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Joined: 30 Sep 2020 Posts: 185 Location: ont canada

Anyone know why Beretta went from the Mobil choke to the Opti HP system on the 686 my guess is steel shot . Just picked up a 30" 20 but had to go with the Opti HP now I have to get a new set of tubes with having two full sets of Victory extended kicking around. Are we looking at a lead band around the corner?

Joined: 09 Mar 2016 Posts: 754 Location: Mn.

Pure marketing. New and Improved. Just like the Beretta Optima bore was in between the 2.

Same as Rizzini going to the XL choke tubes in the new 12 ga. target guns. They are now overbored which is what the XL stands for. They should have left them alone, I am not a fan of overbore or lengthened forcing cones all of it is pure marketing. And when you shoot where it is really cold you find out it does you no favors. Both reduce pressure & velocity and that is about it.

Next thing you know they will be selling perfectly good barrels with holes drilled in the end of them.

Joined: 30 Sep 2020 Posts: 185 Location: ont canada

But they will sell you 1300+fps sporting clays loads to balance it out, so it’s ok!

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

Browning did the same thing-Invector/Invector Plus then DSchokes. My theory is when you upgrade a gun you have to buy a whole set of tubes---especially sporting clays shooters.

Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 1841 Location: Central ND

I am as guilty of buying after market chokes as anyone........so bear with me.

There is no reason, except in rare instances, to buy aftermarket chokes for your shotgun. If you need extra chokes why not just buy the one or two extra chokes from the manufacturer?

The only choke system that I know of that was garbage, was the original Browning Invector chokes. I've had 2 different shotguns with that system and they were both terrible. Some aftermarket chokes for the Invector system are much better, because they are longer and have a parallel section.

FWIW, forcing cones and bore diameters have no effect on chamber pressure. The overbored shotgun that I had, a Browning Citori with the Invector Plus system didn't suffer from lower velocities....but that was one shotgun. My 16 ga.1100 that has the forcing cone lengthened, porting and Briley Thin Walls, doesn't lose velocity as you can see from my posts with chronograph figures, that match Hodgdon, Precision and Tom Armbrust. That shotgun also hasn't met a load it doesn't like on the pattern board until you get to #4 shot. What I have seen from back boring is, that it doesn't hurt patterns. You may not like having to buy different chokes, but some of this stuff helps and none of it hurts patterns or chamber pressures.

Please remember that you can shoot a 2 3/4" shell in a 3" or 3 1/2" chamber without losing velocity or chamber pressure. The reason? Chamber pressures are 'read' by the equipment before the wad leaves the hull.

Joined: 30 Sep 2020 Posts: 185 Location: ont canada

Got a set of the 20 gauge opti HP choke tubes to go with the new 30inch 686 and I found out the difference between them and the mobil chokes besides the longer parallel section and .010 overbore the tubes are .035 thinner dia than the mobil chokes almost like Briley thinwalls allowing for much thinner and lighter barrels less bulge. The 686 handiling qualities are much improved. So the change is not all about steel shot next step some time on the patterning board. All and all very pleased with the product change much improved IMHO. The new 686 HP gun is a much improved handling and pointing gun for me . Now if Beretta would build a 16 gauge with a scaled receiver on that plaform I could die a HAPPY MAN !