choke

[goosehunter16]

i was really looking into buying a good waterfowl choke. ive heard a few different names. wad wizard, pattern master, the list goes on. wat do u guys think? wat is the best?

[calling4life]

Well this will go on forever.

Drake Killer in North Dakota, this guy custom fits the choke to your barrel, yes he measures the inside of your barrel and custom makes each choke. He also has patterned all the steel shot out of most every gun, so he gives you a list of what shells will shoot best out of your gun.

For example: Federal bluebox #4 for 20 yard ducks, but Winchester Supreme BB for 60 yard geese, and so on.

Patternmaster is what I have used and do currently use, I used the first choke they came out with which I believe was a mid range choke, and loved it a lot. Now they have long range and shorter range chokes. I currently use the long range and it is working great. They help reduce kick, therefore creating faster follow up shots. well worth the look.

I have been looking into buying Terror chokes, have heard good things about them, and they make a 655 choke, which is very tight constriction, I am a man who hates cripples, so I think I would like this choke. Even though I shoot birds at close range, I would rather have a clean miss, because of a small pattern, then a wounded bird at a greater distance with a more open pattern.

My father has Briley chokes in his Citori over/under which I got to use a couple times this past year. Didn't particularly shoot well, although you could say various factors could have caused that. New gun, not use to it etc... I will say however, that even when I hit birds they were wounded, even at very close range, so I will say no thank you to these chokes.

[Mallardman86]

I use a kicks choke and I love it

[Albertahunter]

I use patternmaster in my SBE-2

[Andrew Bremseth]

Anyone use the Bill Saunders chokes?
http://www.billsaunderscalls.com/pages/productdisplay.asp?prod=45&pt=product&cat=Choke%20Tubes

Personally I think my modified choke works just fine over the decoys. I did however buy a Pattermaster Extended Range for Spring snows and I was pretty impressed with it.

[Walt McCord]

I use a Rob Roberts Custom choke, for different reasons. I use to only use a PM and started useing a Rob Roberts choke because I used a buddies gun who had one, and will never go back to a PM. When you order a choke from Rob you tell him what you are shooting, and how far you want to shoot and he will send you a choke. Go and shoot it and if you dont like it then call him back and he will fix it for no cost. I have a many of buddies who use his chokes and when he sends one they all have been extremely happy!!

[Eric Wolf]

I absolutely love my Patternmaster.

[Zach Byron]

I had a patternmaster, but anything within 20 yards was way to close, it was either hit and destroy the bird or miss completely, It was good for shooting at long distances though. I went with a briley light mod choke, and couldn't be happier. It is very consistent and is perfect for decoying birds or pass shooting alike. That's just my experience with them, everyone told me to go with patternmaster, so i did, and it wasnt really a good asset for my style of hunting. They do make short range patternmaster's and that might be a great choke. Hope this helps you out a little.

[calling4life]

And on that note, shoot them in the head.

Whatever you decide on, take a few boxes, different shot sizes, different brands, and go pattern them, see what your gun/choke combo likes.

Pattern it at a few different distances too, that way you know if you're shooting a baseball size pattern at 20 yards, or a beach ball size pattern. It will help you know your limitations.

[Alex Bowe]

and they make a 655 choke, which is very tight constriction, I am a man who hates cripples, so I think I would like this choke. Even though I shoot birds at close range, I would rather have a clean miss, because of a small pattern, then a wounded bird at a greater distance with a more open pattern.

655!?! dude my XXX full turkey choke is that tight! if you hit a bird he will be blown apart!

anyways i agree with Calling4life in that i'd rather miss completely or kill him clean, i use a Patternmaster and it patterned goo and i have killed a lot of geese with it. my dad has Strangler choke in his Browning Gold and that also patterned really good.

[Wet Feet]

I use a Patternmaster, Short Range Over Decoys, but don't shoot 3.5" shells. This model is not supposed to be great for 3.5" shells.

[David Onyshko]

Patternmaster for sure. When I didn't have one I would get a lot of cripples on the water. Now I have a patternmaster and everything that hits the water is dead on the spot.

[jester]

I use a wad wizard in my SBE. But my brother uses a Pattern Master. There is good article in the new Wildfowl about this very subject. If possibel it is always better to pattern your shotgun with more than one choke and shot shell.
If you don't have that option, buy a Pattern Master or Wad Wizard and then go from there.

[Tyler Stolz]

I shoot a long range Pattern Master out of my Benelli Nova and love it! It seems to keep a very consistant pattern and works very well at long and short ranges.

[Migrator83]

I currently use Kicks Chokes and really like the performance they give. My brother uses Patternmaster, and is equally happy. So just find one that gives you the performance you are happy with and stick with it.

[MuskyHunter]

655, hell I got a turkey choke thats a 645

[mduck10]

Sold my patternmaster long range(made for 3.5). Its great for geese, but I couldnt hit didly with it on ducks. I went from the best shooting year ever with my SBEII factory MOD the previous season, to my worst ever with the ext. patternmaster. But boy when you hit em you SMOKED them!! Most of my shots are 20 yards, why I tried to fix somthing that wasnt broken Ill never know.....

[Alex Bowe]

Sold my patternmaster long range(made for 3.5). Its great for geese, but I couldnt hit didly with it on ducks. I went from the best shooting year ever with my SBEII factory MOD the previous season, to my worst ever with the ext. patternmaster. But boy when you hit em you SMOKED them!! Most of my shots are 20 yards, why I tried to fix somthing that wasnt broken Ill never know.....

then don't use the PMaster for ducks! just put the modified in. thats what i do. Patternmaster for geese, modified for ducks.

[hotsauce]

i am buying a SBEII in august after reading that i might not buy a choke at all now i will just use the factory choke.

[mduck10]

Goosehunter, true true. I started collecting duck calls as a hobbie and tried to pick up alittle cash on the side was pretty much why I sold.

Hotsauce dont get me wrong its a good choke. I originally bought it because I thought it looked "cool". (Wrong reasons) Just to me wasnt necessary for my style of decoying birds CLOSE. With enough practice with it Im sure I coulda done better on ducks too.

[TechDuckHunter]

I have bought the long range patternmaster last year for my SBE and didn't like it too much. My Briley modified shot tighter patterns and seems to perform much better for me on geese. For ducks I stick with the Briley Light Modified and it has worked great for me. I purchased the Briley IM and Extended Range Goose choke but haven't had a chance to pattern them yet.

[OutForBlood87]

I use a Carlsons, I like it better than a Pattern master. I have had it for 2 seasons now and Im not switching back. Plus, I have to support the local crowd:D

[TEAM GTG]

I have tried drakekiller, comp-n-choke, briley, patternmaster, and the wad-wizard supreme. I'll be keeping the WW supreme in my barrel from now on. Chokes are like anything...they can be finicky. Some shells will shoot better through some chokes than will others. The WW supreme happens to like a few of my favorite loads (factory and reload) better than the other chokes, so that's the one I'll stick with. Do your hunting partners a favor and get one WITHOUT ports. All you'll have to do is have your bell rung once with a ported choke and you'll have had enough. I've never felt handicapped with an unported choke versus a ported one on follow up shots, though I think it's a clever marketing strategy.

[clarky]

I use a Carlsons, I like it better than a Pattern master. I have had it for 2 seasons now and Im not switching back. Plus, I have to support the local crowd:D

Patternmaster... born/invented in Scott City, KS