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Old November 19, 2008, 05:27 PM   #4
BigJimP
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Join Date: February 23, 2005
Posts: 13,195
Wingmaster has been a good gun for many years / although personally I prefer the Browning BPS - I think they are comparable. There is a thread below - that says there was a recent test that didn't care for the Wingmaster - but I'm betting you'll be happy with a Wingmaster.

Go with a 3" chamber ( so you can shoot 2 3/4" or 3" shells ). It'll give you all the shell options you need for waterfowl, etc.

Barrel length is more personal - I'm 6'5" / 290 lbs and fairly long arms - and the lighter the gun ( and a pump is light ) then I go with the longest barrel option. So I would go with the 30" barrel for everything - including shooting Skeet, hunting Quail, Grouse, etc - and I don't think its any disadvantage. But if the 30" feels too long ( or clumsy ) then go with the 28" barrel. I would not go below 28" on a light gun. The 30" gives you a longer sight plane - and it really helps on the follow thru - as long as the gun remains balanced between your hands and does not feel clumsy. That clumsy feeling, where it starts to feel like you're trying to "swing a big ole sewer pipe out there" is different for all of us ( arm length, upper body strength, just plain feel of the gun, etc ).

In terms of chokes - for all of my hunting or sporting clays guns - I carry a Cyclinder or Skeet Choke, an Improved Cyclinder, a Modified, an Improved Modified and a Full. In general - I pick a choke based on the kill range for clay targets or birds ( < 21 yards I go Cyl or Skeet choke, 21 - 30 yards I go Imp Cyclinder, 30 - 35 yards Modified, 35-45 I go Imp Modified, over 45 yards Full.) The idea in picking a choke is to put a 30" pattern on the target at the kill range. We talk about lead in wingshooting - you feel the lead on a crossing target at 25 yards - at something around 3 - 4 feet - so I pick a Skeet or Cyclinder choke to make that happen. Tighter isn't better - it defeats the ballistics of a shotgun / making my lead issues too precise. I change the pellet sizes too - as I go further out / like a clay target at 21 yards you need about 3 9's to break it / you probably need 2 8's to break it / and only one 7 1/2 pellet to break it - but the bigger the pellet size, the more energy is delivered at the kill range - so with choke changes, you probably change the pellet size in the shell too ( maybe increase the amount of shot from 1 oz to 1 1/8oz or 1 1/4oz etc ) - but my favorite load for 12ga is 1 oz of 8's at 1225 fps ( for Skeet, Sporting Clays, and Quail ) ....

The length of the barrel 28" vs 30" has no impact on the pattern / modern shotshells burn all the powder in the shells probably within the first 15" of the barrel.
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