Adjustable chokes

[richhodg66]

We were in the neighborhood, so I stopped by Academy Sports, pretty scarry, only ammo in the whole place was for our five boxes of .22 LR shot shells. There was one handgun and a muzzle loading rifle on display.

As I was about to walk out, I noticed a clearance rack so stopped to look. There were adjustable chokes by Tru Glo which threaded right into a shotgun barrel and had a big bulbous looking thing you twisted to tighten or open the patterns. Several types depending on manufacturers thread pitch for choke tubes.

It looks suspiciously like the Poly Chokes of old that everybody seems to hate (I don't) and I got to thinking; "wasn't the reason for interchangeable choke tubes to avoid that big old thing on the muzzle"? Seems like the more things change the more they stay the same.

They're only 27 bucks. I might just swing back by and get one for the Mossberg or Winchester.

[Winger Ed.]

Some old guys actually liked them.
It let their one shotgun be used for different things more so than just different size shot did.

I always figured the popularity of built in chokes other and later barrels had, shotguns in general becoming more affordable,
or the screw in ones made them obsolete, and they just went away.

[longbow]

Personally I always likes the looks of the Cutts Compensator chokes and also the Pachmayr Pow-R-Pac which was similar to the Cutts. They are much beefier than the screw in choke tubes, though I guess that is more of a perception on my part that the screw in choke tubes are too thin... after all, they do work.

I just couldn't quite figure out what is wrong with the Cutts or Pow-R-Pac systems. I don't think they look bad at all. The Cutts is a little sleeker than the Pow-R-Pac.

I had a friend many years ago who had a Poly Choke on his shotgun and he had been shooting trap then decided to shoot some slugs but forgot to open up the Poly Choke. The slug and his choke when down range! He found the Poly Choke and it appeared to be undamaged so he put if back on. Not sure if it was silver soldered or soft soldered to the barrel but I have to think it was soft soldered.

I have an adapter for screw in choke tubes I plan to put on my single shot slug gun so I can try rifled choke tube. That is a Brownells adapter and it says to silver solder the adapter to the barrel.

I think the only "issue" with Poly Chokes is that they are short so may not give as good a pattern as a fixed choke or screw in tube but I can't say that for sure, just repeating what I have heard. They are handy though so I think I'd pick that up. For $27 it seems like a good buy.

Longbow

[richhodg66]

I have had exactly one shotgun with a poly choke on it and didn't have it long, never really gave it much thought.

A few years ago, I bought an autol loader, JC Higgins Model 60, supposedly the first gas operated autoloading shotgun and made by High Standard. It came from the factory with a very elaborate adjustable choke on it that resembles a Cutts.

The gun didn't want to function reliably with light trap loads the other day. I need to get the gun out and work with it more. The more troubling thing was I seemed to be consistently under the target, not sure how best to remedy that one. Likely the gun will go down the road at some point, but it's a kind of interesting piece.

[Bmi48219]

Richodg66,
If it consistently shoots low and doesn’t function reliably it is a basket case, suitable only for display purposes. The good news is We are starting a non-profit museum dedicated to preserving such artifacts. Your J C Higgins model 60 would be a great acquisition for our adjustable choke autoloader shotguns that shoot low, don’t function with light loads exhibit. And your donation will be tax deductible. We are on a tight budget but to help you out are willing to pay for shipping from your FFL.

[richhodg66]

Yeah, as I understand it, these had a system where you could adjust them for different shells, light to heavy. I need to open it up and check it.

I did look into it and they were offered with this choke system and without, but mine has a nickle plated receiver and the choke system is also nickled. Haven't seen another one like that, kind of wonder if it's factory of someone did it afterwards.

I just did some looking at a couple of sources of those Tru Glo adjustable chokes. Seems they sell for well over a hundred bucks most places, for the price of these, I think I'm gonna go back and pick up a couple.

[too many things]

they thought they were going to work good. NOW with the steel shot, they are the best thing on the market .
i have one on every ga . and for steel its the right choice

[rking22]

If you can get it to cycle like you want, just start taping she’ll box cardboard on the comb a layer at a time till it hits where you look. Gun shoots low cause the comb is too low for you. A little more to it, like the added height of the bead on the choke device, but raising the comb fixes the “ shooting low” issue. Once you know how much you need a permanent solution can be implemented, if you decide you like the shine little thing
You could also bend the barrel over a shot bag to get the pattern up, but that takes a bit of “feel” to get it right. And a good bit of nerve...

[Big Dipper]

I have one of those Tru-glo adjustable chokes on a Benelli super 90. I have had it six or seven years. I bought it to use for waterfowl hunting out of my scullboat. Usually my first shot is close but rowing down cripples requires long shots. I have patterened it with the #3 and #1 steel shot I use and it patterens very good. I now use it on all of my waterfowl hunting the Benelli has replaced my Beretta over under. I didn't want to like it but it works.

[Hoss29860]

Little off topic but i actually own two 12gauge mossbergs with the ploy chokes and i still hunt with both fairly often . Killed a 8 point with a 1oz slug at 55 yards with the mossberg 195d this past season

[SuperBlazingSabots]

Good morning, I loved my Poly Choke in the 70's, had my 30 inch barrel on my Remington M11000 3 inch, barrel cut down to 26 inches.

[MOA]

Group of mid 1950-1960's Mossberg bolt action shotguns with first generation chokes and the 2nd iteration of the Polychokes.





The initial thread on chokes. Shotgun came with three chokes and the wrench.





Closeup of the last iteration choke, the poly choke. I grew up shooting these inexpensive but hardworking and reliable shotguns. From crows to deer.



Most shelves at the sporting goods store in the shooting section and reloading are empty and will stay that way for the foreseeable future. It's sad. I was a manager for Academy Sports in Texas for years from Huntsville to Texas City and never had a problem of being out of supplies in the shooting section. But back then the era of wokeness and snowflake safe spaces was not part of our lexicon. Truly our country's leadership has gone brain dead over the last 40 years. Keep checking the discount tables there are still good deals to find.

[Hogtamer]

I got a couple of poly chokes from 870 barrel I bought over the years and yep, they work perfectly. Lots of pics of hogs taken with full choke and buckshot.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Adjustable Chokes worked just fine, however lots of people didn't like the way they looked, and some were downright ugly! One other solution was multiple barrels for your gun with different chokes. My uncle's 1964 A5 was ordered with a 28" Modified Choke Barrel and a 28" Full Choke Barrel which is still unfired. I have considered sending the Full Choke Barrel to Briley to get it threaded for choke tubes, but it is too valuable to change.

Eventually Interchangeable Choke tubes became the standard that we now see in shotguns.

The Cutts Compensator was the first iteration of the "Interchangeable Choke Tube System" and actually had a significant recoil reducing effect as well..

Originally designed in 1928 for the Thompson Sub Machinegun to counter act muzzle rise, the device was perfected for shotguns by 1931 and became a very popular accessory, which increased the versatility of your "probably only shotgun."

Here's the way they work.

The Payload exits the barrel into the "Compensator Tube" where the gasses start to dissipate. The payload then hits the forcing cone of the Choke Tube where is seals the compensator tube which forces all the gasses out the slots in the top and bottom of the tube. It also has a Muzzle Brake Effect at that point as the gasses and the payload hit the forcing cone and apply forward momentum to the gun counteracting the Recoil Impulse. This actually has a significant effect on recoil mitigation, and as such made the device very popular to the point where many brands of shotguns had them installed at the factory. My 1940 Ithaca M37 being one of them that came with the Cutts Compensator factory installed. and I have a Browning A5 barrel with one as well.

As far as looks go, I can say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, however in my particular case I am very pleased with the way this gun looks with the device installed. In addition the gun is a total Cream Puff to shoot.

I think you'll agree that the gun looks good with the IC tube on it. Right???

Randy