doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Cylinder chokes,are they any good?

Looking at an English gun choked cylinder and full.Now that is about as far apart as I can imagine for a game gun I would use. I normally want and prefer somewhat tight chokes at least in the second barrel. I would prefer IC and IMOD for most of my shooting.
My question is how much and what could I expect from a cylinder choke in the first barrel? And what options would I have in and modifications?

Cylinder should give a great pattern out to 30 yards with smaller shot,say 7.5.
bill

I thought the same thing before I bought my first Brit gun that was choked that way. Now after shooting that combo for a number of years, I like it very much. It depends on what you hunt and your hunting style, for walking up birds with a flusher, I find it ideal. I shoot 1&1/8" OZ of hard fives and find it very effective on roosters out to 30-35 yards if I do my part.
Steve

I find cyl in a 12g to be a great quail setup. I also have a .005/.040 choked 12g that is similar to the gun you describe and I love it for quail.

The ballistics experts here (and there are many) will be able to add detail, but I'll weigh in with a few general observations: 1) Different loads and components will deliver a variety of results from any given barrel. 2) Modern ammo delivers tighter patterns than shells available generations ago. 3) The differences between an IC/IM setup and C/F chokes are not as significant as several other factors that can affect shooting success. 4) An "open" and "tight" combination is considered ideal by many shotgunners of both the upland and waterfowling persuasions. 5) If you haven't already done so, have the bores professionally measured, as opinions vary and the word "full," especially, can cover a lot of ground; also, pattern the gun to see how those chokes actually perform before you consider opening the second barrel. Bottom line -- if everything else about the gun is right and what you've been looking for, I wouldn't worry too much about choke. Good hunting. TT

First, get the "cyl" choke measured. Often enough cyl runs .001 or .002. Believe it or not, .002 will get you to IC with some loads.

Second, most cyl barrels (even .000 true cyl) do not throw true definitional cylinder (40%) patterns with modern shotcup ammo. I get a kick out of folks decrying the poor patterns they get with spreader loads. Usually, they are really just bashing a true cylinder pattern. My .000 12 ga M21 barrel would give almost LM patterns with B&Ps. So experiment with different loads.

I'm more of an IC/M or IC/IM fan, but cyl/full can work with a bit of ammo testing.

Sam

It's an effective choke, particularly for grouse. My 1915 L.C. Smith field 20 gauge is choked that way. The second shot on grouse is often a hail mary. I recently opened a Sauer 16ga from F/F to C/IC with no regrets.

For modern 1200 fps ammo loaded with plastic wads and shotcups I think cylinder is an excellent choke.

Apparently from Garwood's writings it is not an effective choke when used with overshot card cartridges. Garwood writes that open chokes give cartwheel patterns when used with an overshot card.

I hunt mostly Bobwhites over pointing dogs and cylinder to 5 thousandths in both barrels is perfectly fine with me if I am shooting platic wads and shotcups.

If I were to specify chokes for my Bobwhite hunting I would go with cylinder and 15 thousandths. 10 thousandths of the 15 thousandths is for my ego.

Best,

Mike

I agree with what Mike said!

binko

Excellent choice. I tried Ithaca 20" trench gun with #4 buck very effective and fearsome weapon. It's very simple to use one just holds the trigger down works the cob end and sprays lead!
The barrel mark indicates Cyl but it measures out to IC.