Shotguns… Rem-Chokes… Sheesh!…

hunt0168

hunt0168

Well-known member
I don’t get out with my shotgun for coyotes often, but I took mine out to confirm my pattern was still centered up and consistent. I run a Remington 1187 with a 21” Remchoke barrel. It started as a cantilever barrel, and I had my smith take the cantilever off and mount a short weaver base to the block that originally held the cantilever. I have a Vortex Venom red dot mounted to the base.

The best patterning combo I came up with after a mind boggling amount of effort, is a Pure Gold .670 choke and Winchester Varmint-X BB loads. Patterns well out to 50 yards but I try not to shoot over 40-45. I just can’t bring myself to go with Apex and the like.

Anyway, I shot and it didn’t disappoint. For kicks I grabbed a bunch of the ammo I purchased/stockpiled, mostly 4buck loads, and a bunch of chokes and just played around only to re-confirm what I already knew. The above combo works best from my gun. That said, I literally have a pile of chokes that I will probably never use. I have chokes of all makes… H.S. Strut Undertaker HD, Trulock Predator, Jeb’s High Voltage .675” and .680”, Trulock Boar Blaster, Muller UFO, Carlson’s Coyote, Kick’s Comp-N-Choke and Lord knows what else. All told, I have enough money wrapped up in these chokes that I could have bought another shotgun! Prices new ranged from $35 for the Undertaker to over $100 for the Muller with most falling between $65 and $100. Add the cost of the various ammunition needed to thoroughly test, I definitely could have bought another gun! Lol…

I have a few 12 Gauge Remmy’s that take these chokes, and some of these chokes perform admirably in other barrels with different loads. But having purposely built the 1187 for predators I don’t switch things up much.

Seems crazy that a guy would invest so much in finding a suitable choke / load combo, and then not use it often, doesn’t it? Just goes to show you how big of an obsession this coyote hunting stuff can turn into! And if I’m being honest, I love to shoot and experiment with the different combinations. I literally have a spread sheet listing which gun/barrel/choke/load shoots best. You know…just in case! Lol…

I think I’m going to have to go shotgun a coyote just to justify my investments! I kind of say it every year, but rarely try. The shotgun was my preferred carry over a rimfire before centerfire became legal at night here in NY. Killed a lot of fox back then, and only a few coyotes.

Anyway, just posting for something to yap about here on PM. Maybe I should list these things in the classifieds… Maybe not?
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I went through my big testing phase in 2007 and posted it here. Even since then, I have continued trying different options as shot pellet materials have progressed. The cool thing about that big sticky thread was all the posters that contributed to that. Guys like Derbyacresbob and others piled on more data and that all helps the new guy just wanting to start. I know that over the years I have had hundreds of pm's asking about this or that. It is a lot to take in, and today's ammo prices can get real spendy quickly.
 
GC said:
I went through my big testing phase in 2007 and posted it here. Even since then, I have continued trying different options as shot pellet materials have progressed. The cool thing about that big sticky thread was all the posters that contributed to that. Guys like Derbyacresbob and others piled on more data and that all helps the new guy just wanting to start. I know that over the years I have had hundreds of pm's asking about this or that. It is a lot to take in, and today's ammo prices can get real spendy quickly.
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Yep. I made a couple posts in that thread here and there. I’ve read and reread it over the years. Lots of valuable info in there by some very credible shotgunners. Yourself included!

That’s the thing when it comes to firearms… they all seem to be individuals with a preference that can only be determined through shooting. Nobody can say for sure, “just shoot XXX and it’ll work”. I will say that trying to get a great consistent pattern for a predator specific shotgun is 100% the most difficult firearm based task I have ever dealt with! Lol…

This particular shotgun is what I wanted for a nighttime gun before the laws changed. Hence the red dot sight, short barrel and tight pattern. It was used more like a short range rifle basically for slower moving or stationary targets. My day shotgun for coyotes is a more traditional setup. Another 1187 but a 26” vent rib barrel, Jeb’s High Voltage .680” and 2-3/4” Winchester 4buck loads.
 
You could have bought 10 to 20 pounds of TSS #3 or #4 shot for what you paid for all those chokes. LOL

It is pretty easy to get good patterns with 12g/cc BB shot, 15g/cc #2 shot and TSS #3 and #4 shot. I just use a Carlson's Extended Blued Sporting Clays Choke in Modified or Imp/Mod for my coyote calling.

The almost perfectly round and very hard Tungsten alloy shot types pattern way better than lead shot dose.
 
johral said:
Those Muller chokes seem pricey!
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Yes, they are pricey for sure. It also wasn’t anything special with any of the coyote loads I tried, but did perform respectively with Winchester Longbeard XR #4 turkey loads in my 870 Turkey gun. Just not as well as my preferred load of #5 Longbeard XR from my Patternmaster Code Black Turkey choke?

derbyacresbob said:
You could have bought 10 to 20 pounds of TSS #3 or #4 shot for what you paid for all those chokes. LOL

It is pretty easy to get good patterns with 12g/cc BB shot, 15g/cc #2 shot and TSS #3 and #4 shot. I just use a Carlson's Extended Blued Sporting Clays Choke in Modified or Imp/Mod for my coyote calling.

The almost perfectly round and very hard Tungsten alloy shot types pattern way better than lead shot dose.
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You are probably correct Bob. But what fun would that be? Lol. You know the old sayings… “Hindsight is 20/20” or “If I only knew then, what I know now”. Well they certainly apply here! Thanks for your input.
 
I've had really good luck with Winchester Varmint X 3" BB. Furthest I've killed a coyote with those is 63 yards. It'll get the job done past 45 yards if they're patterning good.
 
derbyacresbob said:
You could have bought 10 to 20 pounds of TSS #3 or #4 shot for what you paid for all those chokes. LOL

It is pretty easy to get good patterns with 12g/cc BB shot, 15g/cc #2 shot and TSS #3 and #4 shot. I just use a Carlson's Extended Blued Sporting Clays Choke in Modified or Imp/Mod for my coyote calling.

The almost perfectly round and very hard Tungsten alloy shot types pattern way better than lead shot dose.
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Bob I know you do shoot or did shoot sporting clays. I found the imp mod tube will break any target on a course if I do my job. Full usually blows up the pattern.
 
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Luckily we have a guy that you tell him what gun and what load and he’ll build a choke for you. Heck, you tell him how many pellets you want at what range and he’ll make it. He’s built our turkey chokes and deer chokes for buckshot. $60-75.
I shoot APEX for turkeys and wanted a little bigger than a basketball for turkeys at 40yds and he made it happen in a Remington Youth 20ga. My son wanted a tighter pattern for his M2 20ga shooting the same ammo and he’s got it about soccer ball size. We just take gun and shells and he builds it until you’re satisfied.
 
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