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Identifying Beretta Choke Tube Types

208K views 88 replies 45 participants last post by  red scout 
#1 ·
Beretta currently uses (or recently has used) 3 different choke tube types on different models of shotguns. They can be identified by the image below. Note that all the tubes pictured here are flush tubes. There are several styles of extended tubes with different styles of extension, but the part of an extended tube that goes inside the barrel will match one of the flush tubes illustrated below.



Thanks to Worc for helping with the picture.

There is a fourth choke tube type that was used on a few of the first guns Beretta made with choke tubes. The tube itself has no threads on it, but it is held in place by a collar that screws onto threads on the outside of the barrel.

A warning about interchanging tube types.
Beretta has created a confusing situation with the use of three different choke tube systems (four, counting the old drop-in, collared type). It gets even more confusing when you consider Benelli choke tubes. Benelli is owned by Beretta, and they have recently brought out several choke tube types that appear similar to the Beretta Optima and Optima Plus tubes, but are designed to be used with a bore diameter that is different from the Beretta Optima bore. To make matters worse, as far as I can determine Beretta/Benelli has not provided the public with information on how to tell the Benelli choke types apart, nor which gun models use which choke type. Even the names of Benelli's tube types are confusing - Trulock, which makes some of the tubes for Benelli, uses a name that Benelli USA does not use on its web site. The result of all this is mass confusion about which tubes can be interchanged.

Of course it has been known for a long time that the Benelli "Standard" tubes that were used for years are identical to Beretta's MobilChoke tubes, and can be safely interchanged. In fact, some aftermarket tube manufacturers label these tubes BER/BEN to indicate that they are for either Beretta or Benelli guns. Now that Beretta has Optima and Optima Plus tubes, and Benelli has a couple of similar tube types, some people are trying to interchange them. I do not recommend that unless you first get a gunsmith to check and make sure that the particular switch you want to make is safe, and measure the bore and choke diameters to determine the degree of choke you will get if you make that switch.

The fact that some Beretta tubes will screw into some Benelli barrels and vice versa does not mean that they can be correctly interchanged. The bores of the Beretta and Benelli guns do not have the same diameter, so switching the tubes will result in a degree of choke that is different from what is marked on the tube. More importantly, you should not assume that the tube seats correctly at the skirt nor that a sufficient length of threaded section engages to hold the tube in place. It is possible for some of these tube types (even within the same brand) to screw in place but leave a section of the tube outside the barrel. Shooting a gun that way could result in damage to the tube and/or the barrel, and is potentially dangerous to bystanders.

Maybe someday Beretta/Benelli will tell us clearly which tube types can be safely interchanged, but don't hold your breath until it happens. In the meantime, don't do it without getting it checked out by a gunsmith first.
 
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#4 ·
jstaylor62 said:
Does somebody have the breakdown of all the Choke Tube Initials used on the Beretta web sites? It would be nice to find an index explaining OC, OBS, OBF, O-etc, M-etc...
OC.........Optima Choke

OBS........Optima Bore Sporting

OBF........Optima Bore Field

MC is for Mobile Choke
 
#5 ·
RWH24 said:
jstaylor62 said:
Does somebody have the breakdown of all the Choke Tube Initials used on the Beretta web sites? It would be nice to find an index explaining OC, OBS, OBF, O-etc, M-etc...
OC.........Optima Choke

OBS........Optima Bore Sporting

OBF........Optima Bore Field

MC is for Mobile Choke
So, OBS is Optima and OBF is Optima-Plus? Literature on most of these just says Optima-Bore without listing the specific choke type. But, I think I am catching on to the pattern of MC for 20ga, Optima-Plus for Field and Optima for Sporting.

Atleast until Beretta picks another choke system...
 
#6 ·
jstaylor62 said:
RWH24 said:
jstaylor62 said:
Does somebody have the breakdown of all the Choke Tube Initials used on the Beretta web sites? It would be nice to find an index explaining OC, OBS, OBF, O-etc, M-etc...
OC.........Optima Choke

OBS........Optima Bore Sporting

OBF........Optima Bore Field

MC is for Mobile Choke
So, OBS is Optima and OBF is Optima-Plus? Literature on most of these just says Optima-Bore without listing the specific choke type. But, I think I am catching on to the pattern of MC for 20ga, Optima-Plus for Field and Optima for Sporting.

Atleast until Beretta picks another choke system...
I think you've got it! :wink:
 
#10 ·
Thanks Seamus for this post. You answered my question without it being asked.

Is is also safe to say that every Beretta manufactured prior to 2000 had the MobilChoke? With the exception of the rare non-threaded variety.
 
#11 ·
Rastoff said:
Is is also safe to say that every Beretta manufactured prior to 2000 had the MobilChoke? With the exception of the rare non-threaded variety.
Unless it is a trap version of the DT-10.

Beretta's web site says the Optima bore was introduced in 2000. Before that, most Berettas with choke tubes used the Mobilchoke, a few automatics used the unthreaded type with a collar, and the DT-10 Trap (Vandalia) used a unique type.
 
#12 ·
Hi sorry if this is a dumb question but i have a teknys sporting gold and i recently bought a 686 white onyx. The Teknys has a set of 5 extended Optima Chokes and the 686 was bought used, only came with 3 Optima chokes. Is it possible to interchange these choke tubes with the extended ones?
thanks in advance for your help
 
#13 ·
Whether the tubes are extended or flush doesn't matter - you can switch them if they are the same choke type.

As long as they both use Optima chokes and you don't have one with Optima Plus chokes, they will interchange. Compare your tubes with the picture above, and as long both are the same type, its OK.

Your flush tubes should compare directly with the ones in the picture, and the extended tubes will have the same body as shown but with the extension added.

You can also compare the markings on the sides of the tubes. They should both say "Optima choke" or both "Optima choke plus".
 
#16 ·
Bill M. said:
... do the optima choke and larger bore pattern better in some way?
Well, maybe....................and maybe not.

Beretta says it is better, but I'm sure that is mostly marketing hype. The patterns might actually be a little "better" (but how do you define that?) if you are shooting very large shot or steel, but I doubt there is any significant difference with bird shot.

I haven't done the testing, but I prefer MobilChoke barrels in my 391 because they are lighter than Op barrels (but Op barrels are lighter in O/U's - go figure).
 
#17 ·
I have three different chokes from three different Berettas. Let me add that I am not sure how to read the bore mike, and it could be that when I say .7022, it means .722. Please read below with that in mind.

The first choke with the knurled extension is labeled "Briley Ber/Ben X2 SKT." I think this means it is an extended choke made for Beretta or Benelli (X2 don't know what this means) Obviously Skt = Skeet. Could the X2 be some constriction of skeet? This choke came on a Beretta 687 EL o/u. Barrel measures .7022"

The second choke labeled "Optima Choke Plus" came on my AL 391 Urika 2. Optima Barrel measures .7050 in the middle of the tube. I would assume this is a backbored barrel. Stock on this gun.

The third choke came from a Beretta 687 Sporter. This barrel measures .7020. I think this is a Mobil choke.



If you notice, all the threads line up the same distance from the bottom. All the threads are the same. All the chokes screw in interchangably in the 687 guns. The Optima plus is flush with the muzzle of the 391, but protrudes like the knurled choke when screwed into the 687 guns

Question: Can I use the Optima Plus chokes in my 687 guns? I realize there is a difference in the barrel inner diameter of the Optima, but they seem to fit perfectly in my 687s.

Or should I find a set of Extended Mobil Chokes?
 
#18 ·
Bill, I replied to your e-mail before I realized you had posted your questions here. For the benefit of the other readers, here is a copy of my reply.

Ber/Ben is a designation used by Briley and some other after-market choke manufacturers to refer to a tube that fits Beretta and Benelli barrels. They started using that back in the day when MobilChoke was the only kind of tube Beretta made. I'm not sure what Benelli called that choke type, but it was the same thing as Beretta's MC. Of course both Beretta and Benelli have other choke types now, but Ber/Ben still means MC.

X2 is Briley's trade name for an extended tube design. The one in the picture is a typical Briley X2. Other Briley designs would have a different kind of extended section - shorter, different knurling, color bands, etc. X2 tubes come in all constrictions from Cylinder through Xtra Full.

The 3rd tube in the pic is a typical factory (or factory-type) flush MobilChoke. It is interchangeable with all Ber/Ben tubes. If that tube was made by Briley, it would be marked Ber/Ben, but it would not be marked X2 because it is flush, not extended.

The Optima Plus tube in the middle is a FLUSH tube for an Optima barrel that is threaded for Optima Plus tubes. The smooth part at the top (above the threads) is not an extension. An extended optima Plus tube would be extra long, with a knurled section or color band above the smooth section.

The nominal bore diameter of MobilChoke barrels is .722" (not .7022"). There is some variation from one barrel to another, depending on how worn the factory's reamer was. .720" is not unusual for a MC bore. Both of your 687's have MC barrels.

The nominal bore diameter for all Optima barrels (whether they are threaded for Optima or Optima Plus tubes) is .732". If the bore on your 391 Urika 2 actually measures .750", it must have been back-bored by a custom gunsmith shop. I'm pretty sure it did not come out of the factory that way.

Question: Can I use the Optima Plus chokes in my 687 guns? I realize there is a difference in the barrel inner diameter of the Optima, but they seem to fit perfectly in my 687s.

I do not recommend it for several reasons. First, it is made for a different bore diameter, so the constriction (degree of choke) will not be the same in a MC barrel as what is marked on the tube. Second, the smooth section above the threads is designed to be inside the barrel, and I cannot be certain that it is strong enough to take the pressure when it is outside the barrel. Third, there is bound to be a big step change in diameter from the bore to the mouth of the tube, and that will affect pattern performance in ways that I would not attempt to predict.

BTW, if the 391 barrel really does have a .750 bore, those Optima Plus tubes are going to give you a lot more constriction in that gun than what they are marked - in other words, they will be very tight chokes. An Optima Plus tube that is marked Cyl will probably give you a pattern similar to a Modified tube in a standard bore, and there probably isn't any way you can get a pattern equivalent to a genuine Cyl, Skt, or IC. That is one of the things I don't like about back-bored barrels.
 
#19 ·
Seamus O'Caiside said:
Bill, I replied to your e-mail before I realized you had posted your questions here. For the benefit of the other readers, here is a copy of my reply.
Thanks,

Will not use the Optima plus in the Mobil Choke guns. Understood. I think that i miss measured the 391 barrel. It is a standard Optima Urika 2 barrel.
 
#20 ·
thanks for the help Seamus.i was wondering if the Carlson chokes that Cabellas sells that are marked Beretta/Benelli would work in a older 686 s essential. and looks like they will. hard to beat their price of 30.00 for the extended ones in 12 ga.
 
#21 ·
I just received from Beretta several extended 12ga Mobilchoke tubes made by MDS. They are a supplier to Beretta and manufacture several of the semi-auto magazines for guns such as the 92/96 series. I have several of their mags but this was the first I knew of them making choke tubes. They look different from most other extended tubes with raised rings on the extended portion. They are black and available only in 12ga Mobilchoke configuration but at $14 per choke tube they were hard to resist. I bought two Skeet chokes and a Lt Mod. They are currently out of IC for some reason. Check them out on the Beretta site. If they shoot as good as they look I'll be happy.
 
#24 ·
I am confused. I bought a Al 391 Urika, that on the bottom forend says Optima. The manual says it is Mobil chokes, the tubes that come with the gun say SP Optima,??? :(

They look like the ones in the middle pic. I have Cy, IC, M, IM and Full. I am looking to get a skeet choke and looked at the ones at Cabellas. I'm even more confused. :roll:

Was Beretta just using old manuals to throw in with the gun?
 
#25 ·
FormerTankSarge said:
I am confused. I bought a Al 391 Urika, that on the bottom forend says Optima. The manual says it is Mobil chokes, the tubes that come with the gun say SP Optima,??? :(

They look like the ones in the middle pic. I have Cy, IC, M, IM and Full. I am looking to get a skeet choke and looked at the ones at Cabellas. I'm even more confused. :roll:

Was Beretta just using old manuals to throw in with the gun?
I haven't read the manual in awhile but I'm sure they use the same manual for both 12 and 20Ga. The 20 Ga guns continue to use Mobilchoke maybe that has to do with your confusion.
 
#26 ·
I got home and double checked my choke tubes. They say Optima Plus, don't know why the book says otherwise, go figure.
 
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