In the past 2 weeks I have shot 25rds of skeet. I hardly ever shoot skeet but I thought it would be best for my test. First 5rds were with my pattern master code black duck choke which is a full choke.
22,20,20,18,20 Next was a briley's helix mod choke. 20,20,20,19,18 Next was the briley's ported LM
19,19,18,19,19 Next was the briley's Helix IC 21,19,18,18,22 Next was a briley's extened Sk 22,22,18,19,20
I was shooting a A400 "the blue gun" 30" 1 oz 7.5
IMHO just about any choke will do inside of 30yds. My next test will be a 40yd left to right I will let yall know in a couple of weeks.

Hate to say it, but your results aren't due to the choke. The only way to test a choke is to put it on paper with various loads, then choose the best choke for the intended range and/or load you are shooting. Your results/scores are just due to how you were shooting that day, not the choke.

Chokes are highly overrated. An IC constriction choke will pattern well enough for the true ability of most shooters(30yds and in). Adjust the loads accordingly.

In my earlier yrs I shot this wiz bang Patternmaster choke tube...duck killing mofo. I also started shooting a lot of clay birds. A few yrs later I got a new shotgun and couldn't use my holy PM choke, the factory Mod choke would have to do. Wouldn't you know I shot the same scores/birds.

TDK......you are wrong about testing chokes. How do you test the length of your shot string? The wiz bang patternmaster does work better on live birds no doubt about it. This year I have dove hunted 37days
been on 27 duck hunts 17 goose hunts and 3 pheasant hunts and 3 sandhill crane hunts. Without a doubt the wiz bang patternmaster kills more birds. I have had a whole lot less cripples than years past. I do believe that chokes are highly over rated inside of 30 to 35 yds. That's were I was going with my first test results. on live birds the patternmaster with its shorter shot string delivers what they advertise.

You aren't telling me anything I don't know about patterning. But you and I both know testing shot string length isn't easily done unless you want to invest in HD slow motion camera equipment to give actual scientific evidence. The issue with your testing is involving human interaction, as I pointed out earlier. To further prove my point look at your scores! The choke tube was fixed, why do your scores have a range of 2-3 birds over the course of the test? Human interaction maybe?

I'll respectfully disagree, Chokes don't kill birds. Good shooting does.

I'll also stick to my assessment that 90% of wing shooters have no business shooting past 30-35yds. False confidence is a bad thing for the birds, great for ammo manufacturers and aft choke companies. An average hunter(read average shot) cannot take much advantage of the minimal gains of Aft chokes.

RANGE TIME WINS EVERYTIME!

TDK....I drilled a hole in a tennis ball & attached a cord with a weight on it, I threw the ball in my pond. I measured off 40yds from the ball. I shot 3" #'2 thru my factory chokes & my briley's extened choke & my wiz bang patternmaster at the tennis ball. The patternmaster shot string was considerably shorter which means more shot in the kill zone. I either miss big or hit big when hunting with my pattermaster, but a lot more birds this year are DOA, not near as many birds winged. The point of my first test was to say that within 30 to 35 yds any choke will do. As I stretch out my shots in my next test I think the MOD & Full will have better results. No doubt that a patternmaster or any other choke does not you a better shot, but putting more pellets in the kill zone increases your duck killin.

bentman, the tennis ball shot doesn't show shot string, it shows your pattern height, the bottom of your pattern is hitting the water before the top.....without expensive equipment the only way to show shot string is to shoot at a very fast moving target at a 90 degree angle, then run the math. Unfortunately I don't know anyone with an 18 wheeler that will let me shoot at it while he drives by at 100 mph!

P_102

And BTW, if the pattern master 'seemed' like it was shorter it would be because the pattern height was smaller. A smaller pattern would most likely have a longer shot string.