Choke Trouble

[CAJUN LAB]

The choke in my extrema siezed up after i shot one time on thursday. Has anybody else ever had this problem?

[Fish]

The only thing I've ever seen that will cause a choke to sieze is rust.

Beretta steel is pretty good. I've never had a rust issue with any of mine even in salt. Remember that screw in chokes are only supposed to be hand tight, and I'm not talking about straining hand tightened.

Let us know if you find rust around the threads when you get it out.

[CAJUN LAB]

will do

[CAJUN LAB]

Fish do you shoot 3.5 in yours. that was the first 3.5 i had sent through mine?

[CAJUN LAB]

Choke was busted. Let big papi give you some advise dont shoot 3.5 buckshot through a factory full. Gun smith said they will crack everytime.

[Fish]

Busted choke?

Damn.

Never even heard of such.

Perhaps this is an illustration to all of us of the extreme pressures exerted in the choke when the shot charge of a 12 ga 3.5" tries to force it's way through. The proverbial 5lb ham in a 3lb can comes to my mind. The 12 ga 3.5" isn't a very good round ballistically speaking for this very reason. The barrel diameter is just too small for the load. However, the 10 ga. is a very good round in this application.

[CAJUN LAB]

I'll tell you this I will never send another 3.5 through mine.
I wonder if that was just for the full or for every choke?

[dixiedeerslaya]

never had any problems with my 870 factory full with 3.5" buckshot......have shot dozens of rounds through it with out any problems.... however, i have found that an improved cyl or a mod choke throws a better pattern with buckshot out of my gun any way....and 2.75" shells kill more deer, so i dont really use 3.5" no more... but thats beside the point....... if they are sellin a 3.5" gun, shouldnt the choke they sell be able to handle 3.5" shells also? that dont seem worth a shit to me...

[CAJUN LAB]

That was the first thing that went through my head. I normally shoot a Kicks, but had already taken it out and put it in the safe. guess next time I'll take 4 seconds and get my buckshot choke.

[Fish]

This whole issue is pretty straight forward guys. You can over-choke a shot charge. And when you do that, you get poor distribution of pellets. I'd say that full choke in a 12 ga. 3.5 is overchoked no matter what size pellets you're pushing through it, and further, I'd say if you think you need 3.5" for ducks, your a skybuster...but that isn't relevant here.

What do we know about the 12 ga. 3.5"? Well, for starters it was designed for ducks back when steel shot was the only option. The idea was to throw more shot out there with each round.

And what do we know about steel shot? Well, if you'll read your owners manual it'll tell you that a full choke is not recommended with steel shot.

So let's consider for a moment a gun designed to shoot large loads with a moderate choke and then let's take this same gun, with poor ballistic characteristics in general, i.e. high muzzle pressure and blotchy patterns with a tight choke, and add the mentality of "if some is good, more must be better", put a full choke in the gun and then attempt to shoot a load of large unvielding pellets, like for instance, buckshot.

The best outcome is poor ballistic performance. The worst outcome is broken equipment and/or personal injury.

So I have to ask you, why would you even consider using a full choke in this gun?

[dixiedeerslaya]

there is no need for 3.5" shells at all... i shot a remington 1100 all my life and was limited to 2.75 shells.... then i got an 870 bout 6 years ago....never had the option of 3" or 3.5" shells so i got that more is better attitude... shot 3.5" for a while and ducks and deer and turkey..... then i realized.... in a 3.5" shell you have 18 00 pellets..... in a 2.75" magnum shell you have 12 00 pellets.... you have the same amount of powder pushing both loads.... which is going to go faster and further? if your load cant make it to 100 yards how is it gonna kill any deer??.... so now i only shoot 2.75" magnum buckshot (when i can find it) and 3" magnums when i cant.... no 3.5 inch for me... UNLESS im walking a field or something tryin to jump a deer up... then ill shoot 3.5" cuz i know my shots will be close and hey... sometimes more is better......

[dixiedeerslaya]

but my factory full choke for my 870 says on it... for lead or steel shot.....i have used it a few times for steel, but usually stick with the mod.

[CAJUN LAB]

This whole issue is pretty straight forward guys. You can over-choke a shot charge. And when you do that, you get poor distribution of pellets. I'd say that full choke in a 12 ga. 3.5 is overchoked no matter what size pellets you're pushing through it, and further, I'd say if you think you need 3.5" for ducks, your a skybuster...but that isn't relevant here.

What do we know about the 12 ga. 3.5"? Well, for starters it was designed for ducks back when steel shot was the only option. The idea was to throw more shot out there with each round.

And what do we know about steel shot? Well, if you'll read your owners manual it'll tell you that a full choke is not recommended with steel shot.

So let's consider for a moment a gun designed to shoot large loads with a moderate choke and then let's take this same gun, with poor ballistic characteristics in general, i.e. high muzzle pressure and blotchy patterns with a tight choke, and add the mentality of "if some is good, more must be better", put a full choke in the gun and then attempt to shoot a load of large unvielding pellets, like for instance, buckshot.

The best outcome is poor ballistic performance. The worst outcome is broken equipment and/or personal injury.

So I have to ask you, why would you even consider using a full choke in this gun?

The only reason I shot the full was laziness which is unexceptable period bottom line. There for the result was broken equipment.
The Kicks Buckshot choke is ported which relieves pressure and results in better patterns correct?
Adam the 2.75 shell are the fastest shots. most people dont understand that. I usually lead with 2.75 and back them up with 3's.
You have to know the limits of your gun and the shots you can take. I try and pick out a bush or tree and only shoot within that range, and most of the time try to stay 50yds and in.

[CAJUN LAB]

My 390 patterns best with a mod hands down.

[Fish]

Roger on the modified.

In the UK they sometimes refer to modified as a "half choke" because it sits between cylinder and full. Modified is the perfect choke in my opinion and I shoot mod in both barrels pretty much all the time except for when I shoot steel shot. I usually back off a bit for that.

[WoodieSC]

Fish,

Well put. I personally only use 3.5" on turkeys and geese, if then.

Choke was busted. Let big papi give you some advise dont shoot 3.5 buckshot through a factory full. Gun smith said they will crack everytime.

Glad to see you've learned your lesson without personal injury or serious damage to your gun. You could have easily peeled the front couple of inches open.

I'll tell you this I will never send another 3.5 through mine.
I wonder if that was just for the full or for every choke?

It wasn't necessarily the 3.5" shell that did it... it could have happened with 2.75" rounds also, it just might have taken an extra shot or two.

but my factory full choke for my 870 says on it... for lead or steel shot.....i have used it a few times for steel, but usually stick with the mod.

You can use a full choke with steel, but I wouldn't go heavier than #4 shot. That's about the limit on steel pellet fluidity that's worth testing.