Home Forums Birds & Dogs Waterfowl After market steel chokes

Has anyone used an after market choke for steel? After using my Stoeger 2000 and missing everything, I patterned it and it sucked! Used both the IC and Mod chokes with Blackcloud BBs and Heavy Steel #2s. The Mod choke with Blackcloud wasn't too bad but the #2s didn't pattern well at all.

I believe the same chokes for the Stoeger also fit Benilli and Baretta shotguns. Can anyone recommend a good choke?

O

First off I would get ahold of alot more ammo than what you have tried.
What do you consider a pattern that sucks? What percentage of pellets are in a 30" circle?
Good aftermarket chokes: Comp-n-Choke, Briley, Kicks, Pure gold the list goes on. I guess its really a matter of how much do you want to spend on it. Aftermarkets can run from $30 to $125.

good advice from clayscrusher as usual. I would try more loads first.

Absolutely differant loads are Plan A. May try some number 3 shot,too. Patterns were both very ragged, holes big enuff for a dove to fly thru.

Both chokes and loads hit high, off the top of paper I was using, so a 30" circle was impossible to describe.

New chokes are Plan B. The world is full of ultra tight turkey chokes but I've never looked for dedicated duck/goose steel shot chokes.

Plan 9 From Outter Space is another barrel if all else fails.

O

take some pictures of your patterns and post them up we will try to help but need to see whats happening.
some of the problem might be gun fit. When you said the hits were high and off the paper.
I would put in a mod choke stand at 20 yards use some 7 1/2 lead and put a mark on the paper and shoot at it.
Then tell us what happened.

I took the patternmaster long range ported choke out of my Benelli super 90 and put it in my son's Stoeger 2000 and shot it on a couple hunts this year. It is very impressive with 1 3/8 oz 3" #2 Estates in both guns.

cla..,

My only attempt at patterning was down and dirty. Shot at 30yds and didn't keep the paper. I did fire from a slightly supported rest, left elbow on a waist high support on the pistol range. Next outting I'll take your advice and shoot #7 1/2 at 20yds.

You've given me some good ideas. Will try them out and report back later.

thanx
O

O,
please feel free to ask any questions. I will try to help the best I can. If I cant I am sure someone will jump in.
I have done this many times with new guns and setting guns up for sporting clay shooters.

Good luck.

I bought a Carlson's 12 gauge Mid-Range (MR) extended tube in the Benelli Crio Plus for my Benelli M-2. At 40 yards the pattern for Winchester Drylok 3" BB steelshot was 75% (my best load), for Kent Faststeel 3" BB steelshot it was 70% (second best) and for the Remington Hypersonic 3" BB steelshot it was 53% (most open). At 40 yards, using Winchester Drylok 3" #3 steelshot my pattern was 54% - very evenly dispersed. The BB steel is for geese and the #3 for ducks. In my opinion the Carlson's is a very good all around waterfowl tube in the Benelli if using steelshot. I didn't pattern any "specialty" loads like BlackCloud or the new Winchester load.

Odessa,
75% would not make me happy. Are you using a 30" circle at the 40 yard range?
If my combo of choke and load was below 85% I never looked back at it.
My current combo is giving me 92%. that is a .020 restriction with a 3" BB load for goose hunting.

Claycrusher, yes I counted shots in a 30" circle at 40 yards. This is my call 'em in, over decoy choke tube - 40 yards is the standard for comparing patterns, but I use this choke for 15-35 yard (+/-) shots. I have a Patternmaster long range tube for pass shooting (rarely start with it, as it is too tight for up close work).

Ps I am becoming a Randy Wakeman believer - shifting the standard to a 21" circle in lieu of a 30" circle makes more sense to me.

I have always wondered how can normal vs. aftermarket chokes be better or worse then others, excpet material made out of & of course specialty chokes that pull the wad off,etc. as they are all choked to the same diameters Modified .715, etc.

Would you not basically have to pattern all of them for your gun, shells being shot, to find the one that patterns best. They all have the same measured "Choke" diameter.

Siggy in theory they all have the same measured diameters. They all also very in the taper some taper faster then others. I have found differences in pattern from two of the same chokes from the same manufacture. Not vastly different but they are different.