Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters imp cyl choke question

Yes, the only thing you are likely to notice is a higher % of hits. Jack

Nate40,

I consider Imp. Cyl. to be the single most useful shotgun choking for nearly all bird hunting. With steel shot, it is the only choke screwed into the end of my Browning Gold 12 ga., used with either steel or hevi-shot.

For pheasant, IC chokes and #5 shot are a deadly combo.

My bad :), use the term "more open" next time as Im prone to firen off a quick reply

About the stupidest comment I've heard in long time!!

So you're saying guys who refer to Full and Extra Full as "tight" chokes are stupid?

I guess I'm an inexperienced dope; I knew what he was talking about when I read it.

Sorry I thought it said "LOSER" instead of "LOOSER" I apologize.

After fifty some odd years of doing this stuff, I've come to the conclusion that if the average shotgun looney spent as much time shooting as they do agonizing over a few insignificant thousanths of an inch choke constriction, they would be happier. Most shoot too much choke as it is. Choke standards were set long ago, when shotgun cartridge engineering was still in the dark ages, so to speak. My big epiphany came back in the seventies, when I started using my 20 inch Ithaca slug gun (cylinder bore) for birds as well. I killed a truck load of birds and early season ducks with that gun.

To anyone who can shoot, there's nothing worse than being in the field under-choked (too "loose" LOL) for the longest birds you may encounter.

I always choke tight. If I have a close bird, I just let it fly a little farther before I make the delivery. I'm weird.

IC is great for what the OP is using it for.

Your friends were absolutely right. Tree squirrels are ALOT tougher than rabbits or grouse. I've killed several thousand squirrels over the years with 12,16,20 gauge and .410 shotguns. Full choked guns aren't really neccesary in 20 gauge or larger guns unless the timber is unusually tall in your locale. Modified works pretty well out to 35-40 yards so long as you're shooting at least 1 oz. of 5's or 6's. Improved cylinder sucks for squirrels in tall timber. So much so that you'll be seriously handicapping yourself with it. We have 80' + tall hickories around here and 1 - 1 1/8 oz of sixes through an IC choke won't consistently provide clean kills on squirrels feeding in the tops, even if you're shooting straight up from the bottom.

I should have perhaps used a better choice of wording, "more open", less constriction" etc. I guess I was thinking of a looser pattern as opposed to a tighter pattern. Patterning is the only real way to KNOW how a certain shotgun will shoot with that particular loading. There does seem to be a bit of difference between makers and choke tube makers as to just what any particular choke really is. IE brand X is not always equal to brand Y for patterns with a given IE Improved choke. It's all good in the end once you know your gun and limits.

Blackheart, that is what my pals told me from W. Va. They had some huge timber in the country at that time.. The model 12 12 ga. and Model 31 12 ga. full choke 30" barrels were the "squirrel guns" of that area.. Even then, my friend said in some of the tallest trees squirrles would just "twist" their tails when shot at with a shotgun I just described.. He and his friends shifted to .22 rifles for this reason..

I certainly can't find fault with anything that has been said so far, but there is always another side of a story. Let me preface this by saying for the past 25 years, I have been shooting trash birds all summer long, and into the fall. Some weeks, I would shoot a flat of shells a day, three times a week. The primary bird was starlings at a dairy with pigeons close behind. For some years, I have kept a log of the number of birds killed and it was between 1,500 and 2,000.

Most of my shooting was done over blueberry fields and a couple of diaries. Needless to say, I was a pretty pathetic shot to begin with, but sharpened my skills as time went on. With skills vastly improved, I became one who experimented with various loads of shot.

Since I shot so many rounds each season, I gravitated toward loads that were 7/8 of an oz hovering around 1200 fps. With a full choke, I found that consistent kills could be made in the 60+ yard range with that load. I had trouble early on believing it possible as did my shooting partners. These loads worked extremely well in the 12 ga. w/.030 choke and a 16 w/.025.

One of the major results, that birds hit with less choke and smaller shot did not necessarly result in quick kills. With the #5 shot and 7/8 it is murder on long range pigeons as well as close range ones.

The main thing is, I am an avid shotgunner and have developed the subconscious to the place it really is easy to kill birds as I don't have to think about lead. Shooters vary in skill level from poor to very good, so you may see a need for open chokes and l l/8 loads. Different strokes for different folks.

In Argentina, 1500 is a good morning total and 2000 is good for that evening.

LOL

WCH. Due to extensive logging over the years a 100 ft hickory is pretty big in Easter Ky where I live unless you are in some of the protected forest areas and I suspect WV is pretty much the same. Even at that, that's just 33 yds and 80 ft is more common so you thats closer to 25 yds. Your friends were correct as when I was a kid guys would swear and be dammed you had to have a full choke and 1 1/4 ounce high brass 6s to shoot squirrels. Sort of like saying shooting elk requires at least a 338 I guess. All I can say is I use to see a lot of mangled up squirrels when I was a kid. I have always done fine with assorted shotguns from 410 to 12 ga. and chokes from IC to full usually with 1 oz. of shot or less.

You worded I right, I should have read it more carefully,sorry.

Uh no, not really. An IC choked shotgun will kill squirrels dead inside 25 yds. but that's about where it ends with 1- 1 1/4 oz. non premium loads. Push it much beyond that and you'll start losing hit but only wounded squirrels. Sure you'll still knock some out of the trees at 30 - 35 yds. but many will hit the ground running and you'll lose them down holes and under logs and blowdowns. I've seen schitloads of them blasted out of the top of a tall hickory, free fall 90', hit the ground with a solid "thud" and be up and running in a flash. The problem with killing squirrels with a shotgun is that they're so damned tough that it's imperative to get pellets through the brain, heart and lungs in order to kill them quickly and those vital organs are mighty damned small. Unlike grouse or cottontails, a few pellets in the front and hind legs, guts and non vital meaty areas just ain't gonna cut it. And you can't switch to smaller pellets to increase pattern saturation either because 7.5's or 8's don't penetrate to the vitals through their boot leather tough hide at extended range. Nope, what you need is a load/choke combination that will consistently poke #5 or #6 pellets into the golf ball sized chest cavity and quarter sized brain cavity at whatever range you expect to kill them cleanly/consistently and IC just doesn't cut it much past 25 yds. in my experience.

Nail on the head Sir. Large, hard shot.

No doubt the manufacturers of chokes have their standards of constriction for chokes, but they don't watch it too closely.

Fred, that shooting sounds like a real joy.. What a task to have..
Last fall, I had a good afternoon's pigeon shoot.. But it only lasted one afternoon, but it was the most fun shotgunning I had all fall..

I grew up in an era when and a region where the 30" full choke barrel was king; it was the San Joaquin Valley the late 50's, a wonderful time for the bird hunter. There were doves, ducks, pheasants and quail in the foothills. I gained a reputation as a good wing shot. My belief is that I owe that reputation to owning only one shotgun, a Remington 870 12 gauge with an IC 26" barrel. I shot pheasants and quail over a dog, ducks over decoys in the valley fog and doves as they came out of the grain fields to their roosting areas. I was, in a way, the one eyed man in the land of the blind.

WCH

Shooting pigeons is one of the most fun shooting one can do, IMO. Starlings are a lot like doves and they are very agile and can make quick turns. Put one or two small pellets in them and they may fly up to a couple hundred yards before expiring.. One reason the dairymen are willing to let us shoot, is that pigeons and starlings get into the silege. There is any number of grains and other additives in the prepared foods for the cows. While in the process of eating, the birds crap and infect the cows with salmonella.

Our main two dairies, have seen a huge drop in salmonella infected cows since we kill so may birds. I understand that feed lots have the same problems with birds as dairies.

By the way, my experiences have shown that small shot (7 1/2) really begin to peter out at anything over 35 yards with a IC choke. Way too many cripples to suit my desires. If one has the talent to center most every bird, then the smaller shot will make those 35+ yard shots with more choke.