[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

Any reason besides just that people don't like the aesthetics of them? Sure seems like a good idea to me. I think I used to know the answer to this question, but I forget whether I've forgotten or just never knew! :)

[ArmedBear]

Excess weight on the end of the barrel
Disruption of the sight picture
Repeatability of adjustmenst (i.e. is Modified really the same as it was last year when I turned it to M?)

I'm not arguing against the things. Those are just the reasons they didn't catch on like they might have.

[Big Daddy Grim]

unbalancing the gun was what I herd and accidental setting wrong.

[Virginian]

You can call it aesthetics or whatever you want, I call them
U G L Y
And apparently a whole lot of people agree with me. :barf: I know they work, yada, yada, but I don't change chokes that much in the field anyway, and I'd rather carry another choke tube and a quarter in my pocket where I don't see it when I go to shoot. Pretty ain't everything, but sometimes I do like to leave the lights on. :what:

[tactikel]

Actually adjustable chokes were very popular years ago, most shotguns were full choke, the Poly-choke or Cutts compensator would allow anybody to shoot ducks, pheasants, doves, clays, and deer with the same shotgun. They have some drawbacks: must be installed by a gunsmith, add weight and a distracting bulge at the muzzle, and were fairly expensive. A Poly-choke can change chokes in seconds, the Cutts is more like the very popular Rem/invector chokes of today (it needed a wrench and a bag of choke tubes for a change).
I have fixed choke shotguns (SxS, and OU), a poly choked pump, had a Cutts on a Mod. 12 skeet gun, and an invector choked OU-they all have advantages , my favorite is the invector choked OU. If I had only one shotgun and it had a fixed choke I would seriously consder a Poly-choke.

[matrem]

Can't help but agree that 99% of their failure; Virginian covered.

[oneounceload]

and then we discovered the O/U..............no need for the Polychoke.......(although as the semi comes back, it seems to be having a slight resurgence)

and then there choke tubes, both flush and extended........

no one is going to change a polychoke in the middle of shooting, just as they aren't going to do it with choke tubes.....so why have that thing upsetting the balance or the sight line?

[sohcgt2]

I still have one and still like its function. It also gets some really strange looks when I pull it out to shoot clays.

[chas08]

I got a Sears "Ted Williams" model 300 with a Lyman Adjustable choke that you cant even see when the gun is shouldered. I love it for late season Whitewing Dove. I keep it set on I/C most of the time. But with a "Click, Click, Click" you can be ready for the fartherest bird. It wouldn't be my first choice for chasing quail because of the overall weight of the gun, but it is very versatile and I will keep it forever. :)

[Steve C]

Why did adjustable chokes not catch on?

What do you mean didn't catch on?? All you need to do is look at the number of nice old Model 12's and others that some yahoo cobbled them on and I'd argue that they caught on very well. The screw in type that just about every new shotgun comes with today is just more aesthetic and less expensive. It also doesn't ruin the guns aesthetics as much.

[earlthegoat2]

They are a total buzzkill if they happen to be on a nice gun like a Remington Model 11 20 gauge. I had to buy it anyway and live with it. Then there was that Beretta A303 20 gauge, yeah thats mine now too. Then the Belgian A5 20 gauge. Yup had to take it home.

Long story short, I have gotten some great deals on great guns because of the poly chokes mucking up a good barrel. Small price to pay I guess. I have grown quite fond of them.

[CajunBass]

I think they were pretty popular "back in the day." Most people only had one shotgun. The Poly Choke, or Cutts Compensator gave them a lot more flexability to use that gun for everything from quail to deer, and everything in-between. They were popular enough that every "Ted Williams" gun I've ever seen had one. And back then Sears-Roebuck sold a lot of guns.

It seems to me that it wasn't until the screw-in choke came along that they started to fade away.

[jmr40]

I'm with the Virginian, Too Ugly for me. The interchangeable tubes we now use seems to be the best compromise. Other than using a double.

[RetiredLawman]

A Poly II weighs less than a roll of dimes. I have been using Polychokes for 40 years or so. The fixed choked guns have to have the choke cut away. The weight of the barrel reduction is more than the Polychoke.

I'll take a Polychoke any time. However, that is my opinion after many decades of satisfactory use. I could care less about the looks.

[oletymer]

Yep! Virginian hit it on the head, fuggly.

[JohnBT]

"All you need to do is look at the number of nice old Model 12's and others that some yahoo cobbled them on and I'd argue that they caught on very well."

I think you've drawn an incorrect conclusion from the data. It's just that most of the Model 12's with poly chokes seem to be for sale and the ones without them aren't.

The old felt wad paper shells required full chokes for most things to give a decent pattern - that's why people bought so many of them. It was easy enough to let the game get a few yards farther away before shooting if you thought you were too close.

John

[rcmodel]

They were very popular for about 25 years. (Post WWII until the mid 60's.)

Then came the introduction of the Win-Choke in 1967.

After that, folks found out they could have different chokes on the same gun without the expense, weight, and Fuglyness of a Poly-Choke or Cutts-Comp hanging off the end of their gun.

In 1970, it cost 1/3 the price of a new Winchester 1200 Win-Choke to have a Poly-Choke installed on a gun.

rc

[Ratshooter]

I bought a Ted Williams (win 1300) a few years ago in 20 guage with a vent rib barrel and a poly choke on the end for $100 OTD. The gun is in excellent condition. Maybe the PC was the reason the deal was so good. Thats fine with me, I really like it.

After seeing a couple of guns with the screw in chokes that seem to be welded in the PC don't look too bad. Also with the vent rib you don't see the PC anyway. Plus its fun to dial it around real quick if the doves are a little too far away for the IC setting I keep it at. I think its as handy as a pocket on a shirt.

[JohnBT]

"They were very popular for about 25 years. (Post WWII until the mid 60's.)"

I won't argue about what you've seen. I was born in 1950 and nobody in my family ever owned one; none of their neighbors ever owned one and I don't think I even saw one until I started going to gun shows in the '70s.

Maybe we were too far back in the hills. :)

Just the thought of one on my father's early '50s Model 12 20 ga. makes my skin crawl. Or on my great uncle's Model 97.

To each their own.

John

[JohnBT]

I'm trying to imagine what my uncle's first year A-5 Magnum would look like with a thingy on the end.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y46/w5lx/BrowningA-5Light12SideView.jpg

Uh, no thanks. I guess I'm set in my ways.

John

[KenWP]

Cant be any worse then a rifle with a gizmo on the end of the barrel.

[Sauer Grapes]

I used to pheasant hunt in SE. Pa. in the late 60's, early 70's and saw quite a few guys sporting guns with poly chokes. {Hmmm pheasant hunting}
I always thought they were fugly looking but guys seem to like them.
I shouldered a Mod. 12 last week at the skeet field at the club to check it out. Really didn't bother my line of sight. Maybe they weren't such a bad idea in their time.

[Dave McCracken]

Poly and Cutts chokes WERE popular. Many of these have been converted to screw in chokes or retired.

With a Poly, it was the custom to shorten the barrel a few inches to offset the added weight. The Model 11 I inherited that is now in a cousin's custody was so equipped. He likes it, I didn't.

A long time hunting bud had an A5 with a Poly. If there's a pic in the Shotgunner's Dictionary next to the term "Muzzle heavy", it's that shotgun.

While not their biggest fan, I do think the adjustables have some usefullness.

And if a classic shotgun came my way so adorned, I could handle it....

[Virginian]

The Mossberg bolt actions in 12, 16, 20, and .410 all had a version with their own version of the Poly Choke. I think the model number had a 'K' suffix, and it was called a C-lect choke. My first shotgun was a 20 gauge so equipped. The end of the barrel blew off, with the choke, and neither was ever seen again. I think a wad got caught in the vents behind the choke. Mossberg fixed it, no questions asked, and I sold it, and with it went any desire to ever own anything like it again.

[ArmedBear]

A long time hunting bud had an A5 with a Poly. If there's a pic in the Shotgunner's Dictionary next to the term "Muzzle heavy", it's that shotgun.

Doesn't that make the A5 less reliable? Are there special springs or bushings that compensate for the weight?

[rcmodel]

The extra barrel length they cut off to put the poly choke on compensates for the weight.

rc

[ArmedBear]

But he said it was muzzle-heavy. I presumed that meant MORE so than a standard A5.

[rbernie]

Th more weight on the barrel of an Auto5, the better it handles heavier loads and the less reliable it gets with light loads. I have a PolyChoke Auto5 plain barrel and it's noticably heavier that its uncut bretheren of equal length.

Having the extra weight on the extreme end of the barrel makes it swing bigger, but it also messes me up something fierce when snap-shouldering the gun.

[Ratshooter]

The win 1300 I mentioned earlier was given to my youngest son when he was 14. To let him get a feel for the gun we would go to my buddies land and shoot clay birds.

I would make him lower the gun to his waist then when I threw the bird he would raise the gun to fire. He can raise and swing that gun so fast he hits the birds almost as soon as they leave the hand thrower. Its sorta scary. I now stand behind him by several feet just give a little more room for error.

He still outdraws and outshoots everyone we shoot with. He also hardly ever misses. I don't think the poly choke slows him down much at all. He also slays the doves with this gun. Maybe its just what you get use to that counts.

I wish I could find another 20ga with a PC for a c-note.

[JimKirk]

Delete

[EMC45]

I had one on a Remington Model 58 Sportsman. It was neat! It had the gold lettering on it. It had quite a few positions on it. It worked well! Slugs, birdshot or buckshot. it shot them all very well.

[Sav .250]

I`m like the rest. My gun. What`s best for me. I`ve had a deluxe-poly choke on my Ithaca for years. One happy camper.

[Aka Zero]

I plan on getting a poly choke for my saiga 12. I think they look good on those, more evil black shotgun. And weight is not really a concern with that gun, what is a few ounces.

Also have a mossberg bolt action 12 gauge that has the c-lect choke. Got it for $85 because it was weird. I like weird things.

I would stick with fixed choke for most things, but an adj choke is good on a fun gun.

[seanie!]

Aren't PolyChokes catching on again because of Saigas?