Chokes

[Guns4Fun]

Okay guys---please don't laugh at me too much. I bought my kid a new mossy o/u shotgun and it comes with extra chokes. What the heck are they for? I kinda get that they change the pattern but what choke does what---meaning wider / narrower pattern?

I got the following with the shotty.
Full
Improved Modified
Modified
Improved Cylinder

Right now it has the Improved Cylinder chokes in it. I plan to only use it to shooting clays. So, which one is best to use and why.

Lastly, why the heck would Mossberg only include one of each type (except for the pair that were installed in the gun). Do you really want to use different chokes in the 2 barrels?

Sorry for the silly question but i'm not a shotgun guy.

[BIGSHOVEL]

Full is the tightest of the options you listed, Turkey and geese lead and Hevi-Shot.

Improved modified less than full, my favorite for steel shot on long range geese.

Modified less consriction than above a and a good all around choke for lead and steel on most game.

Improved cylinder is great for clays and quail type of game.

Brad

[BIGSHOVEL]

Also yes two diffent chokes in both barrels, I use improved cylinder on bottom barrel firing first, modified on top second. Bottom barrel firing first allows for faster recovery for second shot, less muzzle jump.

[Guns4Fun]

BIGSHOVEL thanks for the explanation. It helped a bunch.

[BUCKMARK]

As a sporting clay shooter I will add that I also shoot 2 different chokes in my Brownings most of the time.

My "normal" set up is skeet in the bottom barrel, and the tighter Improved Cylinder tube in the top barrel.

Many sporting clay stations are like bird hunting, where the first bird shot is closer and the second bird is farther away. The tighter choke in the second barrel gives a better pattern at longer distance.

For birds thrown towards the shooter the second shot will be the closer shot. Instead of swapping choke tubes, you simply switch the order that the barrels fire...shooting the top barrel first.

Having two barrels and two choke tubes has a big advantage over a single barrel gun.

Perhaps the biggest advantage of the O/U for a youth shooter is the ability to carry the empty gun slung over the shoulder. When the gun is "broke open" and carried over the shoulder, your child, YOURSELF and everyone in range can clearly see that the gun is unloaded and safe. Nothing scares me more than a novice shooter with a semi or pump walking around with the action closed! Even when open it is hard for everyone else to see if the chamber is clear.

Good call on the O/U !!!

I hope it serves him well for years to come.

[Guns4Fun]

Perhaps the biggest advantage of the O/U for a youth shooter is the ability to carry the empty gun slung over the shoulder. When the gun is "broke open" and carried over the shoulder, your child, YOURSELF and everyone in range can clearly see that the gun is unloaded and safe. Nothing scares me more than a novice shooter with a semi or pump walking around with the action closed! Even when open it is hard for everyone else to see if the chamber is clear.

Good call on the O/U !!!

I hope it serves him well for years to come.

Thanks for the info. We shoot at our local club on wed. nights. We only have one shell loaded at a time. We have been shooting clays for the last year or so. I started my son out on a cheap single shot youth (break open) 12g. Now that he is getting bigger i figured it was time to move him up.

It's funny you mention the o/u. That is the exact reason i wanted an o/u for him. I have been teaching him proper gun handling since he started shooting at 7-8 years old (now 14) but i like to see the gun broke open to be sure.

Everyone i spoke to told me to get him a pump since i didn't want to spend more than $500. They told me that you cant get a good o/u for that price. I took a chance on the Mossberg Silver Reserve. It looks like i nice enough gun and we only shoot maybe 500-1k rounds a year. I hope it holds up---i guess time will tell.

Thanks again.

[BUCKMARK]

Nice pics!

Your son will always remember that shotgun for Christmas. Thats something you cant take away regardless of money spent. I still remember that $200 Winchester model 140 Ranger my dad bought me when I was 12.

Funny thing about shotguns... a $500 gun will crush birds if the bead is in the right place, and $5,000 shotguns will miss every time if they are off target.

If I had a dollar for every "lesser value" shotgun that ended my day early, I would be a rich man...then again, if I had a dollar for every ass I kicked with my $2,500 Browning I'd also be loaded.

I think it's the same story as poking a rattle snake with a pointy stick.


BTW: nice hat he's wearing...my daughter and I each have one just like it!

[sureshot43]

Make sure you shoot each tube with the shot size and load you will probably use in it. My Modified shoots almost as tight as my full,my IC shoots almost as tight as a Mod. I really ought to get a couple of new ones,but since I know how they shoot,I just load up accordingly.
New guns are AWESOME to play with, aren't they?