Topic: The Best Chokes for Sporting Clays of 2022 (Read 40 times)
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This choke system is the most co*mon on current Beretta co*petition shotguns. It is also the newest of Beretta’s choke designs. It was unveiled in 2008 with the introduction of the SV-10 Perenina and Previal series.
It was designed to handle heavy volumes of shooting with steel shot while keeping weight to a minimum.
In addition to the SV-10, the Optima-Choke HP is featured on the DT-11, 692, 690, UGB 25, A400 Xtreme, A400 Xplor, A400 Xcel, and A300 Xtrema.
They are made from stainless steel and are nickel coated for protection against corrosion. The chokes are very nicely finished with dual bands of machined checkering in the extended portion for a positive grip and elegant look.
Briley is one of the top names in after-market chokes for sporting clays and is one of the most popular upgrades you’ll see on co*petition shotguns. They make co*petition chokes for all major manufacturers.
One of their most popular offerings is the co*plete Sporting Clays Choke Package, which is a set of five chokes constricted skeet, IC, LM, Mod., and IM. While not cheap the package does include Briley’s high-quality Speed Wrench.
The chokes are knurled at the end for easy installation and removal and are color coded. Briley polishes the interior of their tubes to minimize pellet deformation.
These chokes work with shotguns that are threaded for Browning’s Invector-Plus choke system, which Browning introduced back in the 1990s. The others are the Invector DS, which was introduced around 2008, and the original standard Invector. They are not interchangeable so make sure you know what type of choke your shotgun uses before buying.
The Midas chokes have diamond-pattern knurling on the extended portion of the choke that give a good grip. They are easy to change by hand in the field without the need for a wrench.
The chokes also have a metallic band in Browning’s signature gold with the choke’s constriction printed on it.
They are made of stainless steel and are coated with a black oxide finish for durability. Browning polishes the inside to a high degree of smoothness in order to minimize the buildup of residue from plastic wads.
The diameters they offer are as follows: Skeet .737 in. / IC .732 in. / Mod. .722 in. / IM .717 in. / Full .707 in.
For shooters on a budget, Cabela’s flush-mounted choke tubes are a good option. While they don’t have some features found on higher-end chokes, like extended gripping surfaces and external markings showing constriction, they do choke down patterns, which is what really counts.
They are made of stainless steel and are notched for installation and removal with standard choke wrenches.
You can get them in 12 and 20 gauge in the following constrictions: skeet, IC, modified, full and extra full.
Cabelas has models that fit Remington, Benelli, Browning Invector Plus, Mossberg 835 and Winchester shotguns.
Carlson’s makes a staggering array of chokes for different uses including sporting clays. They have many models to choose from, including some very pimped-out metallic gold ported chokes that make quite the statement.
Shown here is one of their newer sporting clays models with a black finish that’s a bit more understated. They are made from 17-4 stainless and have a knurled gripping surface on the end.
The chokes are etched with their constriction on the extended part of the tube for quick identification and have more detail printed on the body of the choke, including the choked down bore diameter and the type of shot the choke is rated for.
These choke tubes can be shot with pretty much any shot material. The exception is steel shot that’s larger than BB or that has a muzzle velocity in excess of 1550 fps is not suitable for Carlson’s full and extra full chokes. Other than that, you’re good to go.
The chokes are made in the U.S. and have a lifetime warranty.
Muller is a relatively newco*er to the aftermarket choke scene—founder Jimmy Muller didn’t start seriously marketing his chokes until 2008—but these distinctive tubes have found a devoted following among hunters and co*petitive shooters.
Muller’s biggest claim to fame is his Featherlight co*petition series, which are made of aluminum and ceramic, making them one of the lighter chokes on the market. Those chokes are more fragile than stainless steel chokes and are restricted in terms of what can be shot through them. They are limited to lead shot payloads of 1 1/8 ounces or less with shot no larger than No. 7.5.
Muller also makes stainless steel chokes for hunting and co*petition that are rated for all types of shot. They are Cerakoted to protect against the elements.
Visually, Muller chokes are easy to identify with their fluting and unique marking system. The constriction on the extended chokes is indicated by an umlauted “U” followed by a number (0 to 4) going from skeet to extra full as follows: Ü0 cylinder/skeet, Ü1 skeet/IC, Ü2 light mod/mod, Ü3 mod/improved mod, Ü4 full/extra full.
Muller doesn’t have a set degree of constriction for its chokes as the specific amount is tuned for each platform, but on average they are: Ü0 .002 in. / Ü1 .005 in. / Ü2 .012 in. / Ü3 .022 in. / Ü4 .035 in.
Muller chokes are available for all major shotgun platforms and co*e with a 60-day money back guarantee.
Trulock has been a mainstay of the aftermarket choke industry since 1981 when founder George Trulock started manufacturing. His chokes enjoy a sterling reputation with shotgunners and are used as OEM items by many shotgun co*panies.
Trulock sporting clays chokes have a knurled head for toolless installation and removal and have a bright finish. They are made of 17-4 stainless steel that’s been heat treated and can be had in either ported or non-ported configurations for all major—and even most minor—shotgun makes.
They are offered in the full array of constrictions starting with cylinder (.000 in.) and then in .005 in. increments as follows: skeet 1 (.005 in.), IC (.010 in.), skeet 2/light mod. (.015 in.), modified (.020 in.), IM (.025 in.), full (.030 in.). Their extra full choke (.040 in.), steps down by .010 in.
All Trulock chokes are marked with the name of the constriction and the exit diameter in thousandths of an inch. They are built in the U.S. and carry a 60-day money back guarantee and a lifetime replacement warrantee.
Adding some lube to your choke tube threads is an essential piece of maintenance. Failure to do so can lead to seized chokes that get frozen in place and can beco*e a real hassle to fix.
This lube from Birchwood Casey is thin and easy to apply and is a good bit of preventative insurance to keep you from making a costly mistake with your shotgun.
This simple case holds six extended choke tubes and is a good way to protect your chokes from getting banged around, being exposed to the elements, and from collecting dirt and grit in the threads that can cause unwanted wear with the choke and barrel.
Newco*ers to the sport of sporting clays are better off concentrating on technique rather than being obsessed with swapping choke tubes between stations. This is because the majority of misses will be due to poor form and loss of focus, rather than pattern density.
Beginners should make hitting easy to moderately difficult targets within 30 yards their priority. So going with either skeet or IC chokes is the best move. As shooters beco*e more proficient and want to get better results and feedback on longer targets, adding a light modified or modified choke to mix can be smart.
Go with chokes tighter than these only when shooting targets at extreme ranges.
You need a target large enough to draw a 30-inch circle on it. Place a dot in the center of the circle for your point of aim.
You’ll want to shoot the target at 25 yards when patterning skeet and cylinder chokes (and all .410 gauge chokes), and at 40 yards for all other chokes. This is the industry standard.
Some people advocate shooting from a bench to minimize input from the shooter. If you do this, take pains to make sure your head is aligned with the stock the same way it is when shooting offhand, or it will change your point of impact.
I prefer to shoot from a standing position by mounting the gun with the barrels pointed slightly upward and then slowly dropping the muzzle until it is aligned with the aiming point and firing.
For best results you’re going to want to do this five times (at least) with each choke and load co*bination.
It’s a time-consuming process, but there are no shortcuts here.
Your targets will reveal pattern density—measured as the percentage of pellets in the shell that impact within the circle; point of impact; and pattern distribution, which hopefully doesn’t indicate any major gaps where a target can escape unscathed.
If you have a double-barreled shotgun, you’re going to want to pattern with each barrel. In addition to the data gathered above, you’ll figure out if your barrels converge on the same spot.
If you encounter any problems, the best course of action is to start by changing chokes and loads. If that doesn’t fix issues with where your shotgun is impacting or the quality of the patterns then you need to have the gun looked at to figure out what’s going on.
The short answer is no, they don’t make any meaningful difference for sporting clays shooters. The claims that they either reduce felt recoil or minimize muzzle lift aren’t accurate.
Unlike centerfire rifles that produce a lot of pressure and in a bore with a small diameter, shotgun barrels have significantly more volume and shotshells produce much less pressure so any recoil reduction through porting is going to be minimal.
Where ported chokes can make a difference is by gripping and slowing down the shotgun wad, leading to a cleaner separation with the shot column. This can produce tighter and more consistent patterns downrange, but the effect seems limited to shot size No. 4 and larger.
This is why some waterfowlers swear by ported chokes and why they don’t make a difference for sporting clays and other types of smoothbore co*petition.
To make my picks I interviewed over a dozen top sporting clays co*petitors on the chokes they used and why. The answers on brand and model ran the gamut. But one thing rang true among all the shooters was the need to find a choke that patterned best for their gun and load.
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The bottom line to buying the best choke for sporting clays is that there isn’t a single best option. You have to experiment to find a choke that will pattern best for your gun and load. There’s no getting around that process if you want to win at sporting clays.
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