Which choke tube?

[thelefthand]

I just bought a well used Mossberg 835. It has a turkey choke tube in it now (.695"). I thought about getting a couple of other chokes to try. What would you guys recommend? I am concidering the Strut Stopper by Tru-Glow (.643"). Do the ported choke tubes make that much difference in recoil?

Thanks,
Mark

[Pocampo]

The Mossberg 835 has an overbored ported barrel and the bore dia is (.775") same as a 10 gauge. It will shoot the best with a choke tube that gives you around (.060") restriction. The (.695") tube that is in the gun now is already at (.080") restriction.

The (.643") tube your considering will probably not pattern well out of the Mossberg 835. Something around (.710"-.715") should work best. In some 835's a plain old modified choke tube will pattern the best.

I can't tell the difference in recoil with a ported/non ported choke tube as the 835 already has a ported barrel.

One of the things that you should look for is a choke tube with parallel sides (constriction) for atleast 1" and longer would be better. In tests that have been conducted it has been proven that you need atleast 1" of parallel constriction in a choke tube for best patterns.

The 835 overbore dramatically reduces shot deformation and over-constriction of larger shot charges or shot sizes commonly used for either waterfowl or turkey hunting.

A choke tube with too much constriction will eliminate this benefit and will make patterns worse.
Pocampo

[thelefthand]

Thanks for the reply! That makes a lot of sense.

My 835 does not have a ported barrel. I noticed on Mossberg's web page that the current turkey model doesn't have a ported barrel either, but instead has a ported choke tube. This gun is probably several years old. Porting doesn't make much difference to me because I don't hunt water fowl. If I get 3 shots at a turkey, its a really good day, and I'm a really bad shot! I thought the porting might help a bit when I go do pattern the gun with different chokes, brands of shells, and shot sizes.

Can anyone recommend a series of choke tubes that has the 1" parallel constriction? Does that mean that after the bore necks down, that there's an additional inch of choke tube/barrel that's at the constricted diameter?

I'm going to try multiple types of loads, but I plan on using Hevi-Shot. Since the Tungsten is harder than lead, does that mean I can get away with a little more constriction? Either way, I will definatly try to pick up a tube in the .710 ~ .715 range. At $15~$20 a pop the choke tubes are cheaper than a box of Hevi-Shot

One other question. If I ever want to use just plain old bird shot (#6~#11 lead field loads) for rabits, quail, or pheasents, will the 835 handle those well as it is now (with possibly a larger choke tube), or would I be smarter to look into buying another barrel that's better suited for those shells?

Thanks again!
Mark

[thelefthand]

Well, as luck would have it, I stopped by our little wally world the other day, and they had a few Mossberg Accu-Mag chokes left that they were trying to get rid off. I was able to pick up the FULL and Xtra Full (0.715") for $11 each. They aren't extended choke tubes, but they do have the 1" parallel constriction. I was a little bumed that they didn't have an I.C. or Mod. tube that I could use for plinking at some skeet.

I also ordered a Mad Max (.690) and a Mad Max II (.680) from Cabela's to try. One was a $30 tube. The other is a $65 tube (I think) but it was on sale for $25. Both of the tubes have 1 1/2" of parallel constriction, so I thought I would give them a try. I don't think I can use Hevi-Shot with either of the Mad Max tubes, but I'm going to give a number of the Winchester loads a try through them.

I'll let you guys know how it all turns out.

Thanks!
Mark

[Blue-Dot-37.5]

Pocampo, I've got a Model 12 here (12 ga) that has a .800" I.D. bore......... ;D

Blue-Dot-37.5

[MountainMan]

pocampo said:

... I can't tell the difference in recoil with a ported/non ported choke tube as the 835 already has a ported barrel. ...

Pocampo is right, there is no recoil reduction from a turkey choke tube.

The porting on choke tubes is NOT for the purpose of recoil reduction. In fact, the ports are directed in the in the opposite direction than they would be for recoil reduction. The reason for the ports in a turkey tube is to improve the shot cup's separation from the column of shot.

[ozark]

I need enlightened on the meaning of parallel constriction. I am thinking perhaps that after the choke reaches the maximum diameter reduction that there is then an inch or more of area that is of equal diameter. Until this question entered my senile grey matter I thought of chokeing as being crimped or a gradual taper. I am not questioning anything here. Just attempting to get the ducks all in line.

[Blue-Dot-37.5]

Ozark:

Your thinking is correct. The general thought is that if the parallel isn't there, then after the shot leaves the bore it still wants to bounce off of one another if the taper is constant and not parallel. The parallel is thought to stabalized the bouncing of the pellets, which then helps keep the pattern denser.

Blue-Dot-37.5

[HighTeckRedneck]

mountainman said:

The porting on choke tubes is NOT for the purpose of recoil reduction. In fact, the ports are directed in the in the opposite direction than they would be for recoil reduction.

Both ported choke tubes that I own have the ports angling from muzzle inside the barrel to breach outside the barrel. This is the proper direction for recoin reduction, however I think the ports are too close to the muzzle to do anything except the ear bleeder action that ported barels tend to cause.

[thelefthand]

Well, I have some results to report on. My first trip out I took some 3" loads out. I took some Remington Nitro (lead) #4, and #5s, some Winchester Supreme (Lead) #4 and #5s, and also a box of the Winchester Extended range (Tungsten) #5s. I spent a lot of the time getting the sights somewhere close, so I only tried the tube that came with the gun (.695 extended Mossberg turkey tube). The Tungsten did noticeably better than the others. I did not get a pellet count on any of them because I was shooting at 18" square paper and since I was adjusting my sights, the patters were not on the paper well enough to count them.

Next I ordered some 3 1/2" Hevi 13 #5 shot a few weeks back, and have gone out the past two weekends to do some limited tests. The first outing I took along a 0.715 Extra full choke (flush mount with around 1" of parallel constriction), the 0.695 extended Mossberg turkey tube that likely came with the gun (also 1" parallel constriction), a ported Mad Max .690 (1.5" parallel constriction), and a non ported Mad Max .680 (1.5" parallel constriction) choke tube.

The range was pretty busy, so having to call a cease fire between shots to go set up a new target took quite a bit of time. I was only able to shoot 1 round out of each tube, but I figured it would give me some rough ideas. I cleaned the barrel after every shot. The .680 Mad Max gave the best results with 128 pellets in a 12" circle at 38 yards. ALL of the others gave between 112 and 117 pellets in the 12" circle. From the looks of it the shell has around 210 #5 pellets.

Both Mad Max tubes had very heavy machining marks still in them. Since the .680 tube gave the best results I decided to work with it a little more. I had read that you want the tube to have a smooth finish because a rough finish will cause irregularities in your pattern. So I took the .680 tube and polished it to a 400 grit finish.

I went back out the next weekend, to shoot a few rounds though that tube. The good news is that the pattern was more even. The bad news is that the pellet count was back down to 117 pellets in a 12" circle.

I also noticed that the very first shot seems to produce a slightly tighter cluster towards the center of the pattern, but successive shots after that the pattern becomes more uniform. The barrel/choke tube is cleaned (brushed and wiped clean, no residue left behind) after every shot.

117 pellets out of approx 210 at 38 yards doesn't sound very good to me. Every one I've heard from has bragged about 80% of the pellets in a 12" circle at 40 yards. I'm only getting a little over 55% Is 80% considered extraordinary, or just really good? Is 55% terrible or average? Should I be expecting better results out of my set up, or is this what most folks are getting?

I have no doubt that I could down a tom with this set up at 40 yards. I haven't patterned the gun at 50 yards, but with what I've seen so far I don't feel comfortable going much past 40.

Any one have any feedback???

Thanks,
Mark

[IndianaHunter]

Mad Max Hevi-Shot with Hevi-Shot 13 #6's

www.midwestturkeycall.com/detail.asp?pid=MD1018&cc=T&dn=1&link=

[ma]

How would you like to achieve pellet counts of 250 or better in 10" @ 40yds. It can be done!

Go here and read all.

I know some of the claims seem exagerated, but I have tested quite a bit and he really knows what he is doing.

www.nitrocompany.com/pattern.htm#recommended%20shells

[ma]

More Nitro Ammo reading with pics.

www.jesseshunting.com/articles/hunting/category14/11.html