Hello all,

I am brand new to shotgunning, and I don't know squat about shotguns or shotgunning.

I am getting a set of 20ga. shotgun barrels with the double rifle (double trigger of course) I am purchasing.

I am not much of a skeet shooter (don't know if that makes any difference).
I plan on hunting quite a bit with the shotie bbls.

In short, what chokes would y'all recomend for an all-around/generall purpose 20ga. shotgun?

And what choke should I get in which particular barrel?


Thanks in advance,

I have hunted a lot with a 20ga, and have some double rifle drillings and a drilling with 20ga barrels.

Mod and full would be my choice for all round use.

Last month while deer hunting I killed a squirrel at 43 yards with a 3" No6.

Depends what you like to shoot most. Here are couple of examples.


DOVES:
MODIFIED/FULL You will be able to reach out to 60 yards and touch them

PHEASANTS:
MODIFIED/FULL

QUAIL:
SKEET/IMPROVED CYLINDER

DUCKS:
IMPROVED CYLINDER/MODIFIED


If you are planning on hunting waterfowl in USA then you must use non-toxic shot. It is much harder than lead so probably not a good idea to go any tighter than a MODIFIED i.e. do not go to FULL


As an alternative you can send your barrels to Briley and they can install screw-in chokes for you. Then you can switch your chokes as the presentation/hunt fits the situation.

IC and Mod I have shot hundreds of pheasants and grouse wood cocks ect with that combo works well most people way over choke.

Thanks for the advice fellas!

I told the guy who is making the double rifle and the shotgun barrels what I would be using it for.

He recomended (and I adopted) the following: 1/2 choke (modified) in left barrel - 1/4 choke in the right barrel.



It might not be the ideal learning gun, but I think it will be a very middle-of-the-road, general-purpose, all-around gun. Perhaps not ideal for quail or grouse. Perhaps not ideal for duck, pheasant and geese.

If I want something more ideal for a certain type of game, I will get a true shotgun with the appropriate gauge and choke.


Thanks again guys for the advice, I appreciate it.

Nemo 450,

For the price of a 2nd set of barrels fitted to your DR frame you can probably buy a decent-nice SxS 20 ga. with choke tubes.

That way both the DR & shotgun are both available all the time.

Just a thought

quote:

Posted 18 January 2011 22:52 Hide Post
Nemo 450,

For the price of a 2nd set of barrels fitted to your DR frame you can probably buy a decent-nice SxS 20 ga. with choke tubes.

That way both the DR & shotgun are both available all the time.

but if you're going to africa it means taking a 2nd gun.
i have a set of 20 ga bbls fitted to a set of double rifles. they are bored full and modified. i'm probably going to have the full choke bbl opened up to imp modified. otherwise i thing your gunsmith is right . One thing about using shotgun bbls on a rifle is that the firing pin on a rifle is much more pointed than a shotgun. this leads to pierced primers. if found that winchester shells gave me the fewest pierced primers

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:

quote:

Posted 18 January 2011 22:52 Hide Post
Nemo 450,

For the price of a 2nd set of barrels fitted to your DR frame you can probably buy a decent-nice SxS 20 ga. with choke tubes.

That way both the DR & shotgun are both available all the time.

but if you're going to africa it means taking a 2nd gun.
i have a set of 20 ga bbls fitted to a set of double rifles. they are bored full and modified. i'm probably going to have the full choke bbl opened up to imp modified. otherwise i thing your gunsmith is right . One thing about using shotgun bbls on a rifle is that the firing pin on a rifle is much more pointed than a shotgun. this leads to pierced primers. if found that winchester shells gave me the fewest pierced primers

Thanks alot!

That is very helpfull info!

IMPROVED CYLINDER and MODIFIED for upland hunting and MOD/FULL for waterfowl. IMP/MOD would also be great for ducks and doves from a blind.

@lal

In USA we cannot use lead for ducks. It turns into a Federal violation and fines are quite steep. We are not supposed to even have any lead shot in our possession while hunting waterfowl.

The non-toxic shot i.e. hevishot, steel, tungsten, etc is very hard on the barrels and you can damage the exit end of the gun rather quickly if you shoot tighter constrictions such as FULL.

So usually we do not choke more than a MOD when using non-toxic shot for ducks in USA. It patterns much tighter than lead anyways so shooting "hevishot through MOD" is similar to shooting "lead through FULL".

My next double shotgun will have Lt. modified and modified chokes. That will handle everything except off the end of the barrel birds.

465H&H

@465H&H
For off the end of the barrel birds there is a good solution in the form of spreader loads. They open the pattern up real wide with tight chokes. Usually they are couple of bucks more per box because the wad is a bit more expensive. Some manufacturers like RST make them for 20 gauge. One case usually ought to last a long time.

Why not get it tubed?

Cylinder and cylinder. Always worked for me. Doves, quail, etc.

Do you realize how far 60 yards really is? Like wounding elk with the 500 yard high to hill shot. Not much to brag about.