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Member Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 65

Hey, I'm sorry if I already mentioned this, I don't think I have.

I had Briley thinwall screw-in chokes installed in my Model 12.

I know some may view that as sacrilege, to alter a fifty year old gun. But, it wasn't a collector grade gun, it's a gun I really love and enjoy shooting, and I just wanted some more versatility with it. Anyway, they did a fantastic job.

I shot some skeet and wobble trap yesterday and did pretty well using the skeet choke. (I got the skeet, light modified and improved modified, but can buy others if I want.)

Let me ask this though. On Tuesday I have the opportunity to shoot at a friend's property, we're going to throw some clays. But all my other shooting is done at the range. Tuesday I'll be able to bring some paper targets so I can see the difference.

My question is this: I'm shooting wobble trap, skeet and regular trap. What is the approximate distances of those three games? Wobble's closer than skeet, which is closer than trap. I'm just curious and normally don't get the chance to shoot a shotgun at a paper target to see what the pattern looks like.

Thanks.

Joined: 05 Feb 2008 Posts: 184 Location: Dover-Foxcroft, ME

Never tried wobble trap, so have no comment.

The average 16 yd trap shooter (not the serious back porch guys) breaks targets at something between 32 and 36 yds. Targets are not quite edge on.

The center stake on a skeet field is 21 yds distant. Most skeet shooters break targets sooner (= closer) than this. Some shots are very, very close. Station 8 comes to mind, but long incomers on 1,2,6, and 7 are pretty close. Longest shots on a skeet field are H5 and L3 (no, it's not station 4) except for 2nd shot on 3,4,5 shoot-off doubles. If you're choked for 25 to 30 yds you can certainly handle anything on a skeet field, unless you are screwing around and shoot reverse doubles (incomers first).

Sam

Member Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 65

Thank you, Sam!

So if I put some targets at 27 yards and try each of my three chokes at that distance, what diameter pattern would I hope to find for a choke that I'm shooting skeet with? I don't know what to expect.

Thanks again, great info.

Joined: 05 Feb 2008 Posts: 184 Location: Dover-Foxcroft, ME

Depends on many things. You'll need to pattern for yourself. It would help if you knew the actual constrictions.

Payload matters. Light payloads will throw a higher percentage in the 30" circle at a given distance. But don't be misled. Pattern density actually decreases a bit. I don't know why people struggle with this concept, but density - not percentage - is what kills targets or birds. Skeet shooters understand this well, and generally use more constriction in the smaller gauges in order to compensate for the reduced payloads. Thus, .005 (skeet) in a 1 1/8 oz 12 is more than plenty, yet the 28 ga 3/4 oz shooter might want .008 (almost LM).

Are your Briley tubes labelled as constrictions (in thou) or in choke increments (IC, M, F, etc.)? Just a guess.........at 27 yds you'll probably get the greatest effective diameter with something in the IC to Mod range.

And don't forget that better quality ammo generally patterns tighter. If you run factory RGLs through a typical mod constriction you'll probably get a mod or LM pattern. B&Ps might give an IM pattern through the same tube.

Hope I'm not confusing you. But your question, albeit good, is not as simple as you might think.

Sam

Joined: 19 Jan 2006 Posts: 91

I too have a model 12 in 16 ga. with choke tubes. Having shot thousands of rounds thru the gun, I have settled on .015 or modified for just about all my shooting with the gun. In addition I have several other 16's with .013-.015 chokes that perform about the same. That might be a little tight for a novice skeet shooter, but would work well in sporting and trap, in my opinion and experiences.

Member Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 65

The three chokes I have for my 16 are:

skeet: .005" flush choke
light mod: .015" flush choke
Imp mod: .025" flush choke

Right now I'm using not expensive ammo because the 16 gauge is hard enough to find. Plus, I'm not good enough to probably notice a difference (like a thirty handicapper using an average golf ball vs. a very expensive golf ball).

It's all a little confusing to me just because it's new. But since I have this opportunity to shoot at paper (something that I can't do any other time), I'll get some patterns on paper and try to understand them later.

Thanks for all your time on this.

Member Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 65

Cool, SageRat! Post a picture of your M12! Here's mine (1952).

I have not tried sporting clays yet but I want to. They have it at the range where I shoot, I just haven't done it yet. They also have 5-stand, which looks really, really hard. And I can't actually figure out how it works by watching it.

Joined: 19 Jan 2006 Posts: 91

Eddie, if you are a chukar hunter, you will appreciate the .015 choke. I used it for years before retiring the model 12. Actually, the .015 is a modified by my experiences, being able to reach out to 40 yards with that choke and good ammo. You will have to try all of them to see what you prefer.

Lenard

Joined: 05 Feb 2008 Posts: 184 Location: Dover-Foxcroft, ME

Eddie,

That's a good spread of constrictions. Like Lenard, I'd probably have the .015 installed most of the time. If you really want to optimize things for skeet the .005 may be a better choice. But you might be surprised to find that the difference could be as little as 1 or 2 targets per 100.

The .025 would probably be my choice for trap - but I'm not particularly quick to shoot. Everything else - .015.

Sam