Are aftermarket chokes better than OEM?

[dak0ta]

I just got me a hen's teeth Browning Auto 5 Invector barrel. I need to get an IC choke for it, and I was looking at getting a Mossberg Accu-choke which shares the same thread pattern. I also see Carlson's for a little more money. Is there any appreciable difference between the budget Mossberg factory choke vs the Carlson's chokes?

 

[cdb1]

I believe there is a difference and also some OEM chokes are better than others. Browning/Winchester OEM chokes have a bad reputation which I feel is deserved.

I have a bunch of Carlsons and Trulock chokes and believe them to be better quality than OEM chokes. I believe Carlsons and Trulock are the same quality and buy whichever one is the best price or available at the time.

 

[cdb1]

What gauge is your A-5?

 

[red rick]

I have seen some improvement with the extended chokes using buckshot , not much with modified or IC chokes over the factory chokes . I think the biggest improvement is in finding the brand of shell it likes the best .

 

[Virginian]

I have shot well over 3,000 patterns. Assuming a proper installation job and no defective components, the only consistent thing that I have found to have an effect on pattern is constriction vs bore diameter.

 

[George P]

The REAL answer is........................it depends. Start with what you have and shoot the ammo you intend to shoot at the pattern steel to see what you get; if the patterns suck, try an aftermarket in the constriction you think will work best and hit the pattern plate again.

 

[red rick]

I would try different ammo before I started buying chokes .

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

My SX3 shoots much better patterns with Carlson tubes than the Invector tubes with the lead and steel loads I have tried.

 

[George P]

My SX3 shoots much better patterns with Carlson tubes than the Invector tubes with the lead and steel loads I have tried.

And sometimes it is the other way around, which is why it is important to hit the pattern plate with what you have before buy new chokes, or guns or anything else. Personally, I have had good results with both Trulock and Briley; but Pure Gold and Comp-N-Choke are also excellent

 

[earlthegoat2]

FWIW, the conventional wisdom is that aftermarket chokes are better. The reason being, that an aftermarket choke tube manufacturer's reputation (or at least part of it) is based around that one product. A shotgun manufacturer can make a nice ergonomic and user-friendly gun that sells itself but skimp on chokes because not very many people pay attention to them anyway. How many average folks actually pattern a shotgun?

I do believe that the higher end OEM chokes are pretty good though. Benelli Crio or Beretta Optimas come to mind. What Virginian said is probably spot on though. It is all a matter of the diameter of the bore to the diameter of the constriction.

Through it all though every single shotgun throws patterns differently regardless of the setup. There are also many controllable variables in play between the individual differences between the gun, the shotshell, the choke, the barrel length, etc. The number of different combinations are virtually limitless and it seems like changing any variable regarding said shotgun will effect the pattern in some minute or significant way.

Different manufactures of shotguns produce barrels with different diameters. Different choke manufacturers produce varying diameters of similarly labelled chokes too. In the end, the numbers do not mean anything. The only thing that matters is the pattern your particular setup throws.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Here is some notes I took on the Buffalo’s Outdoors YouTube channel regarding some patterning of buckshot. It’s a lot of numbers and chicken scratch but take note that choke constriction adversely affected the Federal Flite Control wad buckshot in a way that defied conventional logic on the matter

 

[RMc]

The only way to know is to pattern your Gun/Load/OEM choke against your Gun/Load/Aftermarket choke.

Very few shotgunners actually know!