the right choke for home defense

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rsh32crew

New member
i have a charles daly field (semi-auto) 3" chamber 26" barrell and was wondering who has ideas for the right choke for home defense. The only chokes I currently own are that of the original gun and I know charles daly went out of business so it seems difficult to find chokes for it.
 
While you can get recommendations for a choke....and even a specific load....I personally wouldn't use any of them for HD until I tried the various combinations in MY shotgun to see how they patterned at the min and max distances you will be experiencing. Not doing so would be foolish.
 
Doesn't matter. At in home ranges the pattern doesn't open enough to really have a spread. You are essentially shooting a pre-fragmented slug.
 
I lean in the other direction, I don't want my shot spreading out like it will from Cylinder, I want it on the boogerman so I would choose at least Modified. My guns have Improved Modified and two have full choke but IM works for me.

Longest distance I can shoot in my house is just a hair over 24' good for about 3" and at more likely distances a hole just big enough to stick a finger or two in. Home invader threatening my family or me gets the full benefit of the shot and I probably don't have to shoot twice unless there is more than one.

What I would recommend that instead of worrying about what choke you have is to install a ghost ring or some other kind of fast acquisition sight on the gun to make sure your shot will go where you want it to go. It isn't an automatic hit just because it's a shot gun and not a handgun or rifle.
 
Just FWIW I leave the Improved Cylinder tube in my 21" 870 Special Purpose. It'll keep Super X OO buck in the chest of a B27 at 25 yards, plants a slug exactly behind the bead to about twice that distance, and it does a decent job on dove & quail unless they get spooky, late in the season.
 
I lean in the other direction, I don't want my shot spreading out like it will from Cylinder, I want it on the boogerman so I would choose at least Modified.
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Unbuffered buckshot can produce a larger pattern in a modified choke than it does in a less restricted choke. Seeing what a specific load with a specific choke does in your gun is important....some of those loads rarely read the forums so they don't know how they are "suppose" to perform. :)
 
Depends on what you plan on shooting, a slug will need an open or IC, 00 same. No. 2 I would use mod or full.

Best thing is get all the chokes, several boxes of ammo and a few old sheets. Hang sheets SD distance and shoot it up to see what works best in the gun.

You will have fun and will learn a bit about the shooter.
 
some of those loads rarely read the forums so they don't know how they are "suppose" to perform.
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That's funny. I'd have to agree with you. At 20 or 30 feet my 18.5 inch IC barrel spreads 9 00 buck pellets about 12 or 18 inches.
 
Thats why one of my guns is IC, another is IM and two are full choke. Can't go by book and somebody elses experience with their gun, need to buy the variety and try some trigger time for your gun.

Just a weird example, shooting buck out of my .410 with Full Choke it will consistently pout 4 out of the 5 pellets in a full size rabbit target at 30 yards. My 10 gauge with Full Choke will be doing really good to get one pellet on paper let alone in the rabbit but I have a beautiful scattering of shot all around the target.

At 8 yards, the longest distance I could shoot in the house they are all devastating but the IC and IM are the tightest.
 
You really need to pattern your gun with different chokes and the loading you intend to use. Shotgun patterning is an extremely difficult thing to predict and what works well in one gun may not in another. Personally, I'd get three choke tubes: Improved Cylinder, Modified, and Full. Between these three chokes, you should have most anything you'd need to do with your shotgun covered. Pattern your chosen loading with all three chokes and use whichever one patterns most to your liking.
 
chokes

it all depends on how far your shooting, you not gonna want a full choke for close up work. also what ammo are you running in it??? slugs, buckshot or bird shot?? ic or c for buck shot/ slugs, like i said for birdshot how far you shooting?? you'll probably be fine with a ic or c hopped i could hep:)
 
at HD ranges, no choke is gonna open up much,, like under 10 yards..

Full, super full, light modified, skeet,,, I'd rather not get shot at with any at close range
 
Last week I tested a 12 Ga 9 pellet buck shot at 120 feet at a 12 inch target. Not one pellet hit the target. I know 120 feet isn't an indoors shot, but that should give some idea as to spread.

Yes it was sighted in. The following shot was a slug, and was about 2" to the left of DC.
 
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