What choke should i use for pheasant and quail hunting?

D

dw

New member
I have an 835 ultri mag what shoudl i use choke should i use that would be effective on both birds. I have a full and xtra-full. i plan on using 3in 4 shot and/or 2 3/4 6 shot. please help
thanks
 
I would buy a modified choke , the full choke would be better suited for ducks or open field pheasant and the extra full for turkey , ducks and geese . Good luck , Mike...
 
Mike is right. modified,(unless you are in primary quail country, then improved would not be too open.) If you might be hunting both in the same cover, modified choke, 2 3/4 #6 is plenty. I like #5 shot for pheasants, but #4 is OK too.
This year I started using the 'Golden Pheasant' #5s. Perfect pheasant busters. They swat harder, pattern nice, and shoot faster.
If forced to use steel shot, the loads you mention would be fine with a modified choke.
 
A lot would depend on where you are hunting. Too much choke can be a bigger handicap than too little. I would probably recommend buying a modified tube for most of your use, and maybe an imp. if you do a lot of close quail hunting. My old shotgun had a modified choked barrel so that was all I had, I have been using one with tubes now for about 4 years, using both mod. and full. The quail pop in our part of the country has been down for a few years, so I don't get a chance to shoot many. I will start out the pheasant season with the mod. tube in, (younger dumber birds =closer easier shots) and then switch to full around Thanksgiving after they have been chased around and "wised up" for a month. I also mostly hunt 1/4 section CRP fields or fencelines or draws where birds will often get up a ways out there. I mostly use #5 (2 3/4") for pheasant, have been using Activ for the last couple years, but also like the Federal High Power. If I am hunting in an area that I know both pheasants and quail inhabit, I will back down to a lighter "field load" #6. Back when our quail pop was higher and a guy could expect to get into them regularly I always carried a dozen light 7 1/2s.
The full does its job on turkeys also (3 seasons, 3 shots, 3 toms), if I had the xf tube I would probably use it, but I ain't gonna spend the $ for one, I used to shoot them with my mod.
 
Use a modified choke and size 5 or 6 shot for Phaesants. For Quail, use an improved cylinder bore and size 7 1/2 or 8 shot. Have fun, collect all you shoot, and cook all you collect. Best deal is field to table in one day! Regards, Mikey and Barkley.
 
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