Choke for singles. Question?

I have always been a full choke singles shooter. But recently, by mistake, I had my over and under barrels on and shot 50 singles with an improved cylinder choke. It broke all 50 although arguably not as hard as my full choke does. Here's my question does anybody shoot singles with wide open choke like the improved cylinder? I have a 97 + average on Singles but I often wonder how I could pick up that extra Target from 98 to 99 or 99 to a hundred. Dreaming? What is your experience?

 

Choke to use? That is a big question in my book. There are a lot of variables to look at.
(1) your gun. All guns an d choke tubes are different.
(2) The shells use use. I find that all different shells pattern differently with different guns and choke tubes,
(3) If you use reloads now you have more to deal with. Powder type and amount, wads type, shot, size and amount.
I use an Improved Modified in my Kolar TS with my reloads and new shells because I like how it breaks the target.

 

They only score lost or dead, not how hard you hit them ... 100 chips beats 99 ink blots all day long ... I am not a fan of choke tubes so I always shoot a full choke, I do not shoot singles or doubles except in practice or just for fun ... Always use 7 1/2's or 8's .. WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

Full or extra full for practice --Light mod for score --Works for me --

 

For 55+ years I have used Full choke on all sgls & Hdcps.

GB............................DLS

 

I use full for practice and IM for scores. It has always done well for me.

 

In a given event yes. BUT I would be willing to bet the guy that smokes 99 has a higher average and is a better shooter than the guy who gets lucky and chips and chunks his way to 100 straight; any given Sunday dort of thing.

Though I did witness my Dad shoot possibly the ugliest 100 straight in trap history when he first developed a flinch prior to going to release. It looked like Joe Cocker shooting 16s......

 

Joe, that's one of the funniest things I have ever heard! Very descriptive, too!

 

A true story, I was shooting at the Pa State shoot in I think in 1984 and I was using a Beretta 302 with a choke tube barrel that I had made for me by skeets Salmons from Oklahoma. I was shooting as an industry rep so I really didn't have that much pressure on me (no chance for money) so I was playing with different chokes for the whole shoot. One singles event I was really having a hard time smoking a target, every bird was breaking in 3's and 4's and it was starting to ware on me some. Even though I was 50 straight I thought I'd better change my tube again and when I checked my barrel before the third trap I discovered I'd never put any choke tube in it before I went to the line for the first trap. Two 25 straights, no choke tube.

Two things I found out that day. Always check your barrel before you start a round and you can break a 16 yard target without any choke at all, but it does get on your nerves.

 

Brad, now that is an interesting story! Not sure many people can shoot singles like I have seen you shoot them! Seriously though, you make a great point. Which is more important to a good score, to smoke a target and get in a rhythm, which is what I have always tried to do, or, open that choke up and try to cover the sky. Have to think about that.

Didn't Stafford go to using his first shot doubles gun for a while on singles?

Anyway, no choke at all is quite the feat!

 

Whose the poor bastard you sold that gun to??

Funny story.

 

We were not talking about averages, we were talking about breaking targets, at that point your average means nothing ... When I first started shooting registered I got in a shoot off about a month after my first shoot ... My Dad forewarned me the guy I was shooting off against had a 93 + average, I do not recall what mine was but it wasn't 93 + I can tell you ... He missed a target, I ran my first 25 straight, he lost first round of the shoot offs ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

Like i said, any given Sunday. BUT the guys that break the most targets smoke the most targets. I've watched the good shooters. They (insert All American shooters name here) don't chip and chunk, they burn coal. They don't win them all, but they win a hell of alot more than the average joe.

I read a stat once, maybe someone can help out. It was in With Winning In Mind or Mental Training for Shotgun Sports. One of those shooting books. Something like 10% of the shooters win 90% of the competitions. That may have been at an Olympic level but I think is has some merit in the ATA.

 

Either a skeet or IC choke and 3dr/1 1/8 #9's. Maybe as big as #8's if it's windy. The 0.20" MOD fixed choke in the Perazzis I've shot easily smoke targets with 24gm/7 1/2's - actually the Perazzi screw-ins do the same thing.