Chokes or no Chokes for Turkey Hunting

[Comfortably_Numb]

in my customers experience, no.

 

[Sparkitoff]

I have guns with chokes, fixed and screw-in, and some cylinder bore with no chokes. One thing about screw-in choke tubes; if your load responds to the constrictions you can save a lot of time and components. Instead of working up a load to pattern for turkey, shoot one with each choke tube. Then shoot the stand-out again to be sure. Can be a time saver if you're not into spending a day patterning lots of load combos.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

I have a Navy Arms Turkey and Trap, choked F/F, I load it with plastic finger wads with the cup cut off and it throws an amazing charge of shot.

These two jakes were kind enough to get their curious heads close together. One shot from the right barrel.

 

[bronko220002]

Well I've been beat over the head for this already but choke tubes are relatively new and really don't fall into the "traditional" aspect of this forum. But with shotguns it seems like a kink in the rules because you can use a plastic wad in a shotgun but you can't use a plastic sabot which is nothing more than a little wad! But what's good for the goose should also be good for the gander. If you have to load a rifle with a patch and ball or full bore minnie ball (is a minnie OK) and not a plastic sabot and round ball why are you allowed to use a plastic wad and on over shot wad for a shotgun.The traditional method is powder, over powder card, cushioning card, shot, and over shot card. Maybe its only traditional for rifles and not shotguns. I guess I'm just being the devil's advocate here.

 

[bud in pa]

Who is going

Well I've been beat over the head for this already but choke tubes are relatively new and really don't fall into the "traditional" aspect of this forum. But with shotguns it seems like a kink in the rules because you can use a plastic wad in a shotgun but you can't use a plastic sabot which is nothing more than a little wad! But what's good for the goose should also be good for the gander. If you have to load a rifle with a patch and ball or full bore minnie ball (is a minnie OK) and not a plastic sabot and round ball why are you allowed to use a plastic wad and on over shot wad for a shotgun.The traditional method is powder, over powder card, cushioning card, shot, and over shot card. Maybe its only traditional for rifles and not shotguns. I guess I'm just being the devil's advocate here.

Who is going to stop you from loading your gun the way you want to?

 

[bronko220002]

Not a thing. Just that the rules specify you can't discuss loads using sabots but its OK to discuss your shotgun load using a plastic wad. If you're going to make the forum only about traditional guns and loads do it across the board.

 

[SOLANCO]

My sxs flinter has one barrel choked cylinder. The other has a screw in that my gauge reads as improved. None of this matters worth a damn compared to the worth of patterning and shooting. Hypothetical is hypothetical is hypothetical is.............
Shoot the damn gun over and over with various variables at various targets/distances. Shooting will make you a better turkey killer than all the thinking about shooting in the world.

 

[SOLANCO]

My sxs flinter has one barrel choked cylinder. The other has a screw in that my gauge reads as improved. None of this matters worth a damn compared to the worth of patterning and shooting. Hypothetical is hypothetical is hypothetical is.............
Shoot the damn gun over and over with various variables at various targets/distances. Shooting will make you a better turkey killer than all the thinking about shooting in the world.

Read a post (Here?) where the guy did not know which barrel he triggered.
I get the "excitement of the moment". But, Jeez, I hope if you don't know which load you are firing off when that you are not posting load preferences.

 

[Mike in FL]

Is a jug choke a modern thing? Did fowlers in the age of muzzleloaders have it? If not, I'd avoid that improvement because I want to shoot, hunt, and experience those days gone by.

 

[Elgatodeacero]

I hunt with 2 TC 12 gauge caplock shotguns, a New Englander and a Treehawk (same gun with camo coating). Both of mine have screw in chokes.

I use modified for turkeys and cylinder for dove and other upland birds. As long as I go no tighter than modified there is no need to remove chokes for reloading.

If a gun is available with chokes I would always choose that just for versatility.

 

[bullshot]

Is a jug choke a modern thing? Did fowlers in the age of muzzleloaders have it? If not, I'd avoid that improvement because I want to shoot, hunt, and experience those days gone by.

I assembled a Chamber's 20 g flint fowler and gave it to a good friend on the condition he would try and kill a turkey with it. He went sorta wild and killed a socalled 'Grand Slam'. That is an eastern, osceola, Rio Grand and Merriam's. He killed more than one of some of those. The gun is cylinder bore aka no choke. No doubt he is a master turkey hunter. But he did a lot of load testing and development. The details of his loads and hunting "secretes' are revealed in 4 or 5 Muzzle Blast articles. I cannot find my copies of the articles at the moment. Author is Joe Dabney . I did locate the first article. "Evolution of a Turkey Hunter and My Quest for a Grand Slam". Muzzle Blasts April 2022 p. 42. I saved all of the articles but darn if I can find them! BTW they are other flintlock turkey hunting articles in Muzzle Blasts that can provide additional information. Never can remember history of jug chokes but pretty sure they came well after the flintlock era.

 

[Mike in FL]

I assembled a Chamber's 20 g flint fowler and gave it to a good friend on the condition he would try and kill a turkey with it. He went sorta wild and killed a socalled 'Grand Slam'. That is an eastern, osceola, Rio Grand and Merriam's. He killed more than one of some of those. The gun is cylinder bore aka no choke. No doubt he is a master turkey hunter. But he did a lot of load testing and development. The details of his loads and hunting "secretes' are revealed in 4 or 5 Muzzle Blast articles. I cannot find my copies of the articles at the moment. Author is Joe Dabney . I did locate the first article. "Evolution of a Turkey Hunter and My Quest for a Grand Slam". Muzzle Blasts April 2022 p. 42. I saved all of the articles but darn if I can find them! BTW they are other flintlock turkey hunting articles in Muzzle Blasts that can provide additional information. Never can remember history of jug chokes but pretty sure they came well after the flintlock era.

Wow! Only turkey I ever killed with a m/l was with a .50 Chambers early PA flintlock. I aimed a bit back to save the breast. Fell over then flew! Found him about 30 yards away. No meat spoiled. Always wanted a Fowler after that. Waiting on Killer to offer one. Don't think he will though. Tell your friend he's my hero.

 

[Zutt-man]

I assembled a Chamber's 20 g flint fowler and gave it to a good friend on the condition he would try and kill a turkey with it. He went sorta wild and killed a socalled 'Grand Slam'. That is an eastern, osceola, Rio Grand and Merriam's. He killed more than one of some of those. The gun is cylinder bore aka no choke. No doubt he is a master turkey hunter. But he did a lot of load testing and development. The details of his loads and hunting "secretes' are revealed in 4 or 5 Muzzle Blast articles. I cannot find my copies of the articles at the moment. Author is Joe Dabney . I did locate the first article. "Evolution of a Turkey Hunter and My Quest for a Grand Slam". Muzzle Blasts April 2022 p. 42. I saved all of the articles but darn if I can find them! BTW they are other flintlock turkey hunting articles in Muzzle Blasts that can provide additional information. Never can remember history of jug chokes but pretty sure they came well after the flintlock era.

A bucket list item of mine

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Get a 4-bore smooth fowling piece and load it with 4 oz of shot and say 300 grains of powder.

No choke will be required at that point.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Most conversation departments get a bit upset and have been known to set gauge limits for hunting loads. Of course, @Smokey Plainsman, with that 4 gauge and shot charge choke and aiming become moot.

 

[Billy-by-gosh]

Most conversation departments get a bit upset and have been known to set gauge limits for hunting loads. Of course, @Smokey Plainsman, with that 4 gauge and shot charge choke and aiming become moot.

Well, hats off to anyone willing to tote and withstand recoil from a beastly 4 gauge. Where I live (Arizona) hunting is dis-allowed for gauges larger than 10 bore. Nowadays I am now discomfitted by firing even one barrel on my 12GA double Pedersoli, although I did ONCE try to approximate the effect of a six gauge by firing both barrels together. I could only say WOW - laying there on the ground looking at the smoke cloud up above me. Don't know if I hit the bunny - there wasn't anything there when I looked.

 

[nhmoose]

Firing pin?

SARCASM at its best

 

[TCMonts]

If you truly want a NewEnglander you may want to buy whichever you can find and then go from there.

 

[Reds]

I think if one found a TC New Englander with screw in chokes that portion could be cut off and then the barrel could be jug choked yielding a shorter barrel. What say Ye!

 

[Elgatodeacero]

That seems like a bad idea - the screw in choke guns are more expensive and desirable than the fixed.

Just find a fixed choke New Englander and have that jug choked if you cannot get a decent pattern with the SkyChief load (I bet you will get a good pattern).

You are placing too much emphasis on choke issues - it is not that big an issue.

Personally, after taking a lot of game with my TC caplocks, all I dream about is a Kibler flintlock Fowler…….with a jug choke!