Reggio Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Hey guys, I've gone out on two grouse hunting trips - what a challenge! Very quick birds and nearly impossible to hit in tight (thick) cover... I gave been using the IC choke that came with my gun (Nova pump). I have read that a wide pattern is best for thick cover and quick,adept birds, like grouse.. Can I remove my choke altogether in order to achieve an even wider pattern or is this not advisable? I m using 7 1/2 shot (2 3/4) thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unobtanium Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Hey guys, I've gone out on two grouse hunting trips - what a challenge! Very quick birds and nearly impossible to hit in tight (thick) cover... I gave been using the IC choke that came with my gun (Nova pump). I have read that a wide pattern is best for thick cover and quick,adept birds, like grouse.. Can I remove my choke altogether in order to achieve an even wider pattern or is this not advisable? I m using 7 1/2 shot (2 3/4) thanks! A quick look in the owners manual reveals that this is a recipe for fail. If you want an open choke, buy a -.005 here: www.briley.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggio Posted December 13, 2009 Author Share Posted December 13, 2009 I guess I missed that in the owners manual.. need to check again I looked at that link. Somewhat confusing.... I am still not sure which choke to order... I suppose IC will do for now... Only reason I ask is b/c the grouse have all been close range and I missed the 3 that I shot at.. the others that were flushed I didn't even have a chance at a good shot.. lots of heavy cover plus my inexperience is making this very challenging but lots of fun! thanks for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Novaking Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Here is another link http://www.choketube.com/mobilchoke.html Skeet or cylinder will work good. Extended or flush chokes are up to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agm65ccip Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 I guess I missed that in the owners manual.. need to check again I looked at that link. Somewhat confusing.... I am still not sure which choke to order... I suppose IC will do for now... Only reason I ask is b/c the grouse have all been close range and I missed the 3 that I shot at.. the others that were flushed I didn't even have a chance at a good shot.. lots of heavy cover plus my inexperience is making this very challenging but lots of fun! thanks for the info. OK so you have a nova. This means that you have just the standard (mobile) choke set based on this site here: http://www.benelliusa.com/parts_and_accessories/choke_tubes.php So if you are ever looking at chokes make sure it says they fit the Benelli/Beretta mobile choke system. I would recommend either: Carlson's - http://www.choketube.com Briley - http://www.briley.com Trulock - http://www.trulockchokes.com Now I think IC should be good enough for your purposes, but if you want to buy a new choke REALLY badly you could go SKEET (.005) as Unobtanium suggested, or my preference CYLINDER (.000). Did you ever end up patterning your gun? You should also be practicing having your gun in a low carry position and snapping it up to shoot quickly and accurately. If you are misaligning your gun on the draw it doesn't really matter what choke you have in it because the gun isn't shooting where you think it is at that point anyway. It's good to hear that you are having fun, keep at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggio Posted December 13, 2009 Author Share Posted December 13, 2009 OK so you have a nova. This means that you have just the standard (mobile) choke set based on this site here: http://www.benelliusa.com/parts_and_accessories/choke_tubes.php So if you are ever looking at chokes make sure it says they fit the Benelli/Beretta mobile choke system. I would recommend either: Carlson's - http://www.choketube.com Briley - http://www.briley.com Trulock - http://www.trulockchokes.com Now I think IC should be good enough for your purposes, but if you want to buy a new choke REALLY badly you could go SKEET (.005) as Unobtanium suggested, or my preference CYLINDER (.000). Did you ever end up patterning your gun? You should also be practicing having your gun in a low carry position and snapping it up to shoot quickly and accurately. If you are misaligning your gun on the draw it doesn't really matter what choke you have in it because the gun isn't shooting where you think it is at that point anyway. It's good to hear that you are having fun, keep at it. So is the item # 16611 the one I should go with? http://www.choketube.com/mobilchoke.html They seem well priced compared to the others.. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggio Posted December 13, 2009 Author Share Posted December 13, 2009 Did you ever end up patterning your gun? You should also be practicing having your gun in a low carry position and snapping it up to shoot quickly and accurately. If you are misaligning your gun on the draw it doesn't really matter what choke you have in it because the gun isn't shooting where you think it is at that point anyway. I have patterned it... can you explain the "misaligning" comment please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unobtanium Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 So is the item # 16611 the one I should go with? http://www.choketube.com/mobilchoke.html They seem well priced compared to the others.. thanks I would get the Briley, personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agm65ccip Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Did you ever end up patterning your gun? You should also be practicing having your gun in a low carry position and snapping it up to shoot quickly and accurately. If you are misaligning your gun on the draw it doesn't really matter what choke you have in it because the gun isn't shooting where you think it is at that point anyway. I have patterned it... can you explain the "misaligning" comment please? Yeah, what I mean is it's one thing to shoot at targets where you have all the time in the world to mount your gun before calling "pull", its quite another thing to bring your gun up quickly for a bird that you have a very short time to shoot at. So if when you bring your gun up quickly and you aren't lined up as you would normally shoot you might miss. Try this: stand with your shotgun as you would have it when you think the grouse are close but haven't seen one fly. Pick an object in front of you, close your eyes and bring your gun up like you want to shoot it as quickly as you can. When you open your eyes you should have the right sight picture and be reasonably close to your object. If you aren't then you might have to work on it until your pull up and point motion becomes smooth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggio Posted December 14, 2009 Author Share Posted December 14, 2009 Yeah, what I mean is it's one thing to shoot at targets where you have all the time in the world to mount your gun before calling "pull", its quite another thing to bring your gun up quickly for a bird that you have a very short time to shoot at. So if when you bring your gun up quickly and you aren't lined up as you would normally shoot you might miss. Try this: stand with your shotgun as you would have it when you think the grouse are close but haven't seen one fly. Pick an object in front of you, close your eyes and bring your gun up like you want to shoot it as quickly as you can. When you open your eyes you should have the right sight picture and be reasonably close to your object. If you aren't then you might have to work on it until your pull up and point motion becomes smooth. Interesting.. I will give this a try... What about also trying with clays but have your clay partner decide when/where to launch? Perhaps even set up so that the clays are launched into and between trees/shrubs, etc... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agm65ccip Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Interesting.. I will give this a try... What about also trying with clays but have your clay partner decide when/where to launch? Perhaps even set up so that the clays are launched into and between trees/shrubs, etc... What you are describing is called sporting clays...find a range and shoot it sometime...you wont be sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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