[soonerpgh]

OK, a little background so you guys don't think I'm a complete idiot for asking the question I am about to ask. I am a mid-thirties wheelcair-bound individual who has shot guns of all sorts my entire life.

Even though I have several shotguns, I have never used a choke, and have no idea what choke to use for what or anything of the sort, I have always just fired the gun and took what I got. I've blasted thousands of clays with family and friends but never in a range situation, usually with a little pull-the-string-type trap.

This may not be the right thread, but you guys are knowledgable enough and if the thread needs to be moved, the moderators can do so. Anyway, does anyone feel like explaining the choke situation to me. I have a HD gun that I am slowly but surely dressing up and I want it to be basically my all-purpose gun. If I get looks at the range for using it to shoot skeet, so much the better. I can't stand snobs of any sort, lol. I want to use it for deer (where I hunt you don't need much in the way of long-distance guns,) possibly birds of different sorts, turkey, rabbit, whatever I can hunt.

Somebody clue in this ignorant boy. I'm used to just hittin' it and "fergittin" it.

 

[Ulysses]

A "choke" is a constriction at the front end of the barrel. Sometimes this constriction is built into the barrel, i.e. "fixed" choke, and sometimes the chokes are in the form of tubes which can be interchanged by removing one choke tube and installing another. The amount of constriction in the choke determines the size of the pattern at a certain distance. In general, the tighter the choke, the smaller the pattern.

Depending on the distance you plan to shoot the quarry (rabbit, pheasant, quail, clay target, etc) will determine the BEST choke to use for the optimum pattern size. If I were a hunter and didn't want to mess with changing chokes or worrying about what is "best", I would simply select a Modified choke and put it in the gun and forget about it.

OTOH, if you wish to always have the BEST choke for each situation, then you can buy about 8 or 10 of them and then join the arguments (discussions) on here about which choke is best for which situation. :wink:

 

[soonerpgh]

OK, I have a Maverick 88 with an 18 1/2 in. barrel. It is a "built in" or is it just a tube?

 

[Ulysses]

OK, I have a Maverick 88 with an 18 1/2 in. barrel. It is a "built in" or is it just a tube?

More than likely, there is NO choke built into it. It is just a steel tube. This is referred to as "Cylinder" bore. It will pattern the largest size pattern of all the choke sizes since it is in fact NO choke. This would be suitable for home defense, skeet shooting, and perhaps quail hunting. It would also serve adequately for deer hunting with slugs out to about 50 yards.

 

[soonerpgh]

Thanks for the info. I may have it threaded just for the heck of it and see what I can find to argue about.

 

[ron73644]

Let us hear from you!!

 

[soonerpgh]

Oh, trust me, as soon as I get this thing rigged up where I can use it, I'll be bangin' away and talking it all up on here.

 

[sNaKeYeZ]

Check out http://www.poly-choke.com/ My dad has one on his old 870 Wingmaster and loves it. I can't speak on it though as I've never shot a shotgun with a Poly-Choke.

Some people love them. I think it's neat how they have one that will screw into a threaded barrel.