Domonlord Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 So far... my M4 has only hit the shooting range. But I'm interested in hunting deer and various birds with it. Any advice on choke tubes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoDucker Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 I have very little experience with slugs for deer but benelli's recommendation is on this page. http://www.benelliusa.com/customer-service/ For birds there are lots of variables to consider. Species, range & ammo/shot size. For steel shot at waterfowl most recommendations are to not go tigher than modified. Steel doesn't compress like lead so trying to force it through a tight choke will lead to problems. There are aftermarket steel shot tubes that might give you a tigher pattern if you want it with steel. For upland birds use any constriction depending on how far away you think your shots will be. Imp cyl up close to full for 40 yards+. If you like to experiment and fine tune things then you can try different brands of tubes, patterning them on paper to see what gives you the best results. For occasional hunting the basic factory tubes will do you just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJgunner Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 So far... my M4 has only hit the shooting range. But I'm interested in hunting deer and various birds with it. Any advice on choke tubes? I have an SBII that I use for skeet, deer and pheasant. For pheasant I use improved because most of your shots are close. Ill switch to modified if its raining and birds are more likely to be running and shots are taken at further distance. For deer strictly full choke, you need to be able to hit 55yards! Hope this helps, I didnt know m4's had interchangable chokes because the website says "C". Also that is an 18" barell right? 24 or 26 would be ideal, I would pattern it depending on what you use. Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duggan Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 I see no reason to ever use anything but a full or tighter choke. The shot pattern on a shotgun is already incredibly wide compared to a rifle, I don't see why anyone would want to make it even wider. As I see it, all a loose choke does is decrease the effective range of your weapon, and make it so you have to aim even less. It can be said that a loose choke lets you hit more targets at once, say birds, if they are right above you, but hey that's what 7+1+1 is for (just kidding I know you can only use so many rounds blah blah blah). Lots of people will disagree with me I'm sure, but I've never used anything other than a full choke in my 10k rounds and I don't see why I ever would. I never use steel shot. Oh, and anyone who says you can't fire slugs through a full choke, or that doing so will damage your barrel/threads, has never tried it. I don't shoot many slugs ... I've probably put 300 or so through my m4 with full choke, but my threads look and feel like new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJgunner Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 I see no reason to ever use anything but a full or tighter choke. The shot pattern on a shotgun is already incredibly wide compared to a rifle, I don't see why anyone would want to make it even wider. As I see it, all a loose choke does is decrease the effective range of your weapon, and make it so you have to aim even less. It can be said that a loose choke lets you hit more targets at once, say birds, if they are right above you, but hey that's what 7+1+1 is for (just kidding I know you can only use so many rounds blah blah blah). Lots of people will disagree with me I'm sure, but I've never used anything other than a full choke in my 10k rounds and I don't see why I ever would. I never use steel shot. Oh, and anyone who says you can't fire slugs through a full choke, or that doing so will damage your barrel/threads, has never tried it. I don't shoot many slugs ... I've probably put 300 or so through my m4 with full choke, but my threads look and feel like new. Shoot a pheasant at 20 yards with improved and then full. Improved will have a better pattern and at full choke 20 yards you wont have much left of the bird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ASO544 Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 What tube comes stock with the M4? Full? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duggan Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 They used to come with 3-4. It seemed to be a crapshoot ... either benelli wouldn't send the chokes they were supposed to, or dealers wouldn't include them. Now I hear reports that benelli only ships with one choke officially, which I would guess is a modified choke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Novaking Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 For deer strictly full choke, you need to be able to hit 55yards! what ammo to you use? Novaking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unobtanium Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 I am personally going to be running an IC Trulock flush mount choke. The reason for this is that out to 25-35 yards, OO buck will pattern well with this choke, and beyond that I will use slugs. The IC choke is arguably the best for slugs as while like Duggan said, Full won't hurt the barrel/choke, it WILL screw a slug up and hurt accuracy past 30 yards or so. With todays slugs, 10" groups at 100 yards from an M4 is very do-able from what I understand (I have kept them all on a pie-plate area at 50 yards off-hand). When I go with my mini-dot setup I plan on making the most of the weapon platform. 0-100 yards I want to be 100% effective. Will be keeping 4 slugs on the buttstock in a Mesa Tactical shell holder and the tube full of OO buck. The way the benelli action works, I can slip a slug in any time I need the extended range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Novaking Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 Full won't hurt the barrel/choke, it WILL screw a slug up and hurt accuracy past 30 yards or so. Isn't a full choke with a slug the same as a full choke with steel shot? (To tight for the little hole.) I thought a slug with I full choke would mess up the choke and or the barrel. Novaking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unobtanium Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 Isn't a full choke with a slug the same as a full choke with steel shot? (To tight for the little hole.) I thought a slug with I full choke would mess up the choke and or the barrel. Novaking Not with normal slugs, go to the store and pick up some "remington Slugger" slugs. Look on the side of the box near the trajectory chart (to the left of it, to be technical). It will tell you "Can be fired through any choke, but best results with IC". The slug is some seriously soft lead, the steel shot is very hard. I would like to see a stress-guage reading though comparing the two. Could be interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Novaking Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 learn something new everyday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unobtanium Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 learn something new everyday. I stand corrected by WInchester***SEE EDIT***. I have heard C/Mod/IC for slugs all time time, with IC getting the nod. Question: What slug design should I be using in my shotgun? Answer: Winchester Ammunition offers two slug designs, the sabot slug or the rifled slug. Sabot slugs are designed to be used in rifled barrels or in smooth barrels with a rifled choke tube. Rifled slugs are designed to be used in smooth barrels. We have found the best accuracy when using rifled slugs in a cylinder or modified choke. ETA: I think this is a typo on Winchester's part. "Cylinder or modified" is like saying. "A .22 or a .270 is best to shoot squirrels". It makes no sense. Rather I think they meant Cyl or IC. As it is logically the next step instead of skipping a full .01" in constriction. Am I explaining my thought process well enough? Well, I will indeed go with the IC choke, I want good performance with slugs. I DID replace my AR with this M4 (No need for 600 yard capability where I live). and I doubt OO buck will spread very much in my humble appartment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Novaking Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 I stand corrected by WInchester. I will be ordering a MOD choke. So far it has done very well with winchester slugs, I will test with Remington slugs as well and see how it does. I have heard Mod/IC for slugs all time time, with IC getting the nod. I will go with MOD as it allows me better patterns with buck (I think...). Question: What slug design should I be using in my shotgun? Answer: Winchester Ammunition offers two slug designs, the sabot slug or the rifled slug. Sabot slugs are designed to be used in rifled barrels or in smooth barrels with a rifled choke tube. Rifled slugs are designed to be used in smooth barrels. We have found the best accuracy when using rifled slugs in a cylinder or modified choke. So does that mean no full choke for slugs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unobtanium Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 So does that mean no full choke for slugs? No, it just means "for best accuracy". You could still shoot them through a full-choke, but I see no point in it. It should be safe though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duggan Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 Any choke can be used with slugs, but at further distances you will have better accuracy with a looser choke. About 5% of what I shoot is slugs. I therefore do not care about my full choke affecting the accuracy of slugs at long range, when I would be using a rifle anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unobtanium Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 Any choke can be used with slugs, but at further distances you will have better accuracy with a looser choke. About 5% of what I shoot is slugs. I therefore do not care about my full choke affecting the accuracy of slugs at long range, when I would be using a rifle anyways. +1, I am an idealist "do it all" person though. No logic to my madness, just a college student's budget and trying to make up for selling my AR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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