jimmy28303

Hello, I am a long time deer hunter with rifle and bow but today I went out and bought my first shotgun. A Benelli Nova 12 GA 26". Unfortunatly, I know absolutely nothing about hunting birds or the purpose of particular chokes. The gun came with a full, modified and Improved cylinder chokes. What choke should i use for dove, duck, and geese and why. Also, when i am camping and want to put in 00B for defense from bear and such, what choke should i use then. I would really appreciate any help yall could give me. Thanks alot. -Jimmy

Colorado Luckydog

I don't know if you saw my answer in the waterfowl forum so I'll post it again here.

With the chokes you have, improved is the most open pattern. The modified is a little tighter and the full is the tightest pattern.

Dove- improved

ducks and geese- improved or modified {the better shot you are the tighter the pattern you can get away with) If you are hunting teal, use the improved for sure.

00B- full (a lot of people have different opinons on this one)

Wingbone

You'll use the IC or Mod. chokes for most of your bird hunting. Closer shots require a more open choke. If you go pheasant hunting in South Dakota, use your full choke. I don't think it matters what choke you use for bear defence with OO buck. At 20 ft. it will all be about the same result.

homers brother

"Choke" refers to a constriction within the barrel that serves to "squeeze" the shot column as it leaves the barrel. This allows you to most closely match the most effective pattern at the range your intended quarry tends most often to be at the time you fire. Some barrels are "fixed", so the choke cannot be changed. Your Benelli has three tubes (Improved Cylinder, Modified, and Full) that can be interchanged, allowing you more versatility.

As has been mentioned, of these - Improved Cylinder is the most open, Full is the tightest, and Modified is somewhere inbetween.

For close flushing, fast, and/or small birds (doves, teal, woodies), Improved Cylinder generally works best.

For longer shots (geese, turkeys), the old school of thought is to use Full. However, given that you must hunt migratory birds (federal reg) with non-toxic shot (i.e. NO LEAD) and that non-toxic shot patterns differently (usually tighter) than does lead shot, where you'd ordinarily think to use Full choke, you'd actually back down to Modified. Turkeys usually need the tightest thing you can find (you might find "Super Full"), since you're probably looking for head shots and since non-toxic shot isn't required.

Most of my bird hunting is Pheasants and Grouse, and I prefer Modified for both.