ESP Rule Question

OK, Firstly the clue is in my user name, I don't shoot much sporting  Are you allowed to change chokes between stands? Not mega twiddling but I normally shoot ESP with SKT or 14 max but think Sundays shoot may have some harder further out birds than i'm used to so would like the option as i only have a single barrel.  When I had an OU i used to use SKT & 14 or SKT & 38. Cheers, Jon.

Yep you can fiddle with your chokes as much as you like between stands but once you are in the cage you are locked in. Obviously be ready to shoot when you are called, nothing worse than a shooters name being called and they have chokes and key flying everywhere /wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif

Fuzrat said:

Yep you can fiddle with your chokes as much as you like between stands but once you are in the cage you are locked in. Obviously be ready to shoot when you are called, nothing worse than a shooters name being called and they have chokes and key flying everywhere /wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif

Click to expand...

Cheers  Mine are extended Brileys so no messing about with a key  Jon.

Jon, My suggestion is that when you get to the shoot put a 1/2 choke in your semiauto and leave the rest of the chokes in your car.Now you can't blame your choice of choke if you have a bad stand.It is all too easy to worry more about what choke to use on each stand than it is to read the birds while waiting your turn.If you are not confident enough to use a 1/2 choke then stick with a 1/4,it'll do for most birds. Vic.

Yep, agree 100% with Vic, 1/2 or even better a 3/8 all the way round. then you can concentrate on your shooting and more importantly the next round of wee extracting/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif

We set the course today and I promise there is nothing any further away than 50 metres - and that's showing all the clay, not edge-on.We use plaswad cartridges so I would suggest that 1/4 choke is enough, it will break anything at Wylye on Sunday. You have to put it in the right place though!

I still hope to be there but had accident today on my ankle,see how it is tommorow and let you all know!/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-yell.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-yell.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-yell.gif thing i'll miss most is the wylie breakfast/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif

Oooooh!.....accident with your ankle you say optima ?I'll bet your well choked mate./wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-wink.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif It's an all day breakfast./wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-wink.gif..........It'll take ya all day to eat it./wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif

Thanks All, 14 it is  Cheers, Jon.

I'd go with Vic & Fuz too Jon -- when I shot my auto last winter I put a half choke in because it was a Briley Splash choke ( a gift from my mate in Briley US) normally I would be a choke changer from cyl - 1/4 - 3/8 but never a 1/2 - I didn't bring any other chokes with me and at the first shoot I was at usin the 1/2 I won money in B and even today again for the first time shootin my auto since i got my Perazzi in June I shot my auto with a half choke and I never changed and I was joint 2nd in B -- by not changin chokes it takes away on more thing to have to think about, a 1/2 choke will break any clay at 98% of shoots, if you're a bit low on confidence stick in a 1/4 until you get your mo jo back, since I've learnt this lesson and even when I'm shootin my new Perazzi which I had 8 chokes ordered for it all I use is either 3/8 & 1/2  OR 1/2 & 1/2, I used to think I needed to open up for close stuff and tighten for longer stuff -- try a 1/2 choke even at skeet and I bet you'll make a few clouds of smoke /wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-wink.gif my first time shootin the P at skeet in comp I shot 49/50 with a 1/2 in.  Nige

yeah its funny, my best round of skeet (a 24) i was shooting a 32 inch browning with 3/8 and 1/2 chokes and 7.5 shot, couldnt be bothered to change after a round of Down The Lavatory /wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif Heard of skeet shooters practicing with full and full, if you can do it with those skt & skt in comps seems a walk in the park I suppose. Fuzrat

Well said nige. 1/2 on skeet will cost little but confidence wise improve you no end. My sporting scores have plummeted last few weeks as I've felt a bit off so "opened" up my chokes trying to give myself a hand. Fed up now so 35 thou back in both tubes tommo, see how we go! Worked well today after coaching at Orston

A good,eye opening,exercise I have indulged in while pondering on choke sizes is this.By the way this is much easier with an auto as you only have one barrel to find chokes for!Shoot four rounds of skeet but shoot each round with a different choke but use the same cartridges.Start with cylinder choke then skeet (5 thou of choke) then 1/4 followed by 1/2.If you don't have a cylinder choke then shoot two rounds with 1/2.I don't shoot skeet very often so I don't know the niceties of the discipline,I call it close sporting.I find that my score is usually about  22 for each round no matter what choke I use.The point of the exercise is to give you confidence in shooting close targets with a tight choke which is why I now reckon that 1/2 choke is probably the best choice for sporting clays. Vic.

Fuzrat said:

yeah its funny, my best round of skeet (a 24) i was shooting a 32 inch browning with 3/8 and 1/2 chokes and 7.5 shot, couldnt be bothered to change after a round of Down The Lavatory /wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif Heard of skeet shooters practicing with full and full, if you can do it with those skt & skt in comps seems a walk in the park I suppose. Fuzrat

Click to expand...

Mmmmmm I doubt it makes much difference what we are talking?? Inches here CM's???? Then again I guess every MM counts in your case!! /wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif There was a rabbit clay thrown at about 10 yards away on a  Fitasc shoot in holland do you really think skeet chokes are going to help! I guess at that distance no matter what choke the pattern is no bigger than the clay! I wouldn't trade my 3/4 anf Full for anything no matter how bad a day I was having! Oh and ferret, 24 at Skeet when was that?? The dream you had the other night mate! ha ha ha ha ha!!! Oh dont tell me out of 50!! /wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif Glen.

That would be when I won C class allround at northampton /wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-cool.gif/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-laugh.gif my 1 and only brown envelope! so far? Probably, cos I got shoved up into B after that/wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-cry.gif Fuzrat

., I stuck 14 in and left it in, shot 56 but the misses were down to everything but the choke.  I really need to shoot more sporting and have some lessons I think  I remember shooting a registered ESK with Tony May last year who was shooting FullFull with a 30mm home made rib, his score... 98!!! nuff said I sometimes shoot in practice with 12 and there are no chippy kills Jon.

Hi Jon,No major choke was needed today. 1/4 was probably perfect; assuming you had a reasonable cartridge. Remember cartridge choice makes as much difference as choke. Classy shells pattern tighter usually. Sporting is inherently a long learning curve due to the huge variety of targets. You will need patience with it! You probably struggled with the long lead targets today? That just takes practice and belief of picture. Glad you enjoyed it.CheersCsc3

The really interesting thing about the subject of chokes is that those whose opinion really matters (not being rude, just factual) always go tight. /wp-content/forum-smileys/sf-smile.gif I really would like a £ for every time I`ve heard 1/4 breaks everything, yet the top shooters who afterall would have no trouble placing that kind of pattern on anything at any distance, simply don`t believe the same. I recall watching Mark Marshall shoot a very long and high incomer at Weston Wood a couple of years ago with what transpired later to be LM and unsurprisingly (to me anyway) he missed a couple on that stand. I personally wouldn`t have shot those with less than 3/4. When later on I had a chat with him he told me he was testing out some chokes and was amazed at some of the breaks he was getting with that choke which is a little over 1/4. That too isn`t surprising as LM is damn close to half and can mince average targets, particularly fast edge on stuff. He did admit though that he felt for everyday sporting you really need at least 1/2 or more, just like all the other really good shooters.