Gun Dog Forum

Looking at an old 20ga o/u that has fixed skeet chokes. Will this still work on quail hunting over pointing dogs?

Heck, yes. My 20 g. Browning BSS Sporter has Briley Thinwall chokes (recommended). I can use any chokes I want, but when it's quail over pointing dogs, I generally use Cylinder/SK or Sk/IC for windy days. As I expect you're aware, harder shot will tighten up your pattern if you need to. May be a little different for a very slow shooter, but i don't think so. Skeet's a good choke for what you're describing.

Yes---and grouse and woodcock and pheasant.
My go to is a 101 20g skeet model. Its been a very faithful wand.

Settertude wrote:Yes---and grouse and woodcock and pheasant.
My go to is a 101 20g skeet model. Its been a very faithful wand.

If you're consistently using a 20g. skeet choke on pheasant, you must be a faster or better shooter than I..which is entirely possible. I've used Hevi Shot with my 20 on pheasant and it hammered the birds solidly, but with regular ammo, 16 g. ,1 1/8 ounce and tighter chokes is as light as I'd go. But..there are certainly better shooters who might get away with less.

Yea, well.It depends on how good a shot you are . ?

I have always used 20ga imp cyl with 7.5 shot on phez and quail and have never had a problem, but have no experience with skeet chokes. Thx for the replies.

I have skeet 1 and skeet 2 fixed chokes in my 20ga s/s. Hunt quail, huns, and chukar with it.

Used Sheet x Skeet in my 28 ga Ruger o/u for years on quai & huns and never had any problems.

Old thread, but skeet chokes work great over a pointing dog or even a flushing dog if the dog works close. My favorite quail gun is a cylinder/modified sxs 410. Many more quail have fallen to the cylinder bore barrel than the modified.

Have an old Valmet Lion 16 skeet and skeet. Perfect for quail. I even use spreader loads on pen raised bobs in trials. Shot at least 20,000 rounds through it. 5.5 lbs, carry it all day.

Improve cylinder is excellent. I could not even begin to tell you the bobs I've put in the game bag with that choke.

one more thing, I don't think it makes a difference with skket& Skeet, Skeet 1 and IC or IC and Modified. I the hunter is a good enough marksman then the bobs will fall.
Sk/Sk is not a magic combo. Nothing is more important than marksmanship.

Flyingm wrote: ↑

Tue Nov 19, 2019 6:05 pm

Sk/Sk is not a magic combo. Nothing is more important than marksmanship.

Well, darn! How unfortunate..

Yes. I have skeet 1 / skeet 2 in my skb SxS 20 gauge and it works really well. It is my go to gun for hunting quail, huns, chukar.

There is a far greater spectrum in modern shot-shells than you can get from chokes in general. I hunt with a good friend in AZ for quail. He uses a 28 gauge choked skeet1 and skeet2. He shoots differently than I. What is sometimes lost in wild bird hunting regardless of species is the over-all experience that is etched in our minds for an eternity. If you think shooting a pheasant from a 20 gauge with #7 1/2 shot as it gets 4-5 feet off of the ground over a pointing dog is cool, try shooting it with 6 shot at 40 yards! Here is the salient difference. I see many videos where the gunners vaporize the pheasant at/within 20 yards, followed by, "Nice shot!!!" I find it....amusing.
I have shot skeet station #8 with my gun down and smoked the targets. …big deal. Not near as challenging as stoning that cockbird at 35 yards! No cripple either. Ideally I use I/C and mod or mod and full with #6 shot from quail to pheasant. One of my fixed choked guns is I/C and full. Love it! The range I take the various species at might vary.
Here is where the rubber meets the road. I ended up with a couple of my friend's (skeet1 & skeet2) quail after a hunt. That won't happen again!! Those birds were destroyed, totally perforated, stunk and were not remotely pleasant on the table. As for the dogs, it can also initiate/promote hard mouth because they have ingested so much minced meat/intestines that they acquire a taste for it, predictably.
I LOVE fixed choked guns - I/C is the tightest I would consider for my upland bird hunting but that's just me. I also wouldn't look twice at a gun shorter than 28" barrels because of my build. Regardless of what I prefer, you might want to read, "Shotguns and Shooting" by Michael McIntosh. Excellent...informative...sage!

Recently started practicing on clays. At 78 I am missing a lot. Found I am not quick as I used to be. Moved from skeet to
modified. Will be using imp. cyl and mod with steel.