ORIGINAL: millerhunter13
well it has a fixed choke, its a H&R 12 guage single shot.
So is it a 20 or a 12?
20 is fine, 12 is better.
I dont like a full choke for my type of hunting, but if you are hunting where the birds are going to be out there a little bit, thats what you want.
I hunt flooded timber mostly and the shots are close quarters and very fast moving, I use Improved Cylinder for that. With Steel though, you dont get the compression like you do with Lead, so it patterns more like a modified choke.
Yes you have to use steel by law, if the ducks eat the lead pellets, it can weaken the shells on the eggs which results in more duckling deaths.
You shoot can shoot steel out of your barrel, you only have to worry about that when you have interchangable chokes, make sure they are not lead shot only.
Shot size depends on what your hunting... I have killed hundreds of ducks with #8 steel shot, low dram/high velocity. #4's are great for bigger ducks and longer shots. #2 is good for geese.