Open fixed full to....what?!?

B

btomlin

New member
I have a standard 1100 20ga with a fixed full barrel. I have tought about having tubes installed until I saw the barrel damaged on an o/u gun so now I am a little apprehensive. I would like to do something as it would be better served with a more open choke.

It would be solely a dove and upland gun....probably more dove. This has me thinking IC. The fact that there will be some upland has me thinking MOD.

Do you gear toward the majority of your shooting with IC or take "worst case of overkill" and go MOD or someplace in the middle at LM?? I'm thinking IC but curious what others would do since you can't add metal once it's shaved down.

I haven't found a replacement barrel with chokes so assuming they only made them for the LW and LT 1100s,
 
I'd look at it the other way around for chokes. I'd want MOD for doves and maybe something more open for upland. It also depends on what you are shooting out of it. If there is a chance of shooting steel out of it then I'd go with IC or LM.

Tim
 
If I had to pick one choke for upland and dove it would definitely be Light Modified. I shoot an over under 99% of the time with a IC and MOD and it works great but I wouldn't a IC if I only had one barrel.

Good luck!
 
Virtually all my guns have choke tubes & most haven't had the light mod removed. I shot a lot of sporting clays and was impressed with the performance of LM.
 
b -- It will really depend on the typical shot distances you encounter. Both dove and upland shooting can vary quite a bit depending on where you hunt, how you hunt, and the upland species you hunt.

It would be hard to beat an IC for most shooting out to about 40 yards. That said, I could make a good case for a LM to cover more situations and even Mod if you hunt more big open country pheasants or sharp-tails. That's probably not much help with your decision so I'll give you some of my pattern numbers with LM and M chokes to give you an idea of the kind of performance I get with those two chokes at 40 yards. I don't have the 40 yard pattern numbers on the lead loads with the IC choke for comparison but I included the 30 yard IC numbers with the steel load.

Here are a few of my pattern numbers with my gun/chokes with the chokes mentioned.

Patterning results from a 12-gauge Browning Citori with 28" Invector-plus barrels using Briley flush chokes (patterns average of five, 30" post-shot scribed circle, yardage taped muzzle to target, and in-shell pellet count average of five).

30 YARDS / IC
Win AA Extra-Lite 2 3/4" 1 oz #8 lead (393 pellets) / pattern 305 (78%)
Win AA Heavy 2 3/4" 1 1/8 oz #7 1/2 lead (377 pellets) / pattern 324 (86%)
Reload 2 3/4" 1 1/4 oz #5 lead (210 pellets) / pattern 177 (84%)
Rem Sportsman Steel 2 3/4" 1 1/8 oz #2 steel (139 pellets) / pattern 129 (93%)

40 YARDS / IC
Rem Sportsman Steel 2 3/4" 1 1/8 oz #2 steel (139 pellets) / pattern 111 (80%)

40 YARDS / LM
Win AA Extra-Lite 2 3/4" 1 oz #8 lead (393 pellets) / pattern 251 (64%)
Win AA Heavy 2 3/4" 1 1/8 oz #7 1/2 lead (377 pellets) / pattern 264 (70%)
Reload 2 3/4" 1 1/4 oz #5 lead (210 pellets) / pattern 155 (74%)
Rem Sportsman Steel 2 3/4" 1 1/8 oz #2 steel (139 pellets) / pattern 114 (82%)

40 YARDS / M
Win AA Extra-Lite 2 3/4" 1 oz #8 lead (393 pellets) / pattern 292 (74%)
Win AA Heavy 2 3/4" 1 1/8 oz #7 1/2 lead (377 pellets) / pattern 285 (76%)
Reload 2 3/4" 1 1/4 oz #5 lead (210 pellets) / pattern 155 (74%)
Rem Sportsman Steel 2 3/4" 1 1/8 oz #2 steel (139 pellets) / pattern 114 (82%)

As you can see, there was no difference in performance between the LM and M chokes with either the #5 lead load or the #2 steel load! Go figure! Just another reminder that the only way to really know what your load/choke combo is doing is to pattern!!!

Hope this helps, good luck.
 
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I know that you are inquiring about a 20 gauge and my experience is with a 12, but, I can offer the following experience. I have an old Model 12 Winchester 12 gauge that I inherited from my grandfather. My grandfather was a farmer and not a hunter and this gun was a "barn" gun. I refinished the gun and opened the choke from full (0.695") to light modified (0.715").

I opened the choke so that I could use the gun for duck and goose hunting and also for hunting pheasants on WMA's that require steel shot. That gun patterns steel beautifully. I have killed many ducks and even more geese with it. I have also used it to kill several pheasants. In addition I use the gun for sporting clays, skeet, and 16 yard trap.

Last fall, on a stormy day, I shot a limit of mallards while pass shooting 4 birds with 10 shots.

If you are going to open the choke, I feel that light modified is the way to go.

The only game bird that I would hesitate to use that gun for is turkey.
 
btomlin said:
I have a standard 1100 20ga with a fixed full barrel. I have tought about having tubes installed until I saw the barrel damaged on an o/u gun so now I am a little apprehensive. I would like to do something as it would be better served with a more open choke.

It would be solely a dove and upland gun....probably more dove. This has me thinking IC. The fact that there will be some upland has me thinking MOD.

Do you gear toward the majority of your shooting with IC or take "worst case of overkill" and go MOD or someplace in the middle at LM?? I'm thinking IC but curious what others would do since you can't add metal once it's shaved down.

I haven't found a replacement barrel with chokes so assuming they only made them for the LW and LT 1100s,
Click to expand...

Because you are asking about a 20 ga. using probably 1 oz. of shot, versus a 12 ga. with 1 1/8 or 1 1/4 oz., I would lean towards modified. LM might also be okay but I wouldn't go to IC. In the smaller gauges and a smaller amount of shot I would think a little more constriction would be better.
 
Sorry, my mistake. Yes, he was asking about 20ga not 12ga.

I don't have any 20ga LM pattern numbers but I do have some IC and M patterns that might give you an idea of the kind of performance you'll get, LM should give you something between these.

Pattern results from a 20-gauge Browning Citori with 28" Invector-plus barrels using Briley flush chokes (patterns average of five, 30" post-shot scribed circle, yardage taped muzzle to target, and in-shell pellet count average of five).

20 GA 2 3/4" WINCHESTER AA TARGET LOAD
7/8 OZ #8 LEAD (356 PELLETS) 1,200 FPS
30 YARDS - IC / pattern 257 (72%)
30 YARDS - M / pattern 318 (89%)

20 GA 2 3/4" REMINGTON SHURSHOT HEAVY DOVE LOAD
1 OZ #7.5 LEAD (349 PELLETS) 1,165 FPS
30 YARDS - IC / pattern 249 (71%)
30 YARDS - M / pattern 298 (85%)

20 GA 2 3/4" WINCHESTER XPERT STEEL LOAD
3/4 OZ #7 STEEL (327 PELLETS) 1,325 FPS
30 YARDS - IC / pattern 242 (74%)
30 YARDS - M / pattern 272 (83%)

20 GA 2 3/4" RELOAD
1 OZ #6 LEAD (233 PELLETS) 1,200 FPS
30 YARDS - IC / pattern 168 (72%)
30 YARDS - M / pattern 200 (86%)

Good luck.
 
I shoot over pointers and flushers both, on released and wild birds.
My chokes range from cylinder to modified, although I have one gun that is full/full as well.
Depending on what gauge I am shooting and the choke ( all my guns ae fixd except Pedersoli which has screw in's) I load ether 7/8oz of 6's or 7 1/2's, or 1 1/8 oz of 6's of 7 1/2's.
My loads run between 150 and 1450FPS With either black powder or smokeless.
As yu ca see, I a all over the map!!:laugh:
Chokes are not something I worry a lot about, in my muzzle loaders or my breach loading shotguns.:)
The majority of my guns are choked open however.
DHT


 
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