For what its worth - I use Break Free to lube my choke tubes / and the threads in the barrel. ( I used it this morning / after I cleaned the 20ga O/U that I shot yesteday - and removed the chokes, etc.. ) ...
The way I think about which Choke to use ...is I want an effective 30" pattern at the kill range...so I adjust roughly as follows....
Cyclinder - under 20 yards
Skeet 20 - 25 yards
Improved Cyclinder 25 - 30 yards
Modified ( 30 - 40 yds ). Ex: In 16 Yard Trap - target moves downrange and you want to kill it as its still rising at 30 - 35 yds before it levels off or starts to drop. You stand 16 yds from house / target is about 20 yds out from house when you kill it.
Improved Modified 40 - 45 yards
Full .... over 45 yards ...
But as you can see - there is some overlap / so if I want to error, I tighten it up a little vs loosen it up a little. I don't want to shoot a Modified at 50 yards and have 12" holes in the pattern where a target can escape or fly thru it. I don't subscribe to the idea that shooting Tighter chokes makes you a better shotgunner either. I think it makes the average shooter worse ....because a tighter choke defeats the purpose of an effective sized shotgun pattern - and by making it artifically tighter ...you lose some of the benefit of feeling the lead / taking a smooth shot / and misses can get into your head. Where if you use the correct choke for the distance of the kill --- you can still smoke a target if you center it ..and it gives you good calm feedback. If I chip a target ...its next to impossible to be certain if I was too far in front ..or behind...or high...or low ... or which side of the pattern hit the bird ...
|