Shotgun Shooting

As with rifle shooting, good shotgun marksmanship begins with proper preparation, which includes ensuring you have a properly fitting gun, adjusting your choke and ammunition for maximum performance, practicing sufficiently, mastering shotgun techniques on leading the target, and especially learning to estimate ranges.

Matching Choke to Your Game and Abilities

Built-in or attached to the muzzle end of the barrel, the choke is a constriction that controls the shot string, thus affecting pellet density at various distances. A choke allows you to fine-tune your shotgun for the type of game you’re hunting and for the way you are able to shoulder and move to hit your target.

The tighter the constriction, the greater the distance that the cluster of pellets stays together. The looser the constriction, the faster the shot pattern spreads. Recall that the most common chokes, ranging from tightest to most open, are:

• Full
• Modified
• Improved Cylinder
• Cylinder (unchoked)

For example, someone who is hunting small, close birds, such as quail, woodcock, chuckers, or grouse, or who has quick reflexes would generally use a cylinder or improved cylinder choke, which creates a broad shot pattern that spreads quickly at close ranges. Conversely, someone hunting larger, less mobile birds, such as pheasants and ducks, or birds that are flushing farther away from the hunter may select a modified, improved modified, or full choke which concentrates the shot in a smaller area.

Pellet size also varies based on the size of the game.