Poly-Chokes... why the bad rep?

[Hemicuda]

I just acquired a SWEET old Ithaca Mod. 37 featherweight 12Ga. the old style with the corncob forend and the upland game scene on the reciever... the thing is like brand new... (I own others, so I know a bit about the Mod. 37's...)

ONE blemish... the barrel was shortened about 3 inches, and a poly-choke installed... but the $200 pricetag was too tempting... I bought it anyway...

I just tried it, and DA** is it SCHWEET! SO, why the bad rep on Poly-Chokes?

 

[JWT]

Do a search for poly chokes (one TFL) and you'll find a bit of information on them. The concensus seems to be that they work fine but at best don't do anything for the looks of the gun and at worst are ugly. Some would suggest they lower the value of a gun vs. a gun that doesn't have a poly choke.

 

[Hemicuda]

I know about the rep... it ISa bit ugly... but noy hideously so, AND the thing works like a dream!

 

[Manedwolf]

All I know is that I've heard countless hunters refer to them as the "Dial-A-Duck" choke.

 

[Dave McC]

Some of us like them, some hate them and few fall in between for some reason.

The bad rep has to be the fact that many were installed by less than proficient people and mounted non concentric to the bore. This makes them shoot off.

When done correctly, they work well. Esthetics aside, they helped a lot of folks adjust a load to a shot opp.

They do add some weight at the muzzle which is why so many barrels with them mounted are shortened a bit.

If ti works for you, enjoy....

 

[crowbeaner]

I bought my beloved A5 Browning with a slug barrel, and almost fainted when I priced a VR barrel with Invector choke tubes- $300+ without shipping! I found a nice Belgium one with the Polychoke used for $185. I am not fond of the size difference at the muzzle, but it throws pretty good patterns all the same. I can live with it. I don't know why they get bad PR.

 

[oldbillthundercheif]

I have one on my Winchester 1300 birdgun and it is damn nice. I wasn't sure if I would like it at first, but I'm a fan now. Mine throws nice patterns across a wide range of choke settings.

It may be ugly, but being able to dial in your spread with a twist of the doodad is addicting.

 

[WIN71]

Poly

I've got one on a Win mod. 12 and one of my friends got an old win. auto with a cutts compensator. It's hard to tell which is the ugliest. It's also hard to tell which works the best. I like the Poly too and my barrel had been cut down some from the original 30 inches.
Years ago I bought an old beater mod. 12 with a poly. I wanted it for a SD gun in the house. I cut the choke off and put a bead on the +/- 24 inch barrel. With the plug out of the magazine it holds six I think. Anyway, it's a descent gun for the purpose.

 

[intruder]

Poly chokes are ugly however they are one of the best devices for dialing in a tight patterns. In Pa we have block shoots with 12 gas all gun clubs I have shot at have outlawed poly chokes. You shoot with shells and loads that are provide by the gun club. with fixed chokes you are at the mercy of the way your gun patterns. With a poly choke you can make small adjustments to tighten up your pattern and clean everyones clock.

I have a 20ga Mossberg with a poly choke on it. I spent sometime with select loads and a patterning board. I now have this gun shooting very consistent patterns. I just have the choke marked were each load shoots the best. This gun is't pretty but it brings home game. Isn't that what it's all about?

 

[BigJimP]

They're ugly and they add weight at the end of the barrel so it upsets the center of balance of the gun. But mostly it's just not the clean traditional look to a fine shotgun - and not something that would be done to a gun these days with all the options of screw in chokes. But like others told you, if it's installed properly, they can be effective. If you're talking about a field gun that is worth less than $500 - and you don't want to send it to Briley and have the barrel bored and threaded for chokes for another $ 500 - then it may be a viable option. But honestly, I'd look for another gun that had screw in chokes.

 

[ebutler462]

About thirty five years ago I sent my hunting guns to Polychoke and had them cut the barrels to 24" and install ventilated Polychokes on them. Since then I have either had them installed by Polychoke on newer guns. If the guns had screw-in chokes, I buy the Polychoke II. I love them and will not be without one.

Screw-in chokes are inventions of the devil, IMO. They are clumsy to use and much too slow in the field to change. They get stuck, get lost, etc.

Shooters that use them frequently love their versatility. My hunting club has several Polychoke users and more converts to them every year. You just can't beat them for hunters that shoot a lot.

One point I would like to make is this: Send the barrel to Polychoke, tell them what length barrel you want, and let the experts do the job. Not to say that there aren't gunsmiths that are qualified, you know what you are getting at Polychoke. I especially like the Polychoke IIs. Just screw them in, tighten them up, and hunt the nearest trash can to toss the screw-in chokes.

Once you get a few hunts under your belt weith them, you won't be without one. Last time I checked I had 12 guns with Polychokes on them. Brownings, SKBs, Ithacas, and a sprinkling of assorted fowling pieces. Not to worry about steel shot, they will handle steel in the more open settings.

I think they are the greatest thing since___________???

I have been a satisfied Polychoke fan for over 35 years.

 

[TexasFats]

Anybody who thinks Poly Chokes are ugly ought to look at the old Cutts Compensator. It would cause a coyote to lose his lunch. But, they did reduce recoil--at the cost of making the gun's report seem much louder and more obnoxious to nearby shooters.

 

[dakotashooter2]

I have a barrel with one of those "dial a duck" chokes and loved it for waterfowl hunting. We used to sneak on ducks an geese in field and the closer we got the more I opened the choke. If we could get within 40-50 yards, with the choke opened up it wasn't unusual to drop 3-4 geese per shot when they took flight. If we couldn't get closer than 70-80 yards the choke stayed on full.

I don't use that gun much anymore and am considering having the barrel cut to 18" and the polly reinstalled and possibly a rib added. I think it would make an awsome and threatening looking home defense gun.

 

[publius]

Yes, they work well. Good concept, but gosh thay're ugly!

 

[ebutler462]

Just remember the ugly girl at school when we were teens. She would do anything better and faster and more satisfying than the beauties. You just didn't want to get caught with her. Yet, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I am a Polychoke fan and don't care if I get caught with one. I am all smiles just like the teenager in school with the girl that would make you happy.

While you guys are fumbling with those darned screw-in chokes, I am hiding out with the Polychokes. I am all smiles and I want you to know why. Because it can do anything the screw-ins do better and faster and more satisfying.

Like a lady over 40 years old. She won't yell, she won't tell, she won't swell, and she's grateful as hell. Love my Polychokes.

 

[Davis]

Given all the brakes and flash-hiders added to the end of so many rifles today, I'm surprised folks find the polychokes to be so ugly. But, to each his own.

Davis

 

[WIN71]

I never gave it much thought until now. I think because the shot gun barrel is so large the add on just looks bulky. And besides, I don't necessarily think all rifle barrel add ons are ugly. But most of them are just barely pretty.

 

[kickshot85]

My first experience with Poly-chokes was a couple of years ago on a duck hunt. My father-in-law-to-be told me to take along one of his semi-autos (Remington 1100) since all I had was a pump action. I took it into the fields to check the spread it gave me and when I pulled the gun from the case, I was pretty dumbfounded. I had never seen this contraption before and was quite curious to see how it performed. BRILLIANTLY!!!

I was pleasantly pleased with the results both in that field and in the blinds for the weekend. The two others in the blind with me were shooting their Mossberg Super mags and told me that shooting 2 3/4 inch shells wouldn't allow me to "reach out and touch" the ducks properly. It worked superbly. When the ducks were in close in the morning, I simply adjusted the choke accordingly, and when they were more hesitant in the afternoon I did the same. As far as looks go, I can deal with the unsightly bulge on the end of a shotgun as long as it does it's job.

Since then, I've used that gun for turkey and rabbit, as well as more duck and geese, and have no complaints. Father-in-law even saw fit to give me the gun since he doesn't hunt that much anymore. I took that gesture as his blessing to marry his daughter.

 

[ebutler462]

Seriously, the Polychoke is the best thing that ever happened to shotgunning. We are not in a beauty contest. We shoot for fun and to kill game.

My advice to everyone that has those contraptions called "screw-ins' is that they go to their nearest gundealer and order a Polychoke II. Listen to the dealer bitch about Polychokes but buy it anyway. He may have to order it. You can order it direct from Brownells, Cabela, or Polychoke. Tell them what kind of gun you have, what gauge, and await its arrival. Screw it in and don't listen to the BS from other shooters. You will have the most versatile gun you will ever need from super full to wide open cylinder with a twist of the wrist.

Toss those screw-ins into the nearest trash can and be happy. A little secret: During turkey season, I use an Undertaker choke as it has a rifle like pattern that even the Polychoke can't produce. Other than that, give me back my Poly II. It unscrews and screws back in quite easily to use a specialty choke. For most uses, you will never need anything but a Poly II. Best money I ever spent. They are rated for steel shot in the same choke configurations as the screw-ins, the more open settings. For slugs, use cylinder, for buckshot, do a litle patterning to get the best setting.

Had a bunch of jackleg, shade tree gunsmiths not tried to install these variable chokes on fixed choked barrels when they first became available, they would be more acceptable. If you have a fixed choke barrel, have Polychoke install it. It will be done right. For screw-in barrels, you can do it your self in less time than it takes to unwrap the package it came in.

Ain't nothing more wicked looking on a HD gun than a Poly. Makes these short barrels good for hunting and HD and they do make the HD look fierce. They look fine on my hunting guns, too.