Anyone use custom choke tubes?

Steve W.

Steve W.

Member
Just been curious lately if anyone uses a custom choke tube for their shotgun?
Yesterday hunting, I was with a bunch of guys and saw they were all using patternmaster choke tubes. I was kind of looking at Rob Roberts Gun works choke tube, the T3 for my SBE (original made by H&K).

I've been doing ok shooting ducks & geese when I can, but just looking for an edge for the later season when these geese & ducks been pounded and don't come decoying in like you want, more pass shooting than anything. Hence I was looking at the T3. But hunting with those guys, we didn't shoot, I don't know if they noticed a difference or even patterned the coke to see how it shot. Seems more less 1 bought 1 and the rest followed.

SO just curious what everyones thoughts are.
THX,
Steve
 
Steve,

I too have an older (1995) H&K SBE. Early on I did quite a bit of patterning with a variety of shells and settled on a very deadly combination. In fact it turned out so good that I have had 3 other guys with Benellis get the same choke. It is a Briley Extended choke in Improved Modified coupled with Winchester Supremes, 3" #3's. That is all that I shoot in that gun anymore. I had a patternmaster, used it, patterned it and sold it. The guy that bought it also used it, patterned it and sold it. I am not a fan of PM chokes for duck loads. They might be fine for bigger shot, goose loads but in my mind why would anyone want to spend $80 on a choke when you can order what you want from Briley for something like $35 and get better performance. The only way you will know anything about how your gun patternes it to actually spend the time at the pattern board.
 
Pete,
Did the 3.5" loads not pattern well? Briley never even crossed my mind! Thanks for that!
Oh reading your town bring back times I went into Bergey Jewelry to see Tom for hunting equipment, LOL.
Steve
 
Steve,

I am not sure if there is much of a benefit at normal decoy ranges (20-35 yards) with specialty chokes.

My wife's Beretta 390 has a custom Seminole Gunworks custom barrel and choke set. I was looking for a shorter lighter barrel for her to hunt upland game with and found the Seminole barrel on EBAY for a crazy low priced deal (under 150 bucks). The barrel is 22 inches and has 3 custom chokes. The gun is very fast handling with that barrel. The gun is also lighter as the barrel is back bored (thinner). With that said, I would point out that the objective was not new chokes for pattern improvement but to change the way the gun handles (swing and mounting). Did it work? Yes very much so.. As far as the chokes are concerned the gun does pattern very well with the Seminole, but I cannot compare that to the factory set up as I never patterned the factory barrel and chokes.

I think you should decide what type of hunting you are going to be doing and define the ranges. Then go pattern the original chokes at the hunting ranges with the loads you think you might use (loads and shot size alter choke performance). That should help you make up your mind about buying new chokes; why spend hard earned cash when you might already have a good set up? Take that extra cash that is burning a hole in the choke budget and buy a few decoys or a tank of gas if you decide you don't need new chokes.

I personally keep it very simple with my Benelli and use a factory improved cyl over decoys for ducks, or if hunting geese I might change to a modified if hunting longer ranges. I rarely change from the imp cyl.

Matt
 
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Matt,
that is exactly what I have in my Benelli now. Well, currently the barrel is being shipped to me because my gunsmith buddy put a new ejector kit in it for me for $10. I looked up parts on Brownell's and they wanted a ton more and the Gander Mtn gun smith wanted $65 plus labor. So my gunsmith buddy I remembered worked for Benelli & he used his contacts to get me the part and voila, all for $10, although I sent him $40 total cause I am quite appreciative he helped me out.
But I may stick with the factory chokes, just I like to get a lil more distance. Ahhhhh if lead was still allowed.... LOL

But I am talking strictly for ducks, which ends next Saturday, and geese which will be on into January.

I can't complain about my gun, its an original SBE & works like a champ & been thru some extreme lake effect conditions here and cold temps unlike my pals Brownings.
 
Steve,

Small world. Tom is a friend of mine. We have been on a couple hunting trips together. I buy all my archery stuff from him.

Funny, I just had the ejector plate break on my SBE too. Mine has had close to 12,000 rounds through it I would guess so I'm not complaining. The gunsmith I took it to had to use heat to get the screws out and still had it done in a couple hours -$72. I thought about doing in myself but didn't have an allen wrench small enough for the screws and didn't want to bugger it up.

I have Briley chokes for several guns and really like them. It seems like their chokes give me more even patterns than I get with stock chokes and the price is right.
 
Steve, Pete,

The ejector plate failure is fairly common. My HK import SBE's ejector Plate failed 2 years ago. With Tod's help identifying the part, I got two replacements out of e-gunparts.com (today's price $23.15) in a couple of days. Swapped it out myself and have the second w/ new setscrews on hand as spares. A search on the web will bring up lots of these plates failing. I believe Benelli changed the ejector design close to the time they started importing the SBE's themselves.

Just another way of dealing with it.
Scott

ps 95% of the time I simply use the factory Mod. choke. I have & have used the patternmaster for late season coastal goose. I'm not sure that I'm a good enough shot to take advantage of the tighter pattern.

View attachment Benelli ejectorcat.jpg
 
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It seems everyone and there brother is making chokes since all you need a lathe. Ported chokes do nothing but make noise, studded chokes ala wad stripping do nothing also. Of course if your shooting a cannon it might work. Now if you had your bore mic'd and then had chokes cut for your bore diamiter then your moving in the right direction.

Once you have your chokes made up then you can sit down and pattern your gun, but the first step I would take is get your gun fitted. By using a steel plate at 16 yards shooting a full choke you can see your point of impact. The beretta's and benelli's have the shims and they work very well. I personally like my waterfowl guns set up parellel.

Now you get down and dirty shooting patterns, working with your chokes and fav loads. I like to shoot Hevi-shot goose loads or Wingmaster HD. The goose loads are the real HS Duck is there Hevi-Steel. If your working with HS then say size 6 is really 5shot in size. After testing 1000's of loads over the years sometimes you can do it with a factory choke and that is where I would start. Since I shoot 90% handloads I have never found a need to see the rage in shooting these big bomber shells.

Now when I am at Live pigeon shoots I see every gizmo known to man thinking there going to take the cash home but at the end of the day it's the guy that shoots alot and all presentations of targets that seems to crush birds. Not testing your loads and putting faith in some choke will never have any dividens.
 
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Yep, I have that site as a bookmark. I new I could get the parts but wasn't sure how they came out. When the gunsmith told me he had to use heat to get the old screws out I knew I had made the correct decision to let him do it. Scott, do you know what size that allen screw is? I'd go out and buy a wrench just to guarantee that I'd never need it again haha.
 
thanks Scott! I will put that website in my favorites!

I use the modified choke so I will just stick with it. When I repped hevi*shot, I had a ton of ammo and had the hevi steel just prior to it coming out & crushed a goose at 63yds, paced it off where it laid. It landed & was walking back into the spread after its partner was shot.

Guess if it ain't broke, don't mess with it..
 
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