Being in the Barrel Gauge business, I have checked "MANY" Browning Screw in Chokes that were marked wrong from the factory !!! Some that were marked IMP. MOD. or FULL, actually had only .005 or .006 constriction. That would account for a lot of LOST targets that were unexplainable !! If you don't have a Barrel Gauge, find someone that does have one, and have your choke tubes checked. Or you can PM me right here.---Thanks !!--GB.
Bought one of the new Max Trap combos and the choke markings were a joke. Nothing was even close to the description of I.D. constriction. Only one's that broke targets were the light full and full. The rest were chips and misses.
I knew this 27 years ago. Two of us were running the then brand new 5 stand at our club. Every Friday evening/night for over 5 years. For volunteering to run it we could shoot 100 targets per night, IF we wanted. We never did shoot that many but when I did shoot a few rounds I used my Browning Sporting Clays gun. I put in the factory IC/IC chokes and the breaks were pitiful. My buddy had a set of Briley's and we put the same IC/IC chokes. WORLD of difference. You could actually see the difference in the breaks on the same target. I ordered a complete set the next day
What about after market chokes, lets say Carlson or Angleport. Are they more true to their markings are bad like Browning?
Most aftermarket chokes are OK. It's best to check ANY barrel or choke with a barrel gauge to know what you are actually shooting !! Thanks for your interest !!
For those not well studied in this topic, let me share some useful information: Choke markings, or even measured choke I.D., alone, actually do not tell you very much. What matters in is CONstriction, which is the diffence between choke I.D. and the I.D. of your barrel's bore. That's why you need the barrel gauge Gary is talking about. Otherwise, you have to do lots of experimentation at the range and/or pattern board. BTW, if you are relying on your eyeballs while shooting targets for the purpose of evaluating chokes, you need to already be a good enough shot to understand what your breaks are/aren't telling you. If you don't have at least an A-Class singles average, you'll waste a lot more money on shells & targets trying to figure out what your choke is doing than it would cost to just buy the barrel gauge. If you're going to guess, bet on Full or X-Full -- even on singles. You won't be far off, and if it's a little tighter than necessary it will make you a better shooter in the long run anyway. -Roy (who learned all this sh!t the hard/expensive way)
"REstriction", on the other hand, is secret shotgunner code. It covertly tells you that whomever is talking to you about chokes knows even less about the subject than you. Just nod, politely say thank you, suggest that they play all the options, and walk away. -Roy
Thats what I have found with Browning chokes -- My guess is Browing has a plus or minus .003 tolerance - checked a lot of Browning chokes and found out a oversized Mod is the same choke as a undersized I.M. -- could be the why you see so many Browning chokes on E-bay --I agree 100% a bore gauge is a plus -if you don't own one I guarantee if you ask around your club someone has one -easy to run and It only takes a minute.
i have a Perazzi that money maker warped the barrel on when they put a new rib on it. Wilkinson straightened it out by backboring the barrel. He stopped several inches behind the choke tubes. Said would get into the choke tubes if went all the way through. This was true. Original bore was .727 (i think) and was opened to about (.735 i think).. For figuring the constriction of the choke tubes do i use the .727 entering into the choke tubes or the .735 the rest of the bore is? Almost think i would have a fixed choke of .727. What think you?? Thanx
Start with.735--What you want is the 'difference' between barrel inside diameter and choke inside diameter. The taper nearing the choke means nothing. (Hope this helps)
