Extended Chokes

[MtnCreek]

I'm wanting to get some extended chokes for an O/U.

The gun uses optima hp tubes. Main use will be sporting, but also some skeet and trap. The plan is to change chokes for a course or type of clay game, not swapping chokes at stations.

Carlson's. Good price. Has a LM available.
Beretta. Not terrible expensive. No LM option.
Briley. Priced similar to Beretta. Seems to be a well respected name.
Muller. A little more expensive. Nonstandard constrictions. I'm not sure how their claims hold up.

Thoughts on these or others? Thanks.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

I have Carlson tubes for my SX3 and they pattern very well. Huge improvement over the factory tubes.

 

[kudu]

Carlson tubes are very good quality as well as Briley tubes and products. Can't go wrong with either of these choices. Beretta makes good tubes also, I have had no experience with Muller.

 

[627PCFan]

Carlson. Briley and trulock are all solid choices. Trulock patterned best in both of my benellis and isn’t “bling”.

 

[George P]

I prefer Trulock and Briley; both have been excellent in my Brownings, Berettas, SKBs. For sporting clays, I prefer to use a LM and a Mod.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I have Brileys or Browning labeled Brileys for my Browning O/U guns. I have a Beretta that takes Optima chokes. I have about 5 factory chokes and one Briley that I don't think I have used.....No problems or complaints with any of them.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Have you patterned your current chokes?

 

[nortwoods1]

ive always had great luck with carlson chokes. turned some very terrible patterning shotguns of mine into great shooters.

 

[cdb1]

I have extended chokes for all of my shotguns with the exception of my FABARM L4S. They are either Carlson’s or Trulock. The determining factor of which brand I buy is strictly based on who has the best price at the time and availability. Quality wise I believe they are the same. Both companies are family owned and a pleasure to deal with. I use extended chokes for the convenience of being able to see what choke is installed at a glance and protection for the crown of the barrel. I don’t believe extended chokes pattern better than flush chokes with the possible exception of large size steel shot.

Winchester and Browning factory chokes have a reputation for inferior quality that I feel is deserved.

Another reason I have aftermarket chokes is I use LM most of the time and most if not all shotguns do not come with light modified chokes from the factory.

I pattern my shotguns. I don’t enjoy it, actually I can’t stand it but feel it is necessary.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Winchester and Browning factory chokes have a reputation for inferior quality that I feel is deserved.

I don't guess I have heard that before. What is said to be inferior?

All the Winchester and Browning chokes I have seen were made by Briley.

 

[DocRock]

All the brands mentioned are good chokes. Briley are absolutely reliable.

You have the right mindset. Choke changers are a pet peeve. Unless shooting sporting out to 65+ yards, or long line trap, choking IC/M will suit you all the time. IC and LM are pretty much same-same but LM can be too tight for skeet whereas IC/SK works fine. SK, IC, M, IM will cover 96% of all needs (admittedly, ooinuin, not fact).

 

[cdb1]

I don't guess I have heard that before. What is said to be inferior?

All the Winchester and Browning chokes I have seen were made by Briley.

I’m talking OEM Invector and Invector Plus chokes that are in the box when you buy a Winchester or Browning. They are definitely not made by Briley. The constrictions are all over the board. You can take ten Invector Plus chokes marked IC. If they are measured the actual constrictions can and frequently do measure anything from Cylinder to Full. My understanding is they come from the lowest bidder and that can change from year to year. I don’t have any experience with Invector DS chokes. They might be made by Briley but I doubt it because I’ve heard from reputable sources that they aren’t the greatest quality. If Briley does make them I’m sure they wouldn’t own up to it.

Briley makes top notch products. The reason I don’t use their chokes is because I believe Trulock and Carlson’s are as good but cost considerably less.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I guess I don't have any of the chokes that came with my Brownings new.

As far as Briley prices go, I have bought 2 or 3 extended Invector Plus chokes this year. I got lucky each time and found them for under 40 bucks shipped.

 

[cdb1]

That’s a good price.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Optics Planets was one source. I bought a set of Browning Midas grade Invector Plus for about 75 bucks shipped

 

[Odd Job]

I have only one extended choke, and it is a Briley. Seems to be well made:



These are for my Bora Arms BR99 shotgun, which uses Browning Invector chokes. The brown choke is one of three that came with the gun. The other two are Brileys.

 

[MtnCreek]

Have you patterned your current chokes?

No sir. Current chokes are breaking clays about like I'd expect, actually a little better. IC in this gun seems to break clays harder than IC in a different gun with mobil chokes. Just speculation based on seeing a lot of breaks.

I'm wanting to get extended chokes for this gun even though the current ones seem to work well. Reasoning is it's my son's gun and I think it will be easier for him to keep them hand snugged during a course. That and all the cool kids have them. LOL

 

[rdnktrkr]

I like that with extended chokes it is easier to install/remove than flush chokes, I have several extended chokes some ported that are knurled so you can use your hands instead of a wrench/quarter.
I have several Carlson and Truelock chokes that I've picked up most are the mossberg-winchester-browning-nef pardner and the factory ones all seem to patern as labeled. One of my favorite chokes for the NEF pardner pump was one that came from ebay and had a "film" inside it that I honed lightly and soaked in warm oil before using it.

 

[George P]

All the brands mentioned are good chokes. Briley are absolutely reliable.

You have the right mindset. Choke changers are a pet peeve. Unless shooting sporting out to 65+ yards, or long line trap, choking IC/M will suit you all the time. IC and LM are pretty much same-same but LM can be too tight for skeet whereas IC/SK works fine. SK, IC, M, IM will cover 96% of all needs (admittedly, ooinuin, not fact).

IMO, LM or M will cover 95% of everything. When I shot my gas gun, I carried three chokes: SK, LM, LF for sporting clays. I found, on average, that on a 14 station course, the LM would work for 11-12 of the stations and the SK for 1-2 and the LF for 1. LM (.015) in a 12 is a great all around, especially if you have to compromise. As you gain more confidence and want to get away from the "spray and pray" mentality, you will find yourself choking up tighter to M or IM and leaving them alone.

 

[cdb1]

Optics Planets was one source. I bought a set of Browning Midas grade Invector Plus for about 75 bucks shipped

Optics Planet has a good selection and good prices. I will not purchase anything from Cheaper than Dirt and try not to from Optics Planet, but for different reasons. I try not to buy from Optics Planet because of the large number of items they show as being in stock when they aren’t. You purchase the item and the next day receive an Email saying the item is on back order. This has happened to me with them way too many times.

 

[Wis-Harpo]

I think I saw a LM extended choke on the Beretta site. The only thing is that it is black ( blued) and not the ones with the colored ends. I use LM over IC when hunting pheasants in my home state of Wisconsin. I retired in South Carolina so it is a 14+ hour drive to hunt. Before I got my Beretta Silver Pigeon Sporting, I used LM in both my 12 and 20 gauge Rem 1100's. A week after I got my Beretta, I ordered a LM from their site. I got the flush choke because I didn't want to have just 1 extended choke, and was too tight to buy 2 extended chokes. After buying the Beretta, and paying for the trip, I passed on buying 2 chokes costing $59 each. For Sporting Clays I use IC over CL. I am about to shoot LM over IC. I can always buy some extended chokes next year.

 

[Virginian]

I have tested choke tubes from Beretta, Briley, Carlsons, Trulock, Browning, Winchester, Remington, Colonial, Mossberg, and possibly some others, extended and flush. I will admit that most of the tests did not employ 10 shots, as I got older and more easily bored I went to 5 and even 3 shot comparisons. I did not see a significant difference in downrange performance due to anything other than choke constriction versus bore.
I did see a difference in actual versus nominal constriction. I have yet to check a Briley, Carlsons, Trulock, Remington, or Colonial choke tube that was not within +/- 0.001" of nominal. I have seen some others as much as 0.004" off.
I saw quite a bit of difference in internal finish, even within brands, and while this did impact cleaning, it did not impact pattern performance in my tests. It also made me much less concerned with having them spotless. I attribute this to shot cups, but I could be wrong.

 

[George P]

I think I saw a LM extended choke on the Beretta site. The only thing is that it is black ( blued) and not the ones with the colored ends. I use LM over IC when hunting pheasants in my home state of Wisconsin. I retired in South Carolina so it is a 14+ hour drive to hunt. Before I got my Beretta Silver Pigeon Sporting, I used LM in both my 12 and 20 gauge Rem 1100's. A week after I got my Beretta, I ordered a LM from their site. I got the flush choke because I didn't want to have just 1 extended choke, and was too tight to buy 2 extended chokes. After buying the Beretta, and paying for the trip, I passed on buying 2 chokes costing $59 each. For Sporting Clays I use IC over CL. I am about to shoot LM over IC. I can always buy some extended chokes next year.

You have some nice quail hunting in SC, (as well as in GA and FL)

 

[Wis-Harpo]

When I lived in Ga from 1991 till 2005 I used to quail hunt. The WMA at West Point Lake had a few coveys from 1991 till about 1999. Then they disappeared when the area was managed for deer . From what I hear, if you want quail in Ga or SC, you pay to hunt on plantations. They talk about turkey in SC, but I have seen many more in Wisconsin than in SC. That is why I shoot Sporting Clays, Trap and Skeet at the range I belong to. I like to hunt, but there has to be something to hunt.

 

[MtnCreek]

When I lived in Ga from 1991 till 2005 I used to quail hunt. The WMA at West Point Lake had a few coveys from 1991 till about 1999. Then they disappeared when the area was managed for deer . From what I hear, if you want quail in Ga or SC, you pay to hunt on plantations. They talk about turkey in SC, but I have seen many more in Wisconsin than in SC. That is why I shoot Sporting Clays, Trap and Skeet at the range I belong to. I like to hunt, but there has to be something to hunt.

Most quail hunting is for flight pen raised birds. Some fly better than others.

There's still wild birds around. Most are on power lines, old pastures that haven't been used in several years and some on less maintained pastures. The largest covey I've seen was at least 30+ birds, probably closer to 50, in a fescue hay field near cartersville.