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In my mind... choke for upland

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d4570 View Drop Down
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    Posted: 26 August 2014 at 03:28
OK
See if you can fallow my twisted thought line on this.
You all know I use and love my 870 supper express 12 gauge, and use it extensively for ducks, geese, and coyote. There is a side of me you don't know as much. I do hunt grouse and on rare occasions pheasants. I put a pistol grip stock on for coyote and liked it so well I'm going to try it for wing shooting too. I have tried it on clay pigeons, hand tossed, and it seems to work well. What I'm thinking is this... I normally go to a mid range modified choke to shoot my lead 5x7.5 - 1 3/8 oz. shot shells, AKA "bird shot" Why?
I use an extended range ported supper full choke for every thing else. Am I hampering my sell? Every thing I see says use an open choke, there again Why? A duck moving at 60 mph sideways in the rain with gale force wind I shoot a pattern around two feet around. But a grouse flying a blistering 25 MPH straight away in sunny calm weather I feel I need something slightly less then a Blunder Bust pattern to bring it down. This is JUST opposite of what makes sense to me. I get wonderful patterns at 30 to 40 yards with my supper choke and lead 5x7.5 loads , with hundreds of hits in a two foot circle. Why not just keep in the tight choke and extend my range to 50 or 60 yards, I don't hunt behind a dog. My Modified choke also get very good patterns at 30/40 yard but ,like it's suppose to, it's a 4 foot pattern and the OMG range is shortened to 45 yards.
Just have to do my part and get on target but I'd have a lot longer time to do it.
Am I just chasing my tail?
I just cant help to think I would shoot better using the set up I shoot the most.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote CB900F Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 August 2014 at 03:42
D;

I'm probably not much help because I normally hunt mountain grouse, ie, blues & fool hens. For that we hunt in pairs, one with a .22lr & the other with a 20 gauge shotgun. I prefer to use a modified choke, but some do like the open, or improved cylinder chokes. Nonetheless, a long shot in the mountains is 25 yards, all those trees ya know.

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d4570 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote d4570 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 August 2014 at 03:52
Ya
Those damn trees, That's why I don't hunt "Mountains"
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RobertMT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 August 2014 at 04:21
The "thought" behind using modified choke, for upland birds, it so pattern can open up and you don't blow the stuffing out of bird. If most of your shots are past 30yds, full choke should work fine. Like you said, while hunting pheasants without a dog, most shots tend to be longer. I'm not sure, I would want to carry 3 1/2" waterfowl gun all day, but other than that, it should be fine.

I have older 870 with 30" full choke and 21" polychoke. I use the full choke most often and unless you "smoke" the bird up close, it works well.
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d4570 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote d4570 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 August 2014 at 05:09
Yes On occasions you have use patience and let the bird slip out a ways.
I have Stevens dbl 20 'bout 7 pounds loaded,but the 870 is not much heaver at 9 pounds full of shells and it has a sling for the long dead head back to the truck...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Irish Bird Dog Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 August 2014 at 17:51
Were I you d I'd stick with what is most familiar and obviously works well for you.
I hunt ruffed grouse in wooded/brushy terrain and use 20ga dbls mostly and they have IC/Mod chokes mostly. Early on when the leaves are still on I often carry a 20ga dbl w/sk1 & sk2 chokes & 22" bbls...cuz they bust close and open pattern helps there and short bbls helps the swing in dense brush. ...keeps you from hitting too many branches in the swing.
Getting so I sometimes carry a 28ga O/U for ruffy cuz I can....
Pheasants get a 20ga 2 3/4" Mag shell or 3" mag usually with #5 shot and same IC/Mod chokes. Rarely use 12ga for other then ducks and turkey....chokes/shot size appropriate for the game.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BEAR Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 August 2014 at 03:40
got 3 barrels for the 870 12 ga; 30 inch full, 28" modified, and 22 inch with Poly choke,

For geese I use the full, ducks get the Poly as it can be open for first light and modified by 8am as the ducks fly higher. for spring turkey the modified get to go into the woods.

I also have a 20 ga superlight weight 870, my usual small game shotgun with choke tubes. I find my self using the IC choke tube for pheasants, rabbits, grouse, etc.

I think the open chokes are usually recommended for grouse is that the ammo folks thing of grouse as a northeast sport, and our hunting is most always in close woody cover..so few if any short is medium to long range. And as someone said, it doesn't tear up the think skinned easy to kill birds.

In both the 20 and 12 ga I use 7/8 once loads for everything, except geese. some times I take my double 10 ga 32" full-full for geese along flyways, even with my 3 dozen deks set out.
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