Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
The first time I heard of this was in the 50s. Our local VFD was sponsoring a turkey shoot, Pop, Brother and I went. Pop brought his 870, now mine.
As we waited to shoot, an oldster near us bragged on his shotgun, probably a Model 12. "This thing is choked down like a rifle, can't even get a dime in the muzzle". or some such braggadacio. I noted he won. I've heard that from many lips over the years. It's a myth with more lives than a cat, and like most myths, a kernel of truth is inside it.
Given that dimes mike out at about .703-705" and a standard bore 12 gauge runs nominally .729", a choke with enough constriction to stop that dime will mike out at around .700", close enough to Full.
But, many modern 12 gauge bores aren't that ideal .729.
A brief perusal of the brochure from Carlson's chokes raises some issues.
Carlson's, bless them, list the nominal bore of each maker. Thus, a Cylinder bore choke tube for a Remington is .730. So are Winchesters, Mossies, Brownings, etc.
But, Benelli/Beretta's nominal Cylinder is .725".
Ruger's is .740"
Mossberg's 835 pump has a Cylinder bore of .774".
So, a Remington choke with an inside diameter of .730 is a Cylinder, but one from an 835 of the same ID is Extra Full. Barrels here for 870s go from .725 on the tight end to .733".
A dime can be used to estimate choke on standard old barrels, but it's useless on newer ones.
As Brister said," All it proves is you got a shotgun and a dime."...
As we waited to shoot, an oldster near us bragged on his shotgun, probably a Model 12. "This thing is choked down like a rifle, can't even get a dime in the muzzle". or some such braggadacio. I noted he won. I've heard that from many lips over the years. It's a myth with more lives than a cat, and like most myths, a kernel of truth is inside it.
Given that dimes mike out at about .703-705" and a standard bore 12 gauge runs nominally .729", a choke with enough constriction to stop that dime will mike out at around .700", close enough to Full.
But, many modern 12 gauge bores aren't that ideal .729.
A brief perusal of the brochure from Carlson's chokes raises some issues.
Carlson's, bless them, list the nominal bore of each maker. Thus, a Cylinder bore choke tube for a Remington is .730. So are Winchesters, Mossies, Brownings, etc.
But, Benelli/Beretta's nominal Cylinder is .725".
Ruger's is .740"
Mossberg's 835 pump has a Cylinder bore of .774".
So, a Remington choke with an inside diameter of .730 is a Cylinder, but one from an 835 of the same ID is Extra Full. Barrels here for 870s go from .725 on the tight end to .733".
A dime can be used to estimate choke on standard old barrels, but it's useless on newer ones.
As Brister said," All it proves is you got a shotgun and a dime."...