doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com The perfect choke combination for quail

Most of the old Bird' hunters around my area, as I was growing up, used either a pump or auto with a 26" IC barrel., usually a 12. It is I think worth noting that most of these older guns marked IC was actually bored with what should be termed a � choke or about .010 constriction.

Although I never kept records as such the gun which I Know I had the highest ratio of kills to shots fired on both Quail & Woodcock I have mentioned here several times before.

It was a Birmingham built & proofed J P Clabrough back action sidelock 12 with 28" Damascus barrels, with both having about .010" (�) choke. It weighs 6 lb 14 oz & just happened to fit me perfectly. I used 1 oz loads of #8 shot at around 1125 fps @ about 8k psi. These were loaded with Rem Power Piston wads & I never experienced undue mangling at normal ranges for either.

At the time I also did a lot of "Cottontail" chasing with beagles & this same gun & load proved idea for that with the substitution of #6 for the #8 shot.

IMHO a gun bored with .010 choke is good for most anything, assuming appropriate loads, inside of 40/45 yards. I have never seen much need for less & if your shooting calls for more might as well skip to at least a 3/4 choke.

20 ga, .005� and .015� with Remington ShurShots #7 1/2 shot works great for me, unless I shoot the quail too close.

Thanks, buzz. I know you definitely have experience with wild birds. I've been in contact with a highly respected friend in TX who has taken more wild birds in his life than any other person I know of, literally thousands. He contacted me by p.m. with some very good, and appreciated information, also.

I have settled on .005" for the right barrel, but the left is still unsettled. Likely will be somewhere in the .010" - .015" range. This is a little out of my comfort zone, considering how open to go, as I have always leaned towards the tighter side of choking, in any situation. Fun deciding, though.

The original 2 1/2" chambers will be lengthened to 2 3/4", the chokes opened to whatever I settle on, and it will be used as is for now. I have a nice blank I've had a couple years, and will restock it myself eventually, to my dimensions.

Thanks for all the useful feedback. SRH

Stan, I know you are thinking of a 20 gauge and I am referring here to a 12 gauge but....

Last summer (so I'm on my second season with it) I had my Lovena sidelock with 28" barrels opened to .005 and .015. I think the 20 gauge equivalent may be around .004 and .013. Of course each gun and load is different so YMMV.

However, it has quickly become my absolute favorite for ruffed grouse, woodcock and the preserve birds I shoot (pheasant and chukar). While I haven't been hunting them for a few years I imagine I will love it when I get back to hunting huns, which are covey birds like quail.

I had toyed with something even more open (most of the rest of my guns, 12s and 16s, are choked in various combinations between .020 and .045) but just could not bring myself to do it. Now however, I am considering opening up one or two others.

Maybe just me but I find snipe even tougher to shoot than woodcock. Good luck. I'm sure time afield with Gil won't count as wasted, even if the level of success you are after still eludes you.

Stan I am essentially using the same donor Fox with 28� barrels and ejectors for my custom Fox.
I am just starting this project but the choke work is complete. It too will be used primarily for quail. I went with .010 and .015.
I owned a Sterlingworth choked this way years ago and have regretted selling. Worked great for my quail gun here in AZ.

Went out yesterday morning here at the ranch, took a 20 bore O/U choked .002 and .009. Did not use the top barrel but results were perfect on the shots I took.
I shot earlier in the week with a 20 bore Purdey SxS with its original "tight cylinder" and " modified" as specified on the order page , actually .009 and .017.... I have other doubles with similar choking to the Purdey. With the open barrels , results are virtually same regardless of the shell chosen, whether premium target load or promo load.

But,with the tighter choked guns I can vary percentages and spread considerably with shell choice , most notably in the tighter second tubes.

If the dog work is up to par and things go right, the open combo (very similar to Mr. Woods experienced suggestions above), works well with 7/8 oz of 8's most of the time....

Better bird year here on the Southern Rolling Plains than last year's misery. I'm doing an average of 2 coveys an hour with big running dogs , covering LOTS of country.....When conditions and fortune come together I can get 3 coveys an hour in the last two afternoon hours of highest bird activity. A far cry from 2016-17 seasons abundance.......

Thanks, Ghostrider. Having hunted Gambels in your fine state I can see the usefulness of a bit more choke. Those little boogers can get gone before you an bat an eye, and are bad to run on you. I used a 20, with 7/8 oz. 8s on them with IC and M chokes, and did not feel overchoked at all.

Thanks, Paul. As usual, useful first hand information from one who knows. Hope the weather has improved for you since we last "talked".

Good hunting to you both, SRH

Paul, It sounds like you have more birds than most in the Rolling Plains. I know it�s spotty out there this year. Up by Garza County where I am, hunting is poor but the habitat looks great. Hopeful that next year will be better there. Fingers crossed. I just got back from OK panhandle on my buds lease. Mediocre bird numbers there but better than Garza county. I�m glad I don�t have a puppy this year. Where I�ve been it takes good and broke dogs to find birds. A bad year for a pup, for sure.

Eye can't wait to see it.

As old as you are you better get to whittling right away...

Just saying