Why full choke?

My 12ga LC is choked F/F but don’t feel handicapped. I shoot RST 2 1/2“ #5 or #6 and love the combination.
 

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Michigan Gunner said:
Back in the day, most people were not wing shooters. They used a shotgun like a rifle that was easier to hit with. They used it for everything including deer hunting. Full choke was considered a better buy because they "Shot Harder". If you went down to the local Hardware Store and bought a new Winchester 1897 pump it was going to be a full choke. They were all full chokes unless you special ordered something different. Also the old paper shells needed some help unless you were shooting close. When I was young, I saw all this from the old farmers.

Lock and Load!
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Very astute observation. I was born in 57', my late mom who grew up in southern Minn used to tell us how, back prior to & even through WW2, her dad & brothers would go to the hardware store and buy 5 or 10 shells because they couldn't afford an entire box of 25. They had to harvest as much meat as possible with that handful of shells, so ground pounding a bunch of ducks on the water or a group of pheasants in a farmer's grove was preferable to risking one of those few precious shells on a single flying bird...
 
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It seems like the choke went along with the barrel length. 30” barrels were choked full, 28” was Modified and 26” was Imp Cyl, at least as far as repeaters went. Probably somewhat had to do with manufacturing to keep costs and inventory in check. Anyone I knew that mainly hunted ducks bought the 30” Full choke. Nobody I hunted with ever bought a 26” Imp Cyl.
Now, Imp Cyl is all I use for any hunting unless I’m using a double barrel. Once I started figuring out the range birds typically flushed, I realized I wasn’t gaining anything with tighter chokes. My sloppy shooting has a lot to do with it as well.
 
I think your chokes depend on your dog type. I hunt over pointers so I use improved with 6s or 7.5s. My first shot is usually within 15-20 yards so I want as many pellets with as wide of a spread as possible.

If I ran flushers, especially a rangey flushing dog, I'd run modified or full with some bigger size shells.
 
We've hunted pheasants near Pierre SD and on the Crow Creek Reservation near Ft. Thompson since about 2004. I've used a 12 gauge Maxus choked IC, a 12 gauge new A-5, a Model 12 in 16 gauge choked full, a Belgian A-5 16 gauge choked Mod., a full choked 20 gauge Remington Model 11 Sportsman, a Merkel 1620 choked IC/Mod, and a new A-5 Sweet 16 with the IC choke screwed in. Had better than good success with them all, not picking shots but taking them as they came whether the wind was blowing or not, whether they flushed close or far. This choke and load thing, while not trivial or unimportant, can get in a guy's head if you let it. As Bob Brister wrote in his excellent book "Shotgunning: The Art and Science", the answer is "not hard-hitting, but hitting" your bird.
 
Wolfchief said:
We've hunted pheasants near Pierre SD and on the Crow Creek Reservation near Ft. Thompson since about 2004. I've used a 12 gauge Maxus choked IC, a 12 gauge new A-5, a Model 12 in 16 gauge choked full, a Belgian A-5 16 gauge choked Mod., a full choked 20 gauge Remington Model 11 Sportsman, a Merkel 1620 choked IC/Mod, and a new A-5 Sweet 16 with the IC choke screwed in. Had better than good success with them all, not picking shots but taking them as they came whether the wind was blowing or not, whether they flushed close or far. This choke and load thing, while not trivial or unimportant, can get in a guy's head if you let it. As Bob Brister wrote in his excellent book "Shotgunning: The Art and Science", the answer is "not hard-hitting, but hitting" your bird.
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I'll agree with alot if it being in your head. I was in a HUGE slump for a few years. Constantly changing my chokes up and down the spectrum, shells ranging from 7.5 to 3s as I was searching for the answer. The answer? Me. The last few years I've been shooting really well. I've kept my same choke and shells going. I found for me it helps to pause a second before I shoot. I get on the bird right away like I always did, but I try and subconsciously count to 1 in my head before I think about pulling the trigger. Forces me to keep up with the bird and keep my gun moving. The last few years of doing that, I can't recall missing a bird that I should get. I've missed birds that were past my range taking a prayer shot at. But birds in my range, I can't think of missing any the last couple years.
 
Labs said:
Very astute observation. I was born in 57', my late mom who grew up in southern Minn used to tell us how, back prior to & even through WW2, her dad & brothers would go to the hardware store and buy 5 or 10 shells because they couldn't afford an entire box of 25. They had to harvest as much meat as possible with that handful of shells, so ground pounding a bunch of ducks on the water or a group of pheasants in a farmer's grove was preferable to risking one of those few precious shells on a single flying bird...
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My dad always told the story of being given 5 shells. If he hadn’t brought back 5 things to eat when those shells were gone he got less shells the next time. For example, if he brought back 3...he got 3 shells and there was no system in place to get back to five shells.
 
Munster927 said:
I think your chokes depend on your dog type. I hunt over pointers so I use improved with 6s or 7.5s. My first shot is usually within 15-20 yards so I want as many pellets with as wide of a spread as possible.

If I ran flushers, especially a rangey flushing dog, I'd run modified or full with some bigger size shells.
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I screw in the full on my 1100 16 gauge occasionally. Shoot 1 1-4 oz.4s.Good long range gun.
 
I think the 30" and even 32" shotguns we saw back when had to do with the slower burning powder that was generally used in factory shells. By the time we got into the mid 70's and reloading was becoming more popular, folks & ammunition companies were figuring out they didn't need a 30" barrel to get optimum velocities with the faster burning powders that were now available.

It was about then that 28" barrels became the norm in production shotguns, hand in hand with Modified as it was marketed as the best all-around choke. Seems to me the screw- in choke was patented around 59'-60', but we didn't start seeing them commonly until the mid 80s.

Also, by the early 80s steel shot was required for waterfowl hunting. Steel shot doesn't compress like lead and when shot through full chokes serious issues resulted. I knew more than one guy who ended up with a barrel split or bulged at the choke from shooting early steel through a full choke.

I think these factors were primarily responsible for relegating the full choke to second class status in production shotguns.

Of course, full chokes come in pretty handy hunting roosters with lead in the late season. I usually start out the season with IC/Mod or Light Mod/Imp Mod in my O/U, then about mid-season switch to Mod/Full (IMO, Light Modified might be the most under used and under appreciated choke by upland hunters).

I use a Carlson's Extended Steel Shot Modified/Mid-Range tube in my once barreled shotguns probably 90% of the time. The Steel Mod choke shoots Prairie Storm and Federal Premium Upland extremely well, and I don't have to mess around with switching chokes when I hunt waterfowl...
 
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I think what's being forgotten here with regards to choke is ammo. Hard spherical shot vs soft (less antimony) will determine how your choke performs more than any other factor. 50-60 years ago ammo was inferior to what can be purchased now days. A full choke model 12 from 1950 using the best ammo at the time may not perform as well (tight) than a light modified or Modified using the best ammo today.

You can take a IC or Mod choke in your favorite gun and pattern a half dozen different loads and get a half dozen different results. The ole saying " The only thing consistent about shotguns and patterns is that their inconsistent". What ever is stamped on the choke whether that is SK, IC, Mod or Full is just a reference until you pattern it with the ammo of your choice at the distances that you plan on shooting at. It can be a painstaking process no doubt but it is truly the only way to really know how your gun,choke or load combination will perform. In some instances one may be very surprised at what they find and what they need to do make things better.
 
Rogue Hunter said:
I should have defined my inquiry a little more. I'm curious as to whether it was the choice of the hunter, the retailer, or the gun mfg., or perhaps, the ballistics of the ammo, as to why full choke guns were so widely sold/used?
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Yes, both. When choked guns became popular, gun writers wrote articles about how far they would kill, and full choke could kill the furthest, of course. Waterfowl were plentiful, lead shot was king, and wool and card wads were the standard. Word spread about the long range killing power of choke and full choke was glamorized with names like "Long Range" marked on guns and in advertisements. People wanted longer range and retailers sold more heavily choked guns, so makers made and marketed more. By the middle of the century, stories in magazines by the likes of Nash Buckingham and his "Bo Whoop" fueled the fire for tight chokes.

The popularity of full chokes was alive when I bought my first shotgun in the mid 70s. It was a pretty Belgian Browning A-5 Light Twelve with a modified choke. I was constantly asked why I didn't get a full choke.

I have nothing against full chokes and have several guns with them. But I prefer a more open choke in a modern larger bore (12, 16, 20, 28 ga) and can live easier with a full choke in a 410 for my upland hunting.
 
I've went to more open chokes in the last several years. Easier to swallow with a two-barreled gun with a tighter choke in reserve.

What I discovered was with tight chokes I had been hitting closer birds with either the fringe of pattern and they came down flapping, or I was hitting them too hard and ruining meat. I seem to have more eatable dead birds with the open choke. That said my dogs point, so my typical first shot is usually under 30 yards.
 
Windshooter said:
I've went to more open chokes in the last several years. Easier to swallow with a two-barreled gun with a tighter choke in reserve.

What I discovered was with tight chokes I had been hitting closer birds with either the fringe of pattern and they came down flapping, or I was hitting them too hard and ruining meat. I seem to have more eatable dead birds with the open choke. That said my dogs point, so my typical first shot is usually under 30 yards.
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From 28ga to 12ga over my pointer, cylinder bore in the first barrel is my favorite, with anything from mod to full working well for the second barrel. But honestly, I haven't fired a 12ga over this dog, that I can recall. I did use a 16ga a bit up in Idaho/Wash last year. Even with my numerous 410s, cylinder or as near to that as possible is my favorite first barrel. Modified or full for the second.
 
I rarely use a full choke on any of my shotguns. My only use is turkey hunting.

For targets, upland and waterfowl hunting, I see no benefit in a full choke.
 
I like a full choke, I use one quite often.
 
In lead shot days, I used the full choke tube in my gun for waterfowl hunting. Steel shot changed that to more open chokes.

One day, many years ago, I tried using full choke for pheasant hunting. I found it to be useless. The first pheasant that I shot with it was not worth picking up.
 
John Singer said:
The first pheasant that I shot with it was not worth picking up.
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Haha. That's what I always thought too.

The only critter worth shooting with a full choke is a wild turkey. 3.5 inch magnums - you need raw power for those armored birds.
 
John Singer said:
In lead shot days, I used the full choke tube in my gun for waterfowl hunting. Steel shot changed that to more open chokes.

One day, many years ago, I tried using full choke for pheasant hunting. I found it to be useless. The first pheasant that I shot with it was not worth picking up.
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That could happen with a modified choke as well on a close shot. Full choke is at it's most use 35 yards and beyond. If one is going to use a full choke some self control is in order on a close flushing bird. Onethousand one.... onethousand two... onethousand three ..... bang. :)
 
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