Choke Choice

I currently only shoot skeet with two skeet guns fixed choked at SK/SK & CYL/CYL, noticing no real difference between either. I want to start Sporting and Trap and watched a very interesting video by Ben Husthwaite on choke selection, he ended by saying 1/2 & 1/2 were the best choice for everything. I would appreciate members opinions as I thought for Trap 1/4 & 1/2 or 1/2 & 3/4 would be better as targets are always moving away, also what is most used for Sporting? Finally will opinions change with steel shot?

For trap most popular is 1/2 and 3/4 for dtl I believe, although 1/4 would probably be fine for first barrel as well.

Sporting 3/8 3/8 is very common indeed.

For sporting I use mostly 1/4 and 3/8 and then if it’s a long target may put in 1/2.  It’s what you feel confident with more than anything.   I could never hit the “close” stuff and would put in skeet for them but now my confidence has grown with these type of targets I only change if it’s a long one.

GeordieTrapper said:

I currently only shoot skeet with two skeet guns fixed choked at SK/SK & CYL/CYL, noticing no real difference between either. I want to start Sporting and Trap and watched a very interesting video by Ben Husthwaite on choke selection, he ended by saying 1/2 & 1/2 were the best choice for everything. I would appreciate members opinions as I thought for Trap 1/4 & 1/2 or 1/2 & 3/4 would be better as targets are always moving away, also what is most used for Sporting? Finally will opinions change with steel shot?

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personal preference really ,  but 3/8 3/8 for sporting  1/2 3/4 for dtl trap targets ,  cartridges make a big difference also    !!   experiment what's best for you ! 

GeordieTrapper said:

I currently only shoot skeet with two skeet guns fixed choked at SK/SK & CYL/CYL, noticing no real difference between either. I want to start Sporting and Trap and watched a very interesting video by Ben Husthwaite on choke selection, he ended by saying 1/2 & 1/2 were the best choice for everything. I would appreciate members opinions as I thought for Trap 1/4 & 1/2 or 1/2 & 3/4 would be better as targets are always moving away, also what is most used for Sporting? Finally will opinions change with steel shot?

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It depends to a large degree on your gun and cartridge combination but as a guide for DTL, 1/2 and 5/8 is ideal. For fast trap 5/8 and 3/4. For OT maybe a little tighter. For skeet, cylinder or skeet is fine.

Don’t get worked up over it. It really doesn’t matter too much. More nonsense is talked about choke than just about anything else.

I only shoot Sporting and for me it's 1/2 & 1/2. Totally fine for the longer stuff (as you'd expect) and I've broken plenty of clays at the end of my barrels too.

My two bits of advice would be:

1. Whatever choke set up you settle on, weld them in and forget about it!
   
2. I think cartridge type (shot size, velocity, etc) makes a bigger initial difference than choke changing so perhaps try that before reaching for the choke key.
   

Happy shooting.

I shoot sporting and use 1/4 and 1/2. I use the barrel selector to use 1/2 on longer targets where I think it worth it and am amazed at what ranges 1/2 can hit consistently with the right cartridges.

I have been known to fiddle in the past, swapping 1/2 for skeet when the targets are close and (more likely) swapping the 1/4 for 1/2 for long pairs but don't like the added stress of changing chokes while waiting to shoot.

I suppose the moral of this story is that if to want to be able to hit anything you are likely to encounter in sporting use 1/2 and 1/2 but my use of 1/4 is a nod to the fact that most targets are well within the range of a 1/4 choke and many even skeet

BTW yes opinions will change with steel shot, not that I have any experience with it. There are plenty of articles about steel shot online so maybe do your own research here. Steel shot patterns tighter than lead shot and the maximum recommended amount of choke is half. If you are buying a new gun, be sure it is proofed for steel shot, i.e. it should have a fleur de lys proof mark.

Thanks for all your replies, it seems 1/2 & 1/2 is about right for Sporting and 3/8 & 1/2 for club DTL. However speed is mentioned as are cartidge loads, I will use 24gm with 7.5 shot but speed seems irrelevant, at 60 feet the difference between 1350 and 1550 fps is 0.01 sec. Surely no one would notice that difference

Martinj said:

BTW yes opinions will change with steel shot, not that I have any experience with it. There are plenty of articles about steel shot online so maybe do your own research here. Steel shot patterns tighter than lead shot and the maximum recommended amount of choke is half. If you are buying a new gun, be sure it is proofed for steel shot, i.e. it should have a fleur de lys proof mark.

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some time ago i shot the orston steel challenge  so 3/8 3/8 and gamebore super steel   86/100    no complaints on kills  or recoil      the only moan was cost of shells !!    

Martinj said:

BTW yes opinions will change with steel shot, not that I have any experience with it. There are plenty of articles about steel shot online so maybe do your own research here. Steel shot patterns tighter than lead shot and the maximum recommended amount of choke is half. If you are buying a new gun, be sure it is proofed for steel shot, i.e. it should have a fleur de lys proof mark.

Click to expand...

For sporting and steel shot 1/4- 1/4 is very common. So with lead 1/2-1/2 is fine in my opinion. Dedicated trap guns often use fixed chokes 3/4 and full, but that just makes

sense with olympic trap in my opinion.

I use 1/2 and 1/2 but, on my fixed choke gun it was 1/4 and 3/4 which is a nice combination , I tend to vary carts more than chokes , so I carry 7.5’s and 9’s