maineac

I am fairly new to the board and have enjoyed reading the posts. I have been particularly interested in the posts on chokes and the recent one on shot size. I have a new gun for the upcomming turkey season. It is Benneli M1. I like the gun and am considering buying a aftermarket choke. I also like to shoot 5's for the combination shot density and downrange penetration. My question is: Is there a constriction that is supposed to be most efficient for that shot size? I don't have tons of money to buy several chokes to test. It would be nice to order a choke that will be likely to give good performance and then test different shells.

Adrian J Hare

Welcome to the forum and posting.
I just walked out of a well known gun smithing and choke builder today in Can. He had told me that Yes a shot pattern can be Over choked and most times it happens with the larger Shot size 4,5's. Most times 6's will pattern better because of the constriction sizes in the chokes. A choke that is to tight will deform the shot cause fly offs with a wider pattern. Fitting your turkey gun with the right size choke plays a major factor in a better pattern. The .665 dia. chokes are sized for the 6 shot pellet size, so a choke that is tighter may not shoot a tighter pattern, but just the opposite. Depending on the size of shot you would want to shoot,may depend on the size of constriction. I like to shoot the larger shot my self and have found that the .665 works for me the best....BT

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beretta390

i would try the maddmax .660 or .650 chokes myself. i just got the new spring issue of basspro shops catalog and they are $50 this year. i paid $60 for mine in 2001. i have a beretta 390 with the .660 choke on it. the tube is labeled for 4-5 shot size. i like #4 shot myself, i put 15 pellets in the head and spinal cord of a primos turkey target at 50 yards and i quit shooting after that. i was only trying to get a good pattern out to 40 yards. the instructions said to start at 30 yards and back up 5 yards after each shot until you could no longer put 5 pellets in the head and neck, then you would know your guns effective range i was completely amazed. you could try the .650 maddmax it's labeled for 5-6 shot. i don't know how it shoots, but both are for berette/benelli shotguns. but, whichever choke you choose i would definately take your time and read everyones advice on this topic. there is alot of turkey wisdom on this board, i'm thankful to everyone here.

Edited by - beretta390 on 01/14/2002 18:54:58

BIRD DOG

I agree Beretta, I have a Maddmax choke on my Rem. 3inch Mag. I pattern my gun regardless every spring to assure pattern from the shell I will be using -haven't decided this spring. I want 0-40 to be a sure thing. In the past, my gun has performed outstanding from 0-40 using WIN and Federal ammmo #6's. The pattern from this choke out performed many other tubes. I was so impressed that I bought my father a Maddmax choke for his Gold 12 Hunter. PERFORMANCE - He downed two birds at over 55 steps. It was risky shots - last day of the season and I witnessed it. This choke of course might perform different in other guns but I know two that are guaranteed gobble killers!!!!

beretta390

BIRD DOG, i can tell you are a happy camper just i like myself, with the performance of your choke tubes. but i would'nt mention that much about the killing of a bird over 40 yard thing too often. there are alot of veteran seasoned turkey hunters on this board that will scold you in a heartbeat, just like they have me i've taken a beating lately, just a thought.

maytom

Like BB has mentioned, we both love that Tru-Glo choke tube in a .665 restriction for our Remingtons.

I just picked up my old issue of the Midwest Turkey call supply catalog and looking on page 66-67 where they show all their choke tubes: using a Maddmax choke tube out of your Benelli M1 for #5 & #6's use a .650 tube. When using #4's & #5's use a .660 tube.

Preston Pittman Boss Buster choke out of Benelli M1 they specify using a .660 restriction.

Kick's Gobblin Thunder out of your benelli M1, again they say either a .660 or a .655 tube.

Tru-Glo Strut Stopper, they say use a .665 choke tube.

So as you can see, these are the manufacters suggestions pertaining to their choke tubes. They have already done the testing for you and this is what they have found to work the best out of their tubes and your gun. We can only mention what works for us out of our guns. As you can see, we have all had to go through his selection process before comming up with a choke/load combo that we like. You, I'm afraid, will have to do the same thing. There is no short cut, each gun likes a certain size pellet and choke restriction period!! So we can put you into the right church, you just have to find the right pew!! <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>


Edited by - maytom on 01/14/2002 20:07:18

moonge

.660 or .665 seems to be a good size for 3&quot; shells with 5 or 6 shot. Most guns I have seen using these choke sizes seem to shoot both shot really well. really it depends on a combo of shotshell, barrel, and choke. You can have 2 guns that are the same & one may shoot 6's better while the other shoots 5's better.