Choke, Shot Strings & Leads

posted on December 18, 2019
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
chokestring.jpg

Until the 1970s most shotguns bought in the United States employed full chokes. Those shooting a shotgun with less than a 30" barrel and full choke were considered to be at a great disadvantage! The shotshells of the day were loaded with no protection of the shot column, and tight chokes were necessary to keep most of the shot in the pattern. That changed in the 1960s when more open chokes came into play with the new shot-protecting plastic cups. In 1959, the Winchester Model 59 semi-automatic came with the first Win Chokes, and soon after Stan Baker and Jess Briley began retrofitting those full-choked guns with screw-in choke tubes that are now standard equipment.

With five or more choke tubes in hand, many shooters may wonder which choke to use. An afternoon at the patterning board using your favorite ammunition will tell you volumes; however, if you don’t have time or the place, here’s some research to help you along.

Keep in mind that today’s shotshells don’t need as much choke as what granddad shot. Internationally known shooting instructor Gil Ash did some intensive pattern testing several years ago and came up with these conclusions:

  Skeet and cylinder chokes, in the 0.005" constriction range, provide a reliably dense pattern to 25 yards.

  Improved cylinder (0.010") has perfect conical expansion—the pattern is 25" at 25 yds. and 30" at 30 yds.

  The best general-purpose option, a 0.020" modified choke’s pattern is 25" at 25 yds., but stays that diameter out to 45 yds., which covers the entire spectrum of practical game-shooting ranges.

Ash did his testing with lead shot, and I repeated the experiment with steel shot and arrived at the same conclusions: For all practical purposes, a modified tube gives us the best overall coverage of pattern density.

There’s one other aspect we need to be mindful of regarding pattern performance: The shot charge has both length and width. We can’t see length or shot string without using high-speed cameras to record the shot in flight; however, without this stringing effect our flat 30" charge of shot would have to hit the bird at the precise moment their flights intersect. With shot string, we have an average of 5 to 7 ft. of length to compensate for aiming errors in front of the target; it’s no help if you miss behind!

Latest

.308 Win.
.308 Win.

Handloads: A Quiet .308 Win. For Large-Format Pistols

Of the many commercial .308 Winchester loads, few, if any, are designed for barrels shorter than 16". The one that follows helps address this gap while remaining simple to suppress and light on the wrists.

Court Approves Watchtower Firearms DIP Financing

Watchtower Firearms was granted final approval for debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas in late June.

Review: Ruger LC Carbine In 10 mm Auto

Following the success of its .45 ACP-chambered LC Carbine, Ruger realized that this platform would go a long way toward making the 10 mm Auto more controllable and fun to shoot, and a new 10 mm version was released in 2024.

The Armed Citizen® July 14, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Favorite Firearms: A Little Stevens From Chicago

"Over the next five or six years, and before I went off to college, I fired hundreds and hundreds of rounds of .22 BB Caps, CB Caps, Shorts and Longs through this rifle."

Preview: Strike Industries T-Bone Charging Handle

The T-Bone from Strike Industries is an ideal fit for suppressed applications, as it can be configured by the user to redirect gas blowback entirely to either side ...

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.