[Skunkabilly]

Maybe I'm missing something really obvious but why do shotguns like Benelli and a few others come with extra choke tubes on their shotguns? Shouldn't a cylinder or improved cylinder bore be enough?

[Kobun]

I thought that you were a gun rag reader...
Maby its time to get a subscription to a good one?

Skunk
Weasel
Armadillo
Tiger
(http://www.swatmag.com/)
A magazine for furry and hairless critters.

[Rat-30]

Flexibility?:confused:

I like having tubes on my scatterguns... gives me options.

Best,

[Old Fuff]

In a combat shotgun the size of the pattern is as important as it is in any other shotgun, and maybe more so. You want all of the pellets to group inside a circle at a given range that will insure they hit the target and not elsewhere. Adjusting the choke can also improve slug accuracy. Cylinder bore is not necessarily the best, it's simply the result of cutting a choked barrel off.

[Double Naught Spy]

Greater flexibility sums it up. There are those who really wish to use shotguns as 25-50 yard guns tight little groups that I get with my marine magnum at 10 yards. Think of it as longer range precision scattergunning.

Personally, if I want a tight group at that distance, I think a single slug will more than do the trick.

The idea of defensive scattergunning at distance just strikes me as silly. After all, the idea of the scattergun is to have the shot scatter. If you didn't want scatter, you would be using slugs or a rifle, right?

While chokes add flexibility, they do so on a limited basis as it isn't like you can quickly change them between shots in a fight.

[Dave McCracken]

I think it's more of a selling point than an additional option for most folks.

I've seen everything from chokeless to Full on "Serious" shotguns. All did the job, some better than others but this is not predicated on choke alone.

By stringent criteria, my chokeless, oldest 870 keeps adequate 16-20" patterns at 25 yards with the 00 of choice. My other "Serious" 870 keeps number 4 Federal buck in about the same with the Modified tube in. Load choice is of paramount importance here, possibly much more so than choke.

Given a choice, I'd go for a long cone before adding tubes on a goto, "Serious" shotgun.

[Gearhead Jim]

Well, in years gone by I would take my Remington 11-87 Police with ghost ring sights out of the squad car every Fall, install a long mag plug, and hunt pheasants. The Remchoke allowed me to change from the IC tube used with slugs and buck, to the Mod tube for hunting. Got a lot of strange looks from the gentlemen at my Chief's hunt club, but also got a fair number of birds.....

[Gewehr98]

With 3" magnum 000 Buckshot loaded in my HD 870, I want all those pellets going into the bad guy, not the drywall or next room. See the knurled thingie on the end of my 870? Turkey Extra Full, and when I patterned it with the above house load, I kept all of the pellets in the COM circle of a bad guy silhouette out to 40 yards. Tight group, hence the rifle sights, too. It was my answer to a rash of home invasion robberies in the Sacramento area back around 1997.

http://mauser98.com/870mk1left.jpg

[Gewehr98]

http://mauser98.com/870mk1right.jpg

[Badger Arms]

OUCH... And if they don't respond to half a dozen blasts of buckshot, you can bludgeon them to death with that EVIL BAYONET LUG... Them things are NASTY.

One thing to add here, I have a rifled choke tube for my 870 that I intend to use for deer hunting with sabot slugs if I ever get the opportunity. Cheap compromise when one doesn't want to use a fully rifled barrel.

[Dr.Rob]

Well with my rifled tube I've got a better slug barrel, and yet it patterns like an "open" choke. That's pretty cool.

[mete]

It has been found that with the proper choke and buckshot you can get very intresting patterns out at 40-50 yds. Take out a perp without also taking out a hostage. Try it you might be surprised.

[Skunkabilly]

Will the M and F chokes that came with my 'Nelli be a Bad Thing if I had to pop a slug through it?

[Poodleshooter]

You won't get your best accuracy with mod or full choke as a general rule. Rifled slugs run about .68-.69" in diameter, so they'll physically fit through almost any tube.

[Zak Smith]

Slugs run fine through my M1S90 with the "M" choke.

-z