Well, there are many reasons why chokes matter.
While it does matter what distance you're shooting, it also matters what shot size you're using.
Here shows how changing the choke will affect performance.
These patterns were each shot with the same barrel, shells from the same box of Remington STS, and everything else being as equal as possible. Each were aimed directly at the bullseye.
Though while it's possible that once you know how your gun patterns, you can move your point of aim accordingly to get more pellets at the point of aim, but that was not my intention for this little test. All shots were aimed at the bullseye to show how a choke will change how a shotgun performs.
Full choke (or extra full chokes) will usually hold the tightest patterns, and offering the longest ranges. Consequently, cylinder or "open" chokes will typically spread out farther/faster and are better for very short ranges.
Here are the specific chokes that I used for this test.
.682 full choke
692 improved modified
702 modified
713 improved cylinder
723 skeet/cylinder
And here are the results.
.682 Full choke--59 pellets- the overall pattern was the tightest, but note that the pattern was mostly a little left of aim
.692 Improved Modified-- 12 pellets.
*I'm certain I didn't pull the trigger on this one, but the pattern is very low on the paper. And this is why you pattern a gun and don't just expect that it's going to work just because you think it should.
.702" Modified choke--60 pellets--note the pattern is evenly distributed over the entire target. For skeet or hunting, this is the choke I would feel most confident using because it gave a good pattern at the point of aim and a lot of pellets within the bullseye.
.713 Improved Cylinder--18 pellets
.723 Open/Cylinder choke--19 pellets
While it does matter what distance you're shooting, it also matters what shot size you're using.
Here shows how changing the choke will affect performance.
These patterns were each shot with the same barrel, shells from the same box of Remington STS, and everything else being as equal as possible. Each were aimed directly at the bullseye.
Though while it's possible that once you know how your gun patterns, you can move your point of aim accordingly to get more pellets at the point of aim, but that was not my intention for this little test. All shots were aimed at the bullseye to show how a choke will change how a shotgun performs.
Full choke (or extra full chokes) will usually hold the tightest patterns, and offering the longest ranges. Consequently, cylinder or "open" chokes will typically spread out farther/faster and are better for very short ranges.
Here are the specific chokes that I used for this test.
.682 full choke
692 improved modified
702 modified
713 improved cylinder
723 skeet/cylinder
And here are the results.
.682 Full choke--59 pellets- the overall pattern was the tightest, but note that the pattern was mostly a little left of aim
.692 Improved Modified-- 12 pellets.
*I'm certain I didn't pull the trigger on this one, but the pattern is very low on the paper. And this is why you pattern a gun and don't just expect that it's going to work just because you think it should.
.702" Modified choke--60 pellets--note the pattern is evenly distributed over the entire target. For skeet or hunting, this is the choke I would feel most confident using because it gave a good pattern at the point of aim and a lot of pellets within the bullseye.
.713 Improved Cylinder--18 pellets
.723 Open/Cylinder choke--19 pellets