To properly engage targets beyond 25 yards with predictable efficiency, especially live birds which require multiple pellet hits to humanely kill, choke constriction is required. Yes you can regularly bust clay, but not when the difference between winning and losing on a clays range is one or two targets.
Cylinder chip breaks will cheat you of the practice that should result from consistent move, mount, shoot. It will give you false confidence.
Yes close skeet targets can be taken, but even great and skilled skeet shooters use some choke.
I shoot the same choke on clays as on birds which is 5 & 15 points of constriction, that has worked well for me. You must find what works best for the type of shooting you most often do. This includes matching the load speed even when you change from one weight of load to another ( say 7/8 to 1 oz) . I find that the key to success is to pick out a velocity, say 1150 FPS ( i know one shooter who fires 1300 at everything) then stay with that load speed and choke for a while.
Your brain and body develop muscle and brain memory from consistency that will do far more than playing with opening the choke.
This will help your shooting more than spreading the pattern for cheap, but inconsistent target success.
Cylinder guns killed a great deal of game before choked weapons supplanted them. Our forefathers figured out choke was better than choke, they were right.
Last edited by old colonel; 03/24/14 06:46 PM.
