open chokes

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johnny  if that's the case then briley  are poor engineers  , measurement  is precise  end of ,  dose this mean  briley do not calibrate choke size to nominal bore size .

 
James I've no idea where in the UK you'd use extra full for but they are available so I presume there's a use for them, maybe the likes of Dubai or the US.

I'd compare it to a set of screwdrivers, yes you can turn a wood screw with a little electric screwdriver but you'd a lot better off using the right one. Yes you can break skeet with full, but you're better off with skeet/cylinder, don't need to be a shooting god to work that out just plain simple logic.
People buy snake oil if some tw*t says they need it...

 
johnny if that's the case then briley are poor engineers , measurement is precise end of , dose this mean briley do not calibrate choke size to nominal bore size .
I'm not sure why there is a difference, but all of them were 1/4 constriction tighter than they should have been. I only checked the output end not the input end for diameter. Very crudely admittedly, got a piece of 18mm dowel and wrapped it in insulation tape untill it was a snug fit in a normal half, wouldn't go in a briley at all, but would just go in a 1/4 briley and very snug. So I now have IC and IC in my sporter of Brileys, 1/2 and 1/2 in normal invector plus in my game gun. Must admit I wasn't't best impressed when I found out.

I'm not

 
Briley and Browning have a different interpretation on what chokes should be.

The standard Browning invector plus are on the open side compared to other manufacturers, on a Beretta optibore for instance the difference between Briley and standard would be less than the Browning.

Briley are manufactured to a standard constriction so 1/2 (modified) is 0.020" of the bore regardless of how it patterns where as Browning for the invector plus go on pattern percentage in a circle at a set distance. So for Browning modified would be x amount of pellets in a circle at a set distance and call that 1/2 modified regardless of the bore size and constriction.

Who is correct is open to debate.

Change shells and the pattern percentage changes so probably Briley's way of doing it is better for an aftermarket manufacturer as at least you know what you are getting regardless of shell used.

 
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I suspect that Briley, well know for product hype, makes the things a bit tighter in case anyone patterns them and then says - OMG these things pattern super for a XX choke!!!

just a guess

anyway, what shows on the board is what counts, not the # on the tube

 
I suspect that the general shooting world over play the need for the "right" choke . I have a gun choked half and full for OT and UT when everybody knows that it should be 3/4 and full for "fast trap"...... strangely I still continue to vaporise targets with the first barrel but that is just because I am shooting in the right place nothing to do with the gun or the chokes... think how much better I would do with the correct choking! I am convinced the same applies to other shooting disciplines. 

 
It is just about maximising odds, if you shoot skeet at every distance then the chances of a clay slipping through the pattern is there but minimal. How many would it cost you over a 100 clays, some days none, some days maybe 1 or 2 max who knows.

Like wise If you shoot tighter chokes how many times have you just taken a very small chip off a clay, use a tighter choke and that chip might have been a miss. Again how many would this cost you over 100 clays, the same I guess.

So correct choke selection might gain you nothing or might get you one or two over 100 clays who can say but I doubt it would be more than 1or 2 on a 100 clays.

I guess the argument for tighter chokes is that you are in control of that miss as you cannot control gaps in patterns and can read the breaks better at distance.

I stick with 3/8 3/8 or 1/2 1/2 mood dependent, I never feel the need to go any tighter however on some rabbits or low driven I open up as I can shoot in front of rabbits or go slightly off line on low driven.

It has gained me the odd clay over the years but no more than that and as everyone has said if I was centring or miles off it would not matter regards choke, but I am not that good and do make the odd little mistake at close range that the change in choke can accommodate.

The rest of the clays get what is in my gun 3/8 or 1/2 regardles of distance.

 
I change my chokes a lot less than I used to. I try to leave in half/half in my Kemen mainly as I've no barrel selector and I'm shooting sportrap/FITASC/Compaq so I need to feel that I can kill any target with those chokes. However in English sporting, if it's close driven or a close rabbit I want an open choke because I believe it makes me more likely to hit them. I'm surprised how often I'll straight the target when a much better shot in the squad (who didn't change chokes) drops one or 2 of the close ones. In the end it probably doesn't make a big difference to my score but a single miss can mean the difference between winning and losing for the guys at the top. Maybe the only advantage is mental but I tend to think the only reason I can beat a AA shooter on a stand like that is their pattern is too tight

 
Regardless of choke or cartridge a shotgun throws a different pattern every single time, for years the object of gun makers was to keep shot together as long as possible, with modern cartridges been as good as they are choke is not as important as it used to be, going up a tighter choke will not affect your scores either will opening up a choke, choke changes pattern by inches i miss in feet, if I shoot a round and I'm breaking a lot of clays with the fringe of my pattern you can be sure I'm not putting in a good score that day regardless of choke used, shotgun chokes are a cash cow for the manufacturers, I shoot tight but if I open up nothing changes iv seen guys shooting skeet chokes get better breaks than me on certain bird cause they were on them, most won't agree with me but I don't care I'll never worry about choke again and I'd advise every one else to do like wise

 
I agree with that about 90%. I think we all know that a bigger pattern on close stuff must offer you greater chance of hitting the clay, but by the time you factor in any mental factors it's likely negligible.

 
When you start off 1/4 & 1/2, when you're good 1/2 & 3/4, the best tend to use 3/4 & Full, see the pattern ?

 
My scores have certainly improved since I moved up from tight 1/4 Muller U2's, to a pair of tight 1/2 U3's. 

Personal best today at JJ's 86 ex 96 (yeah I know, its 12 targets per stand), took B class.

I like knowing that it isn't going to be a gap in the pattern, that makes me miss anything long-ish or edge-ish and the feedback I get when I take an edge off.

Rightly or wrongly, I don't change chokes for anything...even if it rolls over my toes.  I made the decision to "be brave" and have confidence in the tighter chokes.

 
I just switch to a 'tighter' cartridge and leave the chokes alone. Shooting at various grounds at 100 birders, I am still on the same 250 case of World Cups that I bought 5 years ago, so all of my shooting done with Hull Superfats at not too many rangey targets. The last World Cups shot were on one stand, at West Mids in March.

 
so to conclude , most shooters recommend  quarter    half   and tell you how great it is ,  but in reality  don't shoot that combination themselves ,  ok  sorted , err   mmmmm.

 
Yes and no. A lot of very good shots shoot tight because they will be putting it in the right place, not because it makes them put it in the right place.

I shoot a pair of tight 3/4 at pretty much everything, but I wouldn't recommend a guy in say C B or even A class to do it, as they will not be technically competent enough to get the results from it.

 
I've just got another pair of Briley chokes to check, this time a Cylinder and another Skeet.  These are the results of my micrometer checks of the internal choke diameters. These chokes are S2 for an 18.7mm barrel (.736") or as Briley USA call it .735" and a manufacturing tolerance of +/- .001".

Cylinder - .735" - correct.

Skeet - .735" - incorrect too open, should be .730".

Skeet - .727" - incorrect too tight, should be .730"

Improved Cylinder - .718" - incorrect too tight should be .725"

According to Briley the chokes are mismarked!

I agree that what is stamped on the choke may have no relevance with the pattern actually thrown and that's cartridge dependent.  However, when you buy the choke based upon the constriction measurement rather than the name you at least expect that to be right. 

 
Yes, I have some Beretta ones where the guy marking them pulled them from the lucky dip bin! Utter rubbish.

 
I've just got another pair of Briley chokes to check, this time a Cylinder and another Skeet.  These are the results of my micrometer checks of the internal choke diameters. These chokes are S2 for an 18.7mm barrel (.736") or as Briley USA call it .735" and a manufacturing tolerance of +/- .001".

Cylinder - .735" - correct.

Skeet - .735" - incorrect too open, should be .730".

Skeet - .727" - incorrect too tight, should be .730"

Improved Cylinder - .718" - incorrect too tight should be .725"

According to Briley the chokes are mismarked!

I agree that what is stamped on the choke may have no relevance with the pattern actually thrown and that's cartridge dependent.  However, when you buy the choke based upon the constriction measurement rather than the name you at least expect that to be right. 
I told you so

 
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