though!
 
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