Demystifying Chokes

From our November/December 2025 Issue

Shotgun chokes have been with us for about 200 years. Before that they simply didn’t exist. Every shotgun barrel possessed a continuous smooth bore all the way to the muzzle without a constriction of any kind.

Then chokes—constrictions or narrower ID (inside diameter) sections in the bores at the muzzle ends of shotgun barrels that cause tightening of the patterns—were discovered and universally built into barrels. They became known as “integral,” or “fixed,” chokes.

But in the 1970s there sprung up machinists, particularly in the US, who began taking short pieces of metal conduit, threading the outsides and then threading the insides of the muzzle ends of the bores to accept the sections of externally threaded conduit. Just as did integral chokes, the conduits contained sections with IDs smaller than the bores that caused “choking” effects. They became known as “screw-in choke tubes.”

The first successful commercial screw-in chokes were the Winchoke series developed by Winchester in the US and installed in the company’s shotguns. They were originally of flush-mount design and afforded undeniable convenience and cost savings, allowing choke changing without having to buy and possess a separate barrel for each choke. Undoubtedly the most popular independent competitive choke tubes were those made by Jess Briley, in Texas, with his line of screw-in chokes. Briley could compete with Winchokes, because he began making his chokes to fit a wide variety of existing makes of shotgun barrels instead of only one line like the Winchokes.

Under contract, I did a great deal of pattern and destructive testing for Briley as he developed his choke-tube lines. This was stimulated by the onset of steel shot, which was not successfully passing without damage through fixed chokes tighter than Modified in some shotgun-brand barrels and the original screw-in chokes of both Winchester and Briley. The problem was that steel pellets, created a much greater strain than did soft lead shot at the choke end of the barrel. This caused choke-tube and muzzle bulging or splitting. Lead shot did not do this, as it essentially shifted, squished and deformed enough upon entering the choke zone to not cause distortion or damage to even the tightest chokes.

After much experimentation, we learned that steel-shot-proof screw-in choke tubes had to have thicker wall diameters and be made of much harder steel than lead-shot screw-in choke tubes. Once this was discovered through trial and error, shooting steel shot through such choke tubes became a non-issue. Even then there was a mass of information out there—which still persists today—that steel shot would damage many, especially “older,” existing shotgun barrels and chokes, integral or screw-in regardless of constriction, no ifs, ands or buts. Therefore, one needed a whole new “steel-shot-proof” shotgun and choke system if one wanted to shoot steel. A lot of this was simply misleading propaganda that served to sell an unknown number of unneeded new shotguns and choke tubes to the unwary.

These days almost every shotgun manufacturer has learned how to fabricate steel-shot-proof shotgun barrels and screw-in or integral chokes for their barrels. There are also numerous independent screw-in-choke-tube manufacturers making aftermarket steel-shot-proof choke tubes for a wide variety of shotgun barrels that can handle any hard shot type. But there remain a few hold-out Eropean and UK manufacturers that hvae yet—or have refused—to solve the puzzle of how to make integral or screw-in hardshot chokes in all of the constrictions for their shotguns. And so they advertise not to shoot steel or any hard shot type through their chokes tighter than Modified. But not to worry. Numerous independent screw-in-choke makers sell aftermarket, hard-shot-proof choke tubes in the tighter constrictions that can be fitted to these few dinosaur factory barrels. (I say “dinosaur,” because hard nontoxic-shot types like steel are simply not going away, especially since steel is the least expensive and largest selling of the available non-toxics.)

Which brings us to the typical shotgunner’s need for chokes. Here are my six common-sense recommendations for choke selection based on my extensive pattern-testing findings (thousands of patterns over a 45-plus-year period) of both soft (lead and bismuth) and hard (steel and the various tungsten-based) shot types through a wide variety of chokes.

First, in new shotguns or those made within the past 25 years, the integral or screw-in chokes in those guns as they come from the manufacturers are generally as good as one needs. This can be confirmed by simply pattern-testing them correctly (see Shot Talk, Sept/Oct ’25). This is especially true if we’re talking about open chokes: Skeet or Improved Cylinder up through Light Modified and Modified. Such chokes tend to be used for birds or clay targets at distances less than 40 yards. Without exaggerating, it’s a no-brainer to machine a choke to develop good patterns within these open-constriction parameters.

Second, the only time chokes and their fabrication become critical for pattern quality is when we’re talking about long-range shooting. I define this as distances beyond 45 yards. At those distances my pattern-testing tells me clearly and indisputably that, whether shooting hard or soft shot types, one will need Improved Modified, Full or Extra Full constrictions, depending on shot size and type, to deliver sufficient and lethal patterns. Don’t get snowed by any advertising, salesperson or word of mouth telling you that steel and other hard shot types must always be fired through Modified or more-open chokes for everything and that hard shot types actually pattern “better” through open constrictions. For beyond-45-yard shooting, if your pattern-testing reveals insufficient patterns with a given gun manufacturer’s tight chokes, then buy aftermarket, hard-shot-proof, tight screw-in choke tubes and install them in the gun.

Third, there is a wide variety of lengths, internal configurations and choke-tube cosmetics out there, whether flush-mount or extended. But from my sectioning and examination of numerous brands of choke tubes, most of them are just imitations of preexisting successfully selling aftermarket or factory choke tubes. This goes on because virtually none of them are patented. Keep that in mind before forking out big bucks for certain aftermarket choke tubes.

Fourh, as far as pattern quality goes, there is nothing advantageous about very long(3 1⁄2" or longer) extended choke tubes versus simply long (2 1⁄2" to 3") flush-mount choke tubes. From my testing, it is true that longer chokes tend to pattern large shot sizes better at longer range. But a 2 1€" to 3" integral or screw-in, flush-mounted tube is plenty long enough to accomplish this.

Fifth, despite claims, porting the end of an extended choke tube is not going to significantly reduce recoil or, in many cases, reduce recoil at all or improve patterns. But such ported tubes are going to significantly increase muzzle-blast noise and gunk up frequently with plastic-wad residue.

Sixth, you can shoot any shot type through a hard-shot-proof choke but not through “lead-shot-only” chokes. So anymore you may as well buy guns with integral chokes or screw-in choke tubes that are hard-shot compatible and be ready for anything.