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Preliminaries
Briley
Teague
Comp-n-Choke
Kicks
Trulock |
PRELIMINARIES
Firstly this is not a test concentrating on the weight of the chokes, bore dimensions or too much worrying about the pattern sheet. I
did this on my normal week in week out shooting, I know how my gun performs,
how my regular cartridges perform and how I perform (ooo the scores, the
scores). We are all pretty consistent, in my case consistently ****. The gun
at the time was a Browning 425, Invector chokes, the cartridge used Express Super Competition 28g 7½
and I was shooting quite consistent scores! My regular choke was the Briley X2 and this
was the benchmark, the standard Browning OE chokes were ditched early on, which for obvious reasons would be an unfair starting point. I
used each set of chokes on alternate weeks putting 50 or 60 shots through the chokes and
I had a little go on the pattern plate.
I wanted replacement chokes because I had doubts over the abilities of the standard Browning chokes, which while throwing patterns that bust clays, may
not have been performing exactly as marked and may have been throwing a pattern with 'holes' in. There is a certain "must have" aura about a quality replacement choke. If a company sells a choke that tells you that its a 'half' choke then we believe that it WILL be a 'half' choke and WILL break that 40 yard clay into tiny pieces all by itself. I wanted an unfair advantage, I wanted something that the next guy
hadn't got, I wanted my shot to perform in a sooper dooper way, to smoke every target. To do this I put my trust in a replacement choke, observed how it
broke clays and inevitably grinned as the clay vanished in a puff of smoke
... or completely intact..
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BRILEY X2
I shot with these for nine months and they are a decent aftermarket choke. I initially chose chokes in 3/8th constriction which is between half & quarter,
a fair compromise I thought. Then my partner was more consistent than
me with the close birds and I added Cylinder & Skeet to my collection! They are a decent choke the quality machine work is a common factor throughout the chokes on test and these X2's
have a light knurled extended section projecting 22mm from the muzzle. Briley (Chris Potter Guns) were the only company that decided in their infinite wisdom not to talk to me so I guess they
didn't really care what their customers wanted. Which is strange really because I have had some great help in the past from
CPG when paying money over, the Visa card was teased from my
pocket like a bridegroom on a stag night in Prague.
I'm sure that I could have written more but I'm chomping to get to those
Kicks chokes !
Chris Potter Guns 01892 522 208
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TEAGUE
EXTENDED
These chokes give the appearance of being down to earth, minimalist
and a solid piece of engineering. In my mind the chokes radiate quality,
Nigel Teague as I'm sure you will read on his website is a former Rolls
Royce engineer, with a history of converting fixed choke shotguns to
multichokes. A gun that was Teague choked was seen as a must have and
was on many peoples wish lists. The knurled section projects 12mm beyond
the muzzle and provides good grip to both bare and gloved hands.
Cracking. The chokes used were the "standard" sporting choke
recommendation of half & quarter, both performed faultlessly and
gave a good coverage over the sporting target ranges.
Teague also do a flush replacement choke
that is keenly priced and is a direct replacement for your standard OE chokes and
therefore must be seen as the
best choice for the shooter concerned with getting the best pattern with
no extension to the barrel length and therefore, to some people, no
distraction. There is also a ported version that I haven't seen or
tested, but hey you never know ... if porting swings your monkey.
Patterning to follow!
Teague Precision Chokes
01454 260 226
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COMP-N-CHOKE
SLOT PORTED
Used these on the weekend of 18th February and expected them to be
exactly the same as Kicks. The ¾ choke seemed to be throwing tighter
patterns, but the 1/4 choke was taking care of everything that escaped
and came closer. Again these chokes attracted attention and the mental
game was lost at the start because I found myself thinking about the
chokes too much. The options with shooting this combination are truly
wonderful, the far birds just disappear into smoke and I have the
confidence to take birds much earlier than I would when shooting more
open chokes. After 50 birds these chokes were black rather than the
attractive steel that can shine when freshly scrubbed, am I using dirty,
pox ridden slut whore cartridges?
The problem of mucky chokes stopped me buying the Ultra XS in it's
ported guise, so though these babies do a good job, they are a bugger to
keep clean. These are billed as being slot ported braking chokes,
the slots grabbing the wad monentarily to allow the shot to separate
from the shot carrier and ensure a better pattern. If they say that it
works, it works !! How can I tell you what it does without getting close
to the "dangerous end".
Direct
from Comp-n-Choke 001 912 829 4614
Ray Ward
Gunsmith 0208 845 6689 / 0207 235 2550
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KICKS 'SMOKIN' ANGLE
PORTED
These are NOT chokes if you're a shrinking violet, projecting a whopping 45mm beyond the muzzle.
When testing, I put these in first, to be fair I just wanted them in the
gun, yerrrrrr! I was drawn to them as being 'must have now' objects of desire,
Kicky will not let you ignore him! I was concerned that these were going to be a touch too much in many respects,
too long, too distracting and drawing too much attention. I was shooting
¼ & ¾ which is a bit of a departure from what
"Mr Sporting Shooter" would probably pick, but in many ways
it was a great combination for certain grounds, if you can do it and if you have the urge to try it,
do! This choke combination proved a real hit, literally. The porting allegedly reduces felt recoil by up to 25% and reduces muzzle flip, enabling the shooter to acquire the second target quicker with less movement to correct. When it came to cleaning the gun & chokes after the days shooting, the steel around the porting was tarnished in places by powder residue which took some shifting.
It is said of the Kicks stable mate, the Comp-n-Choke, that the slotted porting
acted as a brake to the shot carrier and thus helps set up the pattern by separating the shot carrier sooner.
I reckon the Kicks also do this and the wad was observed falling much shorter than normal. The true test of the chokes is of course how they perform in the gun. I shot a round of 50 with these chokes and then started to do the same course with Briley X2 light modified, after doing half the course I stopped and put the Kicks back in
such was the 'feel good factor' of these holed hunni's. A choke that brings a grin to my face and I
used them week in week out.
I switched to the Browning Ultra XS and the 425
was sold, so the chokes were put to one side in Invector form, cue
Invector Plus and a whole new chapter.
The Kicks chokes are responsible for my choke set up
¾ &
¼ Changed only when shooting DTL & skeet.
Ray Ward
Gunsmith 0208 845 6689 / 0207 235 2550
Kicks Industries 001 912 829 3575
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TRULOCK
EXTENDED
Trulock chokes were a late addition to this section. Much
changed since the original test, the demise of the Browning 425
and the rise of the Ultra XS II, Invector Plus chokes and my shooting
incorporated more trips to the Trap layouts. But
the more things change, the more they stay the same ... I still sought chokes that put a smile on my face and dust in the air.
Trulock is perhaps not the first name that springs to mind when
looking at the replacement choke market, whether this is down to not
pushing the UK market or because Briley and Teague are seen as having
the hearts and minds of the shooting public I'm not sure.
Sold in the UK by Garlands of Edingale,
Staffordshire, they are a
discreet item on the counter and are not promoted in a BUY ME NOW
way, which is a shame because they are, at first inspection well made
and solid at a Briley & Teague beating price.
As explained in the preliminaries, I opted not to concentrate too
much on pattern sheets and bore dimensions but more on the way that they
shoot and the results out there in the field. I made a decision
some time ago not to be a choke changer, I don't want to be shooting a
sporting layout, approaching a stand and swapping a ¼ choke for a 3/8th
to make sure chances are that misses will be blamed on bad choke
selection. I started to shoot ¼ & ½ for sporting and it
worked (*now all this has changed, older been shooting, new chapter
... shooting ½ & 5/8) I also shot DTL so changed chokes and in the
Trulock range I tried Full & Extra Full and for skeet (rightly or
wrongly) cylinder and skeet.
What can I say !! We are all superstitious to a point and for
Trap disciplines, I was not to be parted from my Trulock Full & Extra
Full, such were the powder inducing qualities of this set up. Far
out kills were achieved using what my chums on the line might judge as
being overchoked. For sporting I'm stuck to the same ¼ / ½
set up and achieved mixed results, it would be unfair to criticise the
chokes, because barn doors had nothing to fear from me at the moment,
but it does show how readily someone COULD blame their equipment.
It must be pointed out that what it says on the label isn't
necessarily what's in the can. It has been mentioned in another
report on chokes that chokes marked up as ¼ threw patterns that varied
from skeet to full. So are we to believe that the chokes were
blessed with magical powers, wooo chameleon chokes!
No! It serves to point out that 'pattern testing' can give pretty
mixed results and if you based your opinion on a sheet with pellet holes
in then you could while away many hours deliberating. Decide what
you want this replacement choke to do for you, is it a fashion
item or is
there a target that you just cannot reach, your existing pattern being too open or too tight? Buy at the more extreme end of the
spectrum. For instance if you shoot ¼ choke and you want a more
open choke ... buy Cylinder. If you want a tighter choke go for
Full! You will soon know if your new buy was right by the results!
Overall, Trulock should be on your mind, you should buy these chokes
because they do what it says on the tin ... they work, they are cost
effective, try one today, you can't afford to miss the chance.
Direct
from Trulock Tools 001 229 762 4678
Garlands 01827
383300
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