How Do You Choose Shotgun Shells And Chokes?
The versatility of the shotgun comes from it’s ability to shoot so many different types of ammo, but with this comes the opportunity to use ammo inappropriate for the job at hand. This article is aimed at helping you select the right shell. • Check the size of shells you need to buy. It’d be embarrassing to come back from the store with 12ga shells for your 20ga shotgun! (they won’t fit) • Decide what you are to be shooting at, and at what kind of range you expect to engage your target. • Select a shell-choke combination, with the proper size shot, that you believe will produce the patterns you desire. This is an art, or at best, an inexact science. • Shoot one of your shot-shells at a piece of paper big enough to record the impact of all, or nearly all, of the pellets at the range you expect to use the load. At 40 yards, expect to get a pattern with a diameter of roughly 20-40″, depending on choke and shotgun shell used. Examine the pattern: • How dense is the pattern in this main clu
