Poly Choke

[GASCHECK]

Shooters:

Picked up a nice old Browning A5 with two barrels, one has a Poly-Choke on it.
Do they work to any degree? I don't see ads for them any more. Everything is choke tubes today. I don't mind it sitting on the end of the barrel looking ugly. :D
The other barrel is cut down to 18" has a few pits. Gun has been nicely re-blued. Must be pretty old, has the safety in the front of the trigger guard like th M1 rifle. Any idea of age? Thanks!
GASCHECK

[hogdogs]

I have only had one gun with one and it was a .410 bolt... I loved it... For a close in squirrel I cranked it out a bit to reduce meat damage and crank it in for them longer shots to tighten my pattern. May not be as good as replaceable chokes but was wayyyy faster to adjust.
Brent

[Dave McC]

The Polys are ugly, but do work well most of the time.

I'd not screw it down tight and shoot non tox or slug loads.

DO, as with any shotgun, pattern and see where it hits. Some of these were installed by Bubba and do not shoot to the right Zip Code.

[lipadj46]

I am getting one installed on a Savage A5 copy that some Bubba'd with a pipe cutter. I am going to have a polychoke permanently installed on the barrel to give is an overall length of 18.5" (bareel was cut down to 21" pretty crudely). Figure that will give me a really compact turkey and duck gun. The polychokes are a great thing but people say they are ugly because they don't match their jacket or something. Hunters are a funny bunch.

[Major Dave (retired)]

...are available, now. In other words, instead of permanently affixing a Poly Choke to your barrel, you can just screw it into the choke tube threads like any other choke tube.

So, if you are shooting in situations where you are in close proximity to your hunting buddies ( a duck blind with several people in it, for example), you don't want the Poly Choke with muzzle brake installed. That muzzle brake will deafen anyone to either side of you, because it produces a back blast of muzzle gases.

When hunting with others nearby, you can unscrew the Poly Choke, and install a fixed choke. You know all of your duck shooting requires a full choke, turkey requires super full, dove require improved cylinder, etc. But since pheasant, quail, etc., may flush near, or far, depending on a lot of factors, then Poly Choke can be instantly changed to whatever works on a given day.

[6x6pinz]

I use the polychoke II on my saiga 12 and 20. They work great for me. I like being able to adjust the pattern in the field depending on how the birds are flying. The poly choke II goes from extra full to extra open with just a few clicks.

[RetiredLawman]

All my guns have variable chokes or they don't live at my house. I can't abide screw-in tubes.

[lipadj46]

So, if you are shooting in situations where you are in close proximity to your hunting buddies ( a duck blind with several people in it, for example), you don't want the Poly Choke with muzzle brake installed. That muzzle brake will deafen anyone to either side of you, because it produces a back blast of muzzle gases.

They make a polychoke without a brake built in. This is the one I plan on getting. I don't need or want a break for my shotguns.

[RetiredLawman]

All mine are deluxe ventilated and I can't any difference in noise from the plain barrel. It is not nearly so loud as ported barrels.

[dakotashooter2]

They work. I think the biggest reason they never got a great foothold is because most guys found them but ugly. I had one installed on an 870 barrel in the mid "80s" and loved it for sneak hunting geese. I could instantly adjust the choke to the distance I was going to bust the birds. Can't count the number of times I snuck close and dropped 6 or 7 birds in a couple shot with the choke opened to cylinder bore. I don;t use that gun anymore but have considered having the barrel chopped to 18.5 and choke reinstalled for use as a SD gun.

[chucksolo69]

Anyone who would deface a fine shotgun with a Polychoke should be horsewhipped!!!!!

[RetiredLawman]

chucksolo69, You really don't mind sharing your reasons do you?

[twister69z]

I replaced mine with one with screw in tubes ... big mistake. Back to the poly now I can change on the run .

[crowbeaner]

I have a Poly Choke barrel for my A5; the only fault is that abominable block and bead on the front of the rib. I'm going to take it to the smith and have him remove the block, drill the rib, and install a smaller bead. The factory bead is so large it covers a turkey targets' head and I have no idea where to hold to make the pattern hit the target correctly. I love the ability to change choke with a simple twist of the wrist instead of foraging in my pocket or fanny pack for the choke wrench and tube(s). BTW it came that way when I bought it, and replacement barrels are through the roof on Gunbroker.

[chucksolo69]

Sorry I am so late in answering you. I have been otherwise engaged. The Auto 5 is probably the MOST classic auto loading shotgun there is. It is afterall JB's first autoloading design. I absolutely hate it when people take a classic gun and put some "modern" dodad on it and destroys the natural aesthetics of the gun. Case in point, I have a friend who has an actual .45 1911 that was carried by his father on Guadalcanal. It was willed to him after his father's death. My friend turned it into this beautiful gun into a monstrosity with beaver tail grip safety, ambidextrous safety and these god awful pearl grips and adjustable sights. When I asked him why he did this, he said he wanted a target gun. I promptly replied, why ruin a classic gun when you can get one of those off the shelf. He just shrugged.

[Sam06]

I put a Vented Poly choke on a Rem 1100 I use in 3 gun comp. I love it! When all the other guys are looking at the match to see what they should do I just give it a twist. Mt 1100 has a vent rib so the choke is not in my line of sight like on a plain barrel. For me the PC works great and it patterned very good with #6 shot that I use. On a plain barrel gun they do look a little like a spud on the end of the barrel. I can see why someone would not like them on a classic gun. But for a working gun that is used a lot, I would highly recommend it.