Has anyone made the change over to a full choke? I am always using modified but it seems like a lot of times the birds are just a little our of range. Saturday is the last day of the season here in KY and I am going out for one last go. I am going to take both chokes just incase I don't like it but has anyone else had this issue? Is anyone using a full choke all the time?
I've really not had much of a problem with modified either and I shoot 1 OZ / 7.5's at 1315 fps which seems to do well. Not sure full would make a big enough difference for me to change,
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If you aim for nothing you'll hit it every time!!!
I am shooting 1 1/8oz 7 1/2 shot at 1200. I have spent this entire season trying different loads. I do wish I could find a 3" 8 shot though. It might just be the way I was shooting but I have had better days (might be luck) with the 8s.
If you find a load that works for you stick with that load and your confidence will grow. Once a guy has confidence in his ammo on what it will and will not due then he can really focus on the crow at hand at the time.
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To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
Well 8's got a few more to knock'm down, Confidence in your round goes a long way to... I'm not a big fan of the 1200 fps, I'll usually look for at least a 1275.. Partly because I'm normally shooting a Semi Auto and a little extra push helps.
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If you aim for nothing you'll hit it every time!!!
Never trust what a choke tube is marked or stamped. The only way to know what any choke is doing is to pattern it at 40 yds and count the pellets in a 30" circle. A lot of choke tubes pattern differently then they are marked. 3" shells are only going to beat you up with recoil for no good reason. Higher velocity opens patterns, if you want to shoot and kill things at extended ranges with a shotgun slow the velocity down and increase the weight of the pellets.
Never trust what a choke tube is marked or stamped........ NH said a mouth full in that statement, I have two modified chokes for both my Beretta's and they both pattern more like a full choke!
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To listen to this radio talk show go to episode 12, Bob Aronsohn
I use an over/under shotgun, so I put in a mod. for the first shot, and a full choke for the second shot. As far as loads go, I have been experimenting a little and I like 1 1/8 oz. of 6's going about 1250 fps. I like hitting the crows hard and hate to have to chase them around a field, or watch them glide to the other side of the field when they get hit in the chest. Another reason I use 6's is the crows are slightly educated on where I hide, so they don't fully commit and hang out there at about 35-50 yards and 6's seem to bring them down easier than 7 1/2's or 8's. I'm not saying you can't kill them at that distance with those shot sizes, but most of the time I just get feathers to fly off the crow at those distances and smaller shot sizes. Just my 2 cents.
For the majority of crow hunters modified choke will serve them well. It's a very good all around choke if the majority of your shots are between 25 to 45 yards. If you are a skilled shot gunner then go ahead and try the full choke.
This photo was taken after I shot a crow with my modified choke on my Beretta semi auto a number of years ago. That crow was between 20 to 30 feet from the muzzle when I shot it with a trap load of 7 1/2's. The first photo was one that Jerry Byroad shot with a trap load years back. The second photo is the one I shot and Dick Kilbane is holding it up for the photo.
When I first saw that photo i laughed. Now it tickles to look at it...the funniest crow photo i ever saw! I mean what the hell? How far away was it?
Looks like one of you shot at it with a cannon!
On chokes? I had this single shot one year 12 ga. and that did not seem to miss...all my shots are really close anyways. Long shots? Well...I'm no pro like Bob or NHcrowshooter...I'll take the close up shots...my best long range shot was years ago in a dried up crow area formerly had crows everywhere was with this old double barreled 12 gauge...damned if it wasn't a hundred yards out with high brass fours..one shot and down that educated crow came! I could not believe it. i wasn't specifically shooting crows with fours, I would go into a gun shop and buy whatever was on sale is how I did it but I wasn't shooting a hundred plus crows a day anyways...didn't know where to go for that!
My biggest problem is not sticking with one gun ..too many gun changes over the years..but i learned which guns work favorably for me however....many a time wish i had a ten to knock down old big mouth circling around up there ....but none the less, I probably will return to the guns I could hit with ...but I like reading all this on the forums...love them funny photographs and those weird crows people have shot out there across the country!
Good advise has been given, high and long birds are an agrivation to most of us on here. You might want to take a look at other things such as are you blinding up and blending in well, location of blind, a lot of things can get them wary and the biggie is Huntin pressure. Off the topic but something to think about. Good luck an let us know how you do.
I ended the season here in Arkansas with a Primos Jellyhead turkey choke. I folded several birds at 70+ yards with 2 3/4 #7.5s. Missed several too though. Birds were coming in high and wary.
I usually run a cylinder or skeet choke. Haven't had any issues getting them in close enough, but that's me. I have shot them out to 40 yards with those chokes but I run 7.5 or 8 shot (walmart cheap stuff) so I get plenty of pellets out there. When I first started hunting crows I used a turkey choke because I felt like I wasn't bringing them in close enough and I missed a lot of shots in the 30 yard range. Now I just pass up the long shots and shoot only about to 45 yards.
Just how I like them "low and slow"