16 Gauge Choke

vrepola

vrepola

Member
Ok guys and gals. I bought a new 16ga Winchester Model 12. This is not a collector peice as it has the Simmons rib added as well as new butt stock and has been refinished. It is. 28" full choke barrel and patterns tight. I have shot it at 30 and 40 yards with 3 differ loads. All loads patterned just about the same. I want to open the choke up but I am having a hard time deciding. I hunt over pointers 100% of the time since I hunt alone. Most of my shots on roosters are inside 30 yards. So I'm looking for your opinions on the best choke for shots to 35 yards or so. Mostly I use 5 shot. Thanks for your help.
 
I would go with a improved cylinder or a light modified. I hunt over pointers and most of the time my I/C choked barrel is all I ever need. Most of my guns are fixed choke I/C and M but the ones that have choke tubes I put in the cyl bore and I/C tubes if I have them. I have a BUL that carries an I/C tube. I think an open choke will kill a lot farther out than a lot of people believe because of the quality of our shot shells.
AM
 
I've shot a 1960 Sweet Sixteen choked IC for several years and find that the IC is all I ever need. I shoot mostly Fiocchi Golden Pheasant loads with either #5 or #6 shot. I also have some Federal Premium PF loads in #5 shot. For your shooting open that Model 12 up to IC, shoot premium loads and you will never look back. Good luck.
 
airmedic1 said:
I would go with a improved cylinder or a light modified. I hunt over pointers and most of the time my I/C choked barrel is all I ever need. Most of my guns are fixed choke I/C and M but the ones that have choke tubes I put in the cyl bore and I/C tubes if I have them. I have a BUL that carries an I/C tube. I think an open choke will kill a lot farther out than a lot of people believe because of the quality of our shot shells.
AM
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Yup...I like .010 and .015 of choke.
A nice discussion and chart
https://trulockchokes.com/basic_choke_information.html
 
I shoot a Sweet 16 95% of the time at pheasants - modified choke - and am very happy with the performance. Shoot a 20 ga. or full-choked 16 ga. Mod 12 the other 5%. About 10-15% of that time I switch to full, but I've got the advantage of screw in tubes. Nothing wrong with modified inside 35 yards. Knowing that all barrel/choke/load combinations pattern differently & there's no way to accurately predict the effects of your gunsmithing, you might consider going modified first just to try it. You can always open it up more (I assume - I'm no gunsmith). But if you go IC right away & aren't happy, you're stuck with it. Something to chew on.
 
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I had a full choked wingmaster opened to skeet 2, which is a fine compromise choke for fixed choke upland bird hunting.

My o/u is improved/mod, supposedly, but I think it mics out to skeet2/improved mod.
 
Chestle said:
If it's a "shooter" M12, Briley will thread it and give you 3 high quality chokes for $250 + shipping. Getting a gunsmith to just open a choke will probably cost you about $100 and may or may not be the answer you were looking to find.
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Yep, where there's a will (& a checkbook) there's a way. I'm curious....any of you who've looked into prices for reaming recently, what's the going rate? Last time I had it done was about 30 years ago on a full-choked 870. Cost me $25.
 
I had tubes added to a 20ga 1100 a couple months back and it was $103...including the shipping to and from. Mike Orlen did the work. I bought the choke tubes from Brownells.

You can find his info on the "gunsmithing forum" over on shotgun world. You get 20% off his price if you are a member of the board. He has high praise of his work... but sounds like he is sometimes hard to get a hold of which turns some off. I just boxed my barrel up with a note of what I wanted done and the pricing from the list on SGW and mailed it to him. I had it back in a week.

I think his price for "opening to more open choke" is $50 or $55.
 
Chestle said:
If it's a "shooter" M12, Briley will thread it and give you 3 high quality chokes for $250 + shipping. Getting a gunsmith to just open a choke will probably cost you about $100 and may or may not be the answer you were looking to find.
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If your Model 12 is a shooter and not a wall hanger I'd spend the money and have it threaded for screw-in chokes. With the proper chokes you can then also feel safe to shoot steel shot through it.
 
Thanks guys for all the help. I have looked in to Briley and have looked at the cost of just having it opened up. I shoot my Remington 870 WM a lot and just leave the Skeet 1 choke on it 90% of the time. A 1-3/8 oz load of 5's hit hard way farther than I thought it would. Was thinking just having this 16 gauge open up to .008 which would be just a hair over IC and be done with it.
 
Go for the IC or a hair over, you won't be disappointed. And if you ever feel you need a more dense pattern for more added range you can always buy some shells like Prairie Storm that pattern much tighter.
 
Zeb thanks. In my research an IC for a 16 ga is .007 of constriction. That's why I was thinking .008 or so. Is my research off?
 
vrepola said:
Zeb thanks. In my research an IC for a 16 ga is .007 of constriction. That's why I was thinking .008 or so. Is my research off?
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I think your research is correct. But in my view, a little tighter now leaves more leeway for later. Go 0.00825. Nice round number. (Or am I not helping?) 0.008, 0.010, whatever it takes.
 
vrepola said:
Thanks guys for all the help. I have looked in to Briley and have looked at the cost of just having it opened up. I shoot my Remington 870 WM a lot and just leave the Skeet 1 choke on it 90% of the time. A 1-3/8 oz load of 5's hit hard way farther than I thought it would. Was thinking just having this 16 gauge open up to .008 which would be just a hair over IC and be done with it.
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Just so you know, having it opened up to .008 is no guarantee it is going to give you the pattern you desire. Choke tubes give you options in case one constriction doesn't perform as advertised. Remember regardless of what choke denomination is stamped on the barrel or choke tube does not always transcend to what pattern percentage you will get from it. As Zeb stated quality plated lead shot generally tightens up patterns a bit and with Steel patterns are even tighter yet.
 
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