Choke tubes are confusing

[Alan]

I know they matter for patterning but I don't really understand which ones to use when. Got a turkey choke, got a modified, got a full. When do I use what? Feel like I should know this by now but I'm winging it.

 

[Rimfire Fanatic]

I am new to shotguns for hunting purposes. I am going to go for birds. What kind of shotgun do you have? I have an over/under. I’ve been told to start with the full and modified for ducks and such.

I had never heard of a specific choke for Turkey, although the guys that I know that blast them use 3 inch or 3 1/2 inch magnum loads.

There is a place out around Pleasant Hill that is supposed to be real good for getting wild turkeys to eat as in th\is area their diet is a lot of berries. I am hoping to go out with them one of these days.

You might checkout the Shotgun World Forum. Those guys have been really helpful to me.

 

[WAYNO]

Turkey choke is very tight, creating a pattern so concentrated you can actually aim it. Ideally you'd shoot a turkey in the head, keeping the body as free of pellets as possible.

 

[WAYNO]

...the tighter the choke, the more dense the pattern. A full choke at close range could blow a bird apart. And a cylinder choke at long distances could be so wide spread at longer distances, there may not be enough pellets to effectively bring down a duck or goose. A modified choke could split the difference. And steel shot stays tighter than lead, so a modified choke with steel can perform as well as a full choke with lead.
Add slugs and/or buckshot, and that changes things too. A full choke is not normally suggested for slugs, and tighter chokes are not suggested for buck shot.

But nothing is always hard and fast. A person is wise to experiment, "pattern", with any given shot size with any given choke just to see how they perform.

https://www.sportsmans.com/shotgun-choke-chart