16ga.com ~ View topic - Poly-Chokes ?

Anybody use them ? Good , bad / what ?

Member Joined: 08 Nov 2005 Posts: 3438 Location: Illinois

They worked but fell out of favor to more streamlined chokes that didn't resemble a muffler Twisted Evil

Joined: 09 Sep 2006 Posts: 863 Location: NoDak

HI I've got one on my dads Ithica 37 (12ga) and one on my A5 16ga. They work ok, I prefer tubes over the poly, but they do work and are easy to change choke constrictions.

I see that Poly Choke now has a srew in model for guns that have tube threads.

Good Luck!!!

Greg

Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 380 Location: Northeast Ohio

If I was considering a gun which already had one installed and I liked the handling characteristics I would not balk due to the poly-choke. They work well and are quick and convenient to use. Some folks just can't live with the appearance. If I shoulder a poly-choked gun and see mostly just bead and a normal sight picture, it doesn't bother me a bit what the muzzle looks like from any other angle or to a bystander....just as long as the birds are breaking.

They do require some easy but neccessary maintenance to keep working smoothly (just common sense oil and solvent on the petals and threads occasionaly). I have a 16 ga. model 11 that had a sawed off 24" barrel that was stubby feeling and I recently had a current poly-choke installed in an attempt to add some length and weight to the muzzle end. It works well and did improve the butt heavy feel of the gun.

In my case I specificaly needed length and weight so this was the only option without getting a whole new expensive and hard to find barrel. If money is not an issue and a gun feels good as is but one wants to add versitility, most guys would probably go with choke tubes. They will change the balance less or not at all, and be more desirable for re-sale or gifting whenever you're done with it.

Here's a tip I just found out when I spoke to the folks at poly-choke when having my gun done: It's not advertised, but you can get the slightly longer version (called "Deluxe") installed without the vent slots for little or no extra "deluxe" costs. This adds a little length and weight but eliminates the considerable noise generated and slightly higher maintenance requirements of the slotted version. They cut the vents in house and will make one up without vents if you ask. Noise is an issue for many concerning the vented version. You don't want to deafen the guy next to you in the blind or on the trap field.

One last thought. With an older used gun, I'd be most comfortable with a poly-choke installed at the factory by the gun manufacturer or if I knew a competent smith did the work. I'd want a return period in case it was not installed concentrically and was not shooting reasonably straight. I've never heard of this being a common problem, but I've seen some older inexpensive guns with knock off brand "poly-choke type" devices that I was not completely confident in. Most are probably just poly-choke patents with a different label and slight appearence differences but I'd be careful. The major manufacturers thought enough of them to offer them as options in the pre-choke tube days and the current poly-choke folks know how to do the job correctly. Not every smith in history has been good at everything.

My recent service from Poly-Choke was excellent and I was very satisfied in all aspects. I think their website is poly-choke.com

Sorry for the length of this post. I hope it helped some. I'm on vacation with nothing to do (can't go shooting and I don't fish) It was either delay my chores by pontificating here, or get to the "honey do" list dreadfully awaiting me. I chose to pontificate. Sorry you all had to suffer, but I'd do it for you.

Joined: 06 Apr 2007 Posts: 70

i've an old std 16 ga a5 w/ polychoke and it works very well. for me, form follows function and the polychoke is aesthetically pleasing in that regard. i love shooting clays w/ it as it's the model of convenience. of course w/ a single barrel gun you've got to compromise w/ your choke choice unless, heh heh you're lightning fast and can adhust it between doubles and repeats. older i get the less i care about what things are SUPPOSED to look like as evidenced by my frequent mismatched sock combinations. anyway, whatever floats your boat.

Member Joined: 17 Feb 2007 Posts: 497

If installed properly they work great, I can smile and dial while the other boys are tightening, looking for, dropping, denting, etc their screw in chokes.

Some however believe they look like a dog's dingus, but I kinda like them on some guns. Wink

Gentlemen------Thanks for the replys and good info. Looks like the solid rib old mod. 11 16 ga. is off to the Poly-C shop today. Very Happy

Shes gonna get the delux vented muffler Exclamation

Member Joined: 25 Jul 2006 Posts: 781

All the vents do is double the noise output.

Jeff

Thanks Jeff
Good thought. Already deaf enough Wink

Joined: 17 Dec 2005 Posts: 47

The polychoke is great for shooting Sporting Clays -- and real birds.

On the Sporting Clays course, one can easily adjust to optimize for each station, wihout messing with multiple choke tubes.