Who knows they're choke tubes/constrictions?

Flatlander.54

Flatlander.54

New member
I picked up a used Mossberg 835 3 1/2" Ulti-Mag w/ a 24" ported barrel today. It has an extended, ported Accu-Mag choke tube that measures .685 with my calipers.
The info I have found on this choke tube is confusing...some sources say it's a lead only choke, some say it's lead/steel. I would think that .685 would be way too much constriction for steel shot, but then again I'm not the most knowlegable on supr tight chokes like this one, the only markings on it is "Moss 835"
Info I found on the Ulti-Full Turkey choke states that it's .765 and lead only, so I'm wondering what choke I have...x-full, xx-full??? Any help from the shotgun savvy folk would be appreciated.
Also, I have read that some of the 3 1/2" Ulti-
Mag barrels are backbored/overbored? exactly what is the meaning and purpose of that and how do I tell if this particular barrel has it?

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A back bored shotgun barrel simply means that the bore has been altered to a larger inside diameter. Back-boring of any particular gauge does; beyond any doubt, add to more wider center mass and will help reduce the length of shot strings in shotguns and when done within reason it does not decrease the velocity of the load. The reason that it does not decrease the velocity is today's plastic wads will expand a great deal to seal the bore of the shotgun and not allow gas to escape around the wad.

Back boring also means less choke constriction. As you open up the bore of a shotgun it takes less choke constriction to still get the same pattern as one with a standard bore. This is a big bonus to all that love to shoot trap and other sporting clay games because this puts more pellets into the center mass of the shot string and over all shortens the shot string reducing the time frame from first pellet strike to the last.

As for the over-boring, I think that those guns DID have an over-bored barrel. To put it simply ... your 12 gauge chamber is attached to a near-10 gauge bore. There are differing opinions on the effectiveness of this practice. There is no doubt, however, that when cleaning the barrel you will have to use a 10 gauge brush to get it clean. A 12 gauge brush will feel "loose" to some degree.

 
Hidalgo, that explains the loose fitting 12 ga. brush.
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The barrel must definately be overbored then. Thanks for the info!
So am I right in thinking that with the .685 choke I should stick with lead shot only then?
I figure on making this for coyote hunting in the thick woods around my area where a rifle is pretty much useless. I feel my first camo job coming up...sure couldnt hurt the looks of the synthetic/parkerized finish.
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The bore of your shotgun is the huge overbored diameter of .775". Basically that is 10 gauge dimension. If that choke mikes out at a real .685" then that is .090" of constriction! That is far too much constriction for steel, hard tungsten, or even large lead shot like 00 Buck. Especially so with big 3 1/2" payloads of shot. Better patterns are more likely to result from about .050" - .065" of constriction depending upon shot charge material and weight. Personally I would feel much better with a choke no tighter in constriction than .710" - .715" range.
 
GC...thanks for the input, what you stated is exactly what I've been thinking about that choke, just needed confirmation from someone with more knowledge on the subject than I have.
 
A member on another forum identified the choke for me by the way, it seems I have an older Preston Pittman/Star Dot choke tube. From what I understand they are no longer made, and fairly sought after because they seem to pattern very well out of the 835's despite being a cheaper tube, apparently Wal-Mart used to carry them. Cant wait to run a few different kinds of loads through it.
 
It may work really well with smallish shot turkey loads... personally I wouldn't venture to shoot the larger shot, especially so in tungsten.
 
Yeah, I believe if I want to go with larger shot for Coyotes I will have to go with a different tube. A member on another forum is sending me a couple factory chokes for free, extras he has laying around. I figure by spring I will have a drawer full of chokes by the time I am done experimenting...and maybe a permenant doghouse outside judging by the cost of some of these shot shell loads these days...wow!
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The Mossberg 835 back bored barrels are near .770 vs .729 for a normal 12 ga. Never shoot slugs in them. But lead and steel shot is OK. The back boring is supposed to give you a tighter shot string. The Federal flight control wad shells work well in an back bored (over bored) barrel. But don't use ported chokes with the flight control shells. It strips the wad and defeats the purpose.
 
Originally Posted By: Flatlander.54A member on another forum identified the choke for me by the way, it seems I have an older Preston Pittman/Star Dot choke tube. From what I understand they are no longer made, and fairly sought after because they seem to pattern very well out of the 835's despite being a cheaper tube, apparently Wal-Mart used to carry them. Cant wait to run a few different kinds of loads through it.

Surely looks like a Star Dot to me too. I had a Star Dot for a Browning BPS 3.5" 12 gauge turkey gun a few years ago. Got it at Wal Mart for $19.99 and it shot some great patterns. In fact it shot almost as good as the Rhino choke I had....that I paid $80 for.
 
I know mine, this is just for one gun. Too many people get hung up on the ID, when in fact they should get hung up on the pattern it throws for their particular usage. I pattern mine at 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45yds, I limit myself to that range, not particularly useful for coyotes, but for ducks and geese it is. If you'll notice I have several in the same ID, but becuase they have differing parallel section lengths and ramp rates, they pattern slightly different. I only shoot 2 sizes of shot and I also have a laminated card with pattern percentages with each size shot and distance listed.

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I did the first search for what type of choke it was just out of curiosity, but when the results came up with nothing, I thought..."Surely with the seemingly unlimited resources of the internet this choke HAS to be listed SOMEWHERE." But the harder I searched the less I came up with...and no one else seemed to know either, so then it became a personal quest for information.
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Then it dawned on me that if anyone knew it would be the turkey hunting crowd. Sure enough...it was a turkey hunter who knew. I didnt really HAVE to know...but when I cant find onfo on something it bugs me, not sure why...it just does.
 


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