What's your choke for dove?

[Pit4Brains]

Now that I have a shotgun that I can change the choke tube in, I figured I'de ask about and see what y'all use for wingshooting. My 870 came with a MOD installed and I really don't have plans on changing that unless I get some different asdvice.

 

[DaleCooper51]

The gun I am using is a fixed choke gun. I had it honed out to 12 POC which is midway between an IC and Light Mod. I don't know how close the birds will be where you shoot. If I had choke tubes, I would start with an IC and move to a Mod if they are farther out.

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

I use IC and Mod for doves. However, if I'm missing and switching chokes trying to fix it, I usually find out it's me who's doing the missing, not the wrong chokes.

 

[allaroundhunter]

Well..... For the second season down here in the Texas central zone, I get birds flying at the lowest 50 yards above me; so full choke and 5 shot it is.

For "normal" dove hunting, IC or Mod depending on where I am, what gun I am using, and how the birds are flying.

Sent from my HTC One X

 

[heeler]

I find myself using an I.C. choke more than ever as I am sitting comfortably under the limited shade of a Mesquite tree in a lawn chair near the cattle tank in the evening.

 

[jmr40]

IC for me. If they are too far away for IC to work, they are too far away for my shooting skills.

 

[Pit4Brains]

I find myself using an I.C. choke more than ever as I am sitting comfortably under the limited shade of a Mesquite tree in a lawn chair near the cattle tank in the evening.

This is exactly where I'll be. The early hunt has them coming fast and just about 40 feet above ground. Heck, two years ago I hit one so close that the wad was embedded in the breast. I have a feeling that the wad did not open as advertised but either way, it destroyed the bird.

Our latter season, here in AZ, tends to push the birds up a bit and they seem to keep a steadier pace. The down side is they seem to take flight all at once and you only get about 45 min of good birds just before sunset/close of buisness..

Maybe I'll swing by the store and pick up a IC tube and toss it in the vest..

I usually find out it's me who's doing the missing

Man if I had a dollar for every one of those days. One day you limit with 12 shells and the next you throw a box and a half at them.
I find myself tensing and pausing when I miss and holding the gun very loose when I hit.

 

[oneounceload]

IC/M works just fine - if the M will powder a 50 yard clay, it will easily kill a dove

 

[35Rem]

Yep. I started out shooting a fixed full. It's what we had. Went to a Modified choke and killed a TON more birds. Now I use an IC, most of the time, and do pretty well.

That's when I get to go...

 

[DougW]

Fixed modified on the 870 Wingmaster 20ga, IC on the S&W1000 20ga.

 

[Pit4Brains]

Pretty good mix between the IC and the Mod here.
I'm chomping at the bit to get out and fire the new 870. My buddy at work is picking up a new Weatherby tomorrow so we'll both be shootin' new hardware..

 

[oneounceload]

New hardware means buying some extra ammo and hitting the pattern plate to see where your gun is hitting in relation to your hold point

 

[rcmodel]

Pass shooting over a feed field?
MOD.

All other dove shooting?
IMP or CYL.

No other way to come with at least a 50/50 birds to shells ratio..

rc

 

[MCgunner]

I choke my 20 gauge SxS I/C-Mod for tank hunting, hunting creeks, when I have a lot of close in 30 yards or less shots. For high flyers, I'll use my 12 gauge Winchester SA and choke modified. I shoot 7.5 shot low brass in both.

 

[Virginian]

If I use my SxS, Mod and Full. If I use a 20 or 28 gauge semi, Full. You need to use what you prefer. What suits me and my style may not suit you.
A few years ago my buddy was raving about his shooting with an Imp. Cyl. choke and telling me i needed to change too. So I asked him, "Miller, my kill percentage is about four times what yours is, why should I want to change and copy you?" After a loooong pause, he said, "I see your point."

 

[Pit4Brains]

New hardware means buying some extra ammo and hitting the pattern plate to see where your gun is hitting in relation to your hold point

Well at least I'm going from an 870 Wingmaster 16GA. 28" to a 870 Express 12GA 28". The gun already shoulders quite well and I get a good eye down the rib. I might pattern a beer box when I get out there but other than that, I'll watch the wad and doves die..

No other way to come with at least a 50/50 birds to shells ratio..

You mean 1 bird per round or one bird per two rounds. I've gotten my ten birds with 11-12 shells many times (not bragging, just good days). Heck, I once bagged two birds with one shot as they crossed paths, one handed, while on a cell phone. I have a witness for that..

 

[snakeman]

Modified is by far the best choke for dove. I have a sxs and run modified and improved cylinder. It has two triggers so I just fire the i.c. up close and the mod. out further. If they are farther than the mod will reach what's the point in shooting at em.

 

[Coyote3855]

I usually choke and miss about 10 in a row.

 

[Bull Nutria]

MY GO TO DOVE GUn is a 20g beretta 3901 with mod tube. i like 1oz #7.5 or 8s reloads. the key to killing doves consistently is proper lead-- very hard to have too much with plenty of FOLLOW THRU!!

the farther they are the more lead you need. i suppose i average 1 dove per 3 shots---that is when they are scarce and i take any decent shot i can get. of course if the doves are plentiful and i can choose my shot, my average is usually much better.

when they are flying very high and and on very windy days screw in your full choke and bang a way, Wind is the most confounding factor in hitting doves as the pattern of shot can be severely disrupted.(especially so with steel shot) it is better to use 6 shot on very windy days as it will carry farther.

Bull

 

[allaroundhunter]

Heck, I once bagged two birds with one shot as they crossed paths, one handed, while on a cell phone. I have a witness for that..

Those are the days when you call the next shot upside down, left handed because everything is hitting ..... and then the next day you wind up grabbing the box that the factory forgot to load with shot

I will say, my best (and worst) shot on a dove was out of season......it was on hole number 18 and on my tee shot there was a *poof* of feathers, and the bird dropped like a rock.....of course my ball did as well, directly into a water hazard...and I have witnesses....

 

[MtnCreek]

I typically use a mod in an auto loader and IC / Mod or Mod / Mod in an O/U, depending on what chokes I have for the gun. I try to keep a Sheet choke or similar and quarter or dime (depending on ga) with me and will swap out chokes and walk to jump birds when they stop flying.

 

[One_Jackal]

On the first day, I start out with Imp Cyl. Once the birds get wise and start circling before coming into the field I switch to a modified choke. By the end of the season I use a full choke.

Early in the season the key to getting a limit is shot selection. I don't shoot a bird unless I can see it's eyes and/or feet. I limited out with 21 shells last year ;-)

By taking difficult shots you are just making the birds wild for everyone.

 

[snooperman]

I use an Ithaca 37 20 ga and 3/4 oz #8 shot with a fixed Imp- Cyl choke on my farm land. On adjacent farms where the terrain is different , I go with a Ithaca 37 20ga with a modified choke and 7/8 oz 7.5 shot.

 

[Gun Geezer]

You are where I want to be. So very bad want to be there.

 

[Pit4Brains]

You are where I want to be. So very bad want to be there.

Who is?