Chokes: Screw-in or fixed?

[Robtattoo]

I'm looking to trade my shotgun, a 16ga Stevens 775 semi-auto with polychoke, hopefully for a SxS 12 or 16ga. Now, I know my gun isn't worth a whole lot & I don't really want to throw around much moolah so I'm expecting to be looking for guns along the lines of Fox model Bs, Stevens 311s, Stoeger Uplanders etc...
I'd really like a gun with removeable chokes, but I doubt I'll be able to find one. This Stevens fits me like a custom gun, but I really don't like semis. It's purely personal, but I don't like carrying the weight, the number of things to go wrong & the fact I can't find a comfortable way to carry it. I also think the Polychoke looks freaking awful!

Is there any real-world, hunting use advantage to screw-in chokes? I mean, folks managed to hunt effectively with fixed choke guns for many, many years. I only own the one scattergun & don't really shoot it that often, but I'd like something I can use for everything from doves to geese & turkeys.

 

[Hunterdad]

Choke tubes just make the gun more versatile. I'm able to throw a full choke in my o/u and go shoot trap then walk over and shoot a round of skeet by switching out my chokes. Both skeet and trap could be shot with a fixed modified choke, but it's not ideal for both.

I use an improved cylinder for decoying waterfowl and am able to switch over to modified for a field hunt with geese.

As far as sxs's go, I think a modified and improved cylinder gun is the may to go.

 

[Virginian]

Choke tubes have many advantages. In addition to the versatility, they may be able to render a gun such as a SxS compatible with steel shot thru the use of an extended tube with the constriction beyond the barrel.
Keep in mind that a botched installation has the complete reverse effect and can render a fine gun or barrel garbage. Some people do not like tubes, but all the negatives I hear them put forth are mainly old wives tales.

 

[jmr40]

On a double fixed chokes are less of a disadvantage since almost all doubles have 2 different chokes. On a single barreled gun like a pump or auto there is no good reason to not get interchangeable chokes. They work, they make the gun more versatile and there are no real downsides.

I wouldn't pay the extra to have it done aftermarket on most guns. It would be cheaper to trade up for a gun with them.

To be honest all of the guns you are considering are a waste of money. If that is all you can afford a Mossberg, Remington, or almost any pump at the same price point is a 10X better gun than anything you are considering. I'd buy quality 1st. Instead of a bottom of the barrel double, spend your money on a top end pump.

If you don't like he weight of an auto, you have been looking at the wrong semi-autos. They are at least as light as the doubles you are looking at and will be far more reliable than a cheap double. A quality double will outlast all of them and be more reliable. But not a double in the price range you are looking at.

 

[oneounceload]

but I'd like something I can use for everything from doves to geese & turkeys.

THAT just answered your own question. I prefer fixed chokes in a mission-specific gun (say a quail gun), but if you are only going to have one to do a lot of various things, then the chokes make sense. Most fixed choke guns can have choke tubes threaded and installed. Briley is one, Mike Orlen is another along with other good companies that can do the job. While that might cost you as much as the inexpensive double you're looking to get, it will be cheaper than buying a few more guns to accomplish the same thing

 

[Sauer Grapes]

I mean, folks managed to hunt effectively with fixed choke guns for many, many years.

Yes we did, but we did it with multiple guns. When I hunted a lot, I used 3 different shotguns.

 

[rcmodel]

I mean, folks managed to hunt effectively with fixed choke guns for many, many years.

Yes they did.

But that was before the Federally mandated steel shot use for all migratory waterfowl hunting in the USA.

Most of the old fixed choke guns are not steel shot compatible.

rc

 

[NOLAEMT]

People also managed to hunt for thousands of years with bow and arrow and muzzle loading firearms (many still do)

Screw in chokes are not necessary, but they can improve your shooting and make your gun more versatile, and they have very few drawbacks.

 

[Robtattoo]

Ooooooh, bad analogy. My first love is Osage selfbows, my second is my flint longrifle..... My modern guns are purely a means to an end. My fun shooting is all done with wooden bows & arrows or black powder, flint & round balls.