2340 said:
Hi Guys,
...I am considering a barrel that accepts choke tubes...Are there any benefits to changing over to a choke tube barrel from my fixed open? ...
Mike Honcho's post about his product testing, involving 2500 and 1700 rounds through a Remington 870 with RemChokes, could make an additional point. That is a business venture, so to keep down costs, I assume that several cases of birdshot were used. Likewise, most shooters target practice with lots of birdshot, to keep down costs. The problem is, after shooting ten rounds of birdshot at perhaps ten yards, your nice new cardboard/paper target is so peppered with holes that you can barely determine where your shots are hitting. You will see little pieces of paper fly, and that is about all that you will know.
Of course, you will also want to target practice with 00 buckshot, your HD load. Paper targets survive long enough with 00 buckshot rounds to let you see how you are shooting, but at $0.60-$0.80 per shot. A shooter could keep costs down by using a full choke to tighten birdshot patterns up enough to imitate Federal LE132 00 buckshot with FliteControl. His targets will survive longer, and he will observe where he hits his target longer than he can when shooting birdshot from a C/IC choke or barrel.
My guess is that nearly no one uses chokes on their HD shotguns. At $90-$140 for choke installation by reputable people like
Briley's, 1-800-331-5718, (because you don't want a botched poorly shooting barrel), it will take practice shooting a lot of birdshot rather than 00 buckshot before you recoup your choke installation money.
On the other hand, it might be worth it to still be able to see where you are hitting your targets after more rounds of birdshot through a full choke. It is called target practice for a reason, isn't it?
Another option would be to locate any used barrel already fitted for chokes for less than $90, and to restrict it just for target practice and hunting. If you do get chokes installed, just always remember to put the C/IC choke back in for your 00 buckshot HD load. Good luck and welcome to the Basement,
2340.