.675 or .700 Choke for Hevi-Shot on Geese?

[147 Grain]

I have a Benelli Nova 3 1/2" camo and Remington 3 1/2 camo 870 Super Mag and wonder what chokes to use for high plying geese and ducks?

HS Strut's Undertaker comes in .675 and .700 constrictions - what do you suggest? Remington's (lead and steel) full choke is .691; can I use it with 1 1/4-oz. #2 Hevi-Shot @ 1,450 fps?

Also, do you like Hevi-Shot and what size of shot / loads do you recommend?

Thanks in advance of your advice.

Steve
_________________
* Benelli Nova Camo
* Remington 870 Super Mag Camo
* Remington 870 Express Laminated
* Stoeger Condor Supreme Combo O/U
* Stoeger 2000 Semi Auto
* Mossburg 500 Combo
* Maverick 88
* Action Tune-up & Limbsaver Pads on all.

[Brent]

Steve,


.675 is way too tight for waterfowl, you only need something that tight if you are turkey hunting for a head shot. Your going to have a hard time or be a dang good shot for that constriction. I would go with the .700 that is the equivalent of an improved modified, which i use for waterfowl and upland hunting, either modified or improved modified. .695 is a full bore diameter on a factory replacement choke tube from Benelli.

Hevi-shot can do wonders if you can afford it, yeah you will be alright with 2 shot hevi shot on geese. I would go with the 4 or 6 shot for ducks.

[Mark]

What chokes did your Benelli come with? Have you had the time to pattern your gun? What results are you getting at 40 yards using a 30 inch circle as a constant?

Using your factory chokes as a barometer, you should be able to answer questions as to wether you need or want anything different. Remember shotgun chokes are funny things, there is a point of diminishing return. For instance, if you are getting 90% patterns with a .695 choke, this does not mean a .675 choke will be tighter. Chokes are like a garden hose, you can get a fine stream of water, then by adding just a little more constriction, have the stream break apart. Too much choke on a shotgun can act the same way, you eventually will end up with a blown pattern.

Remember also, the patterns with Hevi-shot will be different than steel or lead using the same choke. Now to really make you scratch your head, know that patterning the gun doesn't tell the whole story. Patterning is an excellent tool when thinking about the head of a turkey, but when you are shooting a moving target, all of the shot doesn't arrive at the same time. You actually have a string of shot out there, that can be as long as 4 feet. You can see this effect shooting trap.
Talking only about an angle target, when the "front" of the target chips and the back portion diverts, you were a little in front of the target, and caught it with the end of the shot string. When you nick the "back end" of a target, and the front diverts, you were a little behind it and caught it with the front of the shot string. When you smoke a target, the front of the shot string catches the leading edge of the target and breaks it, then the rest of the string catches the pieces and breaks them into dust.

Now you can look at a patterning board an evaluate the results with a big smile, but what kind of shot string do you have? I'm sorry to sound like 7 days of rain, but shotgun shooting will remain an art, in my opinion. What works, works. What doesn't work, doesn't work.

My advice would be to pattern the gun with the factory chokes. This will at least tell you a little of what's happening, and if you are making a huge mistake somewhere. Save everything, with dates, shotshell type, brand, etc. When you are sick of doing this, find a sporting clays course and some friends you really enjoy. Go out and shoot. The combination of reasonably matched equipment and practice, will make you the best wingshot you can possibly become. And it's quite a bit of fun.
Mark

[rooster52]

I shot my turkey gun today using Kent Impact #4 using a undertaker choke . 665, at 55 yards it put 75 plus wholes in a 24x24 inch cardboard,I think this would take a goose at that range ,but the pattern was pretty tight.I don't know of anything that would consistantly kill out to 60 yards?Thats a poke at a goose!

[Mark]

This is all well and good.

What percentage of your total amount of shot is 75 hits? Was the pattern splotchy? (Splotchy is the technical term.) How much remaining velocity do you have at 60 yards? Knowing remaining velocity will give you pellet energy. What kind of penetration can you get at 60 yards?

What I'm driving at here, is you really have to know all these factors to make a judgement if there can be consistant kills at this 60 yard range. There may be the 1 lucky pellet that occasionally hits the brain, but can this be counted on? I'm not saying your gun/ammo combination won't kill geese at 60 yards, because I really don't know.

You know, I think you have already done more than an average hunter by taking some shots at a patterning board and counting the hits. You also know what 60 yards looks like. It's really far away, isn't it? Now you need to finish this job you started. If you want to use 24 X 24 inch squares, thats OK. Find out your velocity, energy, and the shots ability to penetrate at that yardage. You may have to go up to a number 2 or BB to get the velocity, energy, penetration required at this range. By doing all this you will get a real good idea what big ranges look like, and your gun/ammo capabilities at these big yardages. After all this, you will KNOW what capabilities you really have. People may use the term "skybusting" but once you actually KNOW, you will be able to handle extended yardages, and also know when not to shoot.

I think if a guy does the homework, and puts in the practice required, he will be an accomplished waterfowler. In this case luck is a four letter word.
Mark

[iowaclayshooter]

I just purchased Cabelas Hevi-shot choke tubes for my nes Beretta Extrema2. Close birds use the I/C and mid range birds use the modified. I also have a set of Carlson waterfowel chokes for my Browning Gold. The are very similar to the Cabelas chokes in appearance. I use the full choke for my Browning very little, it is almost like shooting a single projectile, very little spread. My personal opinion is if you can't kill a goose with hevi-shot #2 through a modified tube the bird to too far to be shooting at it.