What differences could be expected with choked vs unchoked when using
Slugs
Pellets
Trying to decide on my next purchase.
Slugs
Pellets
Trying to decide on my next purchase.
N/A Choked vs unchoked barrel with pellets and slugs
- Thread starter dens228
- Start date
There are excellent barrels made in both styles. The effectiveness and/or need for a choked muzzle depends, at least in part, on the primary barrel dimensions, the fit of the projectile, and the manufacturing process. My suggestion is to choose a barrel with a good reputation in your chosen discipline and hope you get a good one.
Upvote 0
I'm looking at a Krait L, I can get either choked or unchoked. I prefer being able to use slugs or pellets. JSB pellets, RMR slugs.
Decisions, decisions. It was so much easier when I only had a Daisy Red Ryder as a kid.
Decisions, decisions. It was so much easier when I only had a Daisy Red Ryder as a kid.
Upvote 0
Without choke the entire barrel is a choke. If the slug is just a little too big then there will be bore drag through the entire barrel as supposed to at the very end. The choke helps with some variations in ammo size as long as it’s bigger than the choke. A barrel without choke generally would be a lot more ammo size sensitive. Personally I would not get a barrel without choke.
PB barrels don’t have a choke because of 50k+ psi working pressure and the bore drag isn’t near as much of an issue.
PB barrels don’t have a choke because of 50k+ psi working pressure and the bore drag isn’t near as much of an issue.
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Chokes vary widely, I have a choke on a Xisico that squeezes pellets down more than 2 thou.
I also have a couple 500mm liners from FX with exactly the same numbers/name and they vary by 1/2 thou due to choke differences.
I also have a couple 500mm liners from FX with exactly the same numbers/name and they vary by 1/2 thou due to choke differences.
Upvote 0
I have a Krait L in .25 that has the CZ barrel and I shoot both pellets - JSB 25.39 and 33.95, the JTS pellets are terrible with my barrel - and Zan 26.5g slugs. Both group well out to 100 yards. The slugs of course do better after 100 yards. The 25.39 I have going at 917fps average and the slugs a bit slower at the same setting (I deleted the profile and will redo soon).
Upvote 0
One of my better slug experiences has been with a slightly choked barrel. And of course the barrel also loves pellets.
Upvote 0
ive found generally pellets shoot better in choked barrels, but how deeply its choked, the smoothness of the bore, and crown all play into it .. i 'think', not positive, but best guess from what ive seen, that barrel chokes are actually created post manufacture of the barrel by 'rolling' the end in a press, which basically makes a tight spot and can vary in position and depth depending on who's doing it that shift lol .. but a pellet skirt will compress and get a bite and straighten out in a decent choked barrel thats smooth .. not so true with a solid slug, dont really want a choke for slugs .. you can shoot pellets out of an unchoked barrel, and if the throat area is nice and they feed in nice smooth and tight, and the barrel is quality so its smooth and consistent end to end theyll work pretty good in it .. thats alot of iffs though ... best bet is unchoked for slugs, choked for pellets
Upvote 0
I shoot slugs in a Hatsan flash that is supposed to have a choked barrel, have not measured it. They work really well for what I'd do but haven't taken it out past 40/50 yrds
Upvote 0
I'll join too. as far as choked and unchoked barrels are concerned, the Chok actually helps for two reasons, and the first is that it helps create the correct shape at the mouth of an imprecisely made barrel, which is actually related to the second part, which is actually for the correct function of pellets and short slugs. for long slugs, a barrel without Chok is better, which I also verified with the fx liner, I bought an 800 mm A liner for the slug test, where I removed 82 mm and made a new mouth, and I found out that, for example, NSA 55.5 grain I can shoot very accurately with the dynamic .25 200m already somewhere around 140 Bar on the regulator at a speed of 280m/s instead of the previous regulator setting of 175 Bar and the same speed of 280m/s and in truth no change in accuracy occurred, rather it seems that the accuracy was even greater than with Chok
Upvote 0
You'll likely find that a choked barrel excels with many types of pellets and is finicky at best with slugs.
You'll likely find that an unchoked barrel is decently accurate but pellet picky with pellets, and great with slugs once you find the right size.
I wouldn't have an unchoked barrel to shoot pellets through, nor would I have a choked barrel to shoot slugs through.
If you want to try to have one barrel for both, I believe that an unchoked barrel would yield better results.
Just my experience here, but I won't put much effort into trying to make slugs work in a choked barrel again.
You'll likely find that an unchoked barrel is decently accurate but pellet picky with pellets, and great with slugs once you find the right size.
I wouldn't have an unchoked barrel to shoot pellets through, nor would I have a choked barrel to shoot slugs through.
If you want to try to have one barrel for both, I believe that an unchoked barrel would yield better results.
Just my experience here, but I won't put much effort into trying to make slugs work in a choked barrel again.
Upvote 0
It's an interesting topic. When I was involved in RF benchrest, I had a couple of Calfee built rifles. Both shot great, and both had choked barrels. Based on that, I would not discount a choked barrel for slugs. If you know the exact diameter of your slug, then a non-choked barrel might be better. But that means you need to swage or size your slugs yourself.
Upvote 0
Have you ever checked to see what amount of choke a rimfire barrel has?
I'd have to imagine it can't be nearly as tight as a choked airgun barrel.
Upvote 0
You can shoot both from either one. My taipan vet 1 has a choke, my epic 2 and Vulcan 3 did not. They all shoot pellets and slugs well. It comes down to sizing slug to barrel groove diameter. As mentioned previously here. It takes great effort. But once you get the ammo sized to the barrel, things come together.
Upvote 0
Unfortunately, I don't have those rifles now. All I can say from memory, the amount of constriction was less than the more heavily choked air rifle barrels, and probably similar to the more lightly choked. It could be felt with a cleaning patch, so I'm sure it was measurable, although I never did it.
Upvote 0
I cut 200mm off my heart stx liner for my latest Notos build and I saw a remarkable decline in accuracy with CPHP'S but a slight increase in accuracy with slugs.
I have an "identical" liner in my Maverick that does super well with CPHP'S but only so-so with slugs.
Correlation? The sample lot is too small but it's got me thinking.
I have an "identical" liner in my Maverick that does super well with CPHP'S but only so-so with slugs.
Correlation? The sample lot is too small but it's got me thinking.
Upvote 0
My Krait L Light HP is shooting the JSB 25.39 .22's very well over 50 yards (54). It's un-choked. I'm going to start looking for some slugs as these JSB's are going 950 after me turning down the HS a bit from stock. So far they are the only pellets which will group well at this speed. Even the JTS 25.4's didn't group as well.
Last edited:
Upvote 0
That's good to know. I have a few thousand JSB 25's sitting here with no 22 cal rifle to shoot them.......lol
Upvote 0