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patternmaster upland for ducks?

6K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  Jon Bergren 
#1 ·
Hi all, it seems like the patternmasters really have a following. The major complaint I hear about them is they shoot too tight for decoying ducks, would the upland choke be a better option? Being more open would it work or is it too open for ducks?
 
#2 ·
From comments on this web site, most people don't seem to be aware that Patternmaster makes at least three stud type chokes (short range, long range, and extended range). Most just seem to know about the ported, extended range tube that throws a very tight pattern with all length of shells particularly if the muzzle velocity is < about 1550 fps. Personally, I would never own a ported choke. The upland choke is the short range (they used to call it "over decoy" for duck hunting) with a bronze colored Titanium coating. I think it would work well for you at distances up to 40 yards. According to Patternmaster, it throws a pattern about like an IC constriction choke.

I have used short range/long range Patternmaster chokes in a 12 ga Beretta O/U for pheasants since they first came out. With 2 3/4 " lead #5 shot at 1330 fps muzzle velocity they have worked great for me. I put the Patternmaster chokes in the gun and they worked so well I have never used constriction type chokes in it again. I don't know about the claim of shorter shot string but when I first started using them I was convinced that I saw that effect on the killed birds. However, I use a LM constriction choke in a Benelli semiauto for pheasants and it works just as well except I seem to hold the pattern together longer with the long range Patternmaster for long range shots with the lead loads. I never did pattern the Patternmaster tubes but they sure have worked well on pheasants in the field for me.

I think the upland Patternmaster would do OK for you for shots at ducks up to 40 yd with steel shot. Personally, I use constriction type chokes for waterfowl - LM for over decoy mostly and IM for long shots at passing birds, eg snow geese if that is primarily what is flying. You can probably purchase two or three Carlson constriction chokes for what one Patternmaster tube costs. I purchased three Patternmaster tubes for something around $250 as I recall and have never used the extended range tube.
 
#3 ·
Nice report on PM chokes JJ. I tend to agree. To put it short, I have owned two PM chokes to date and was very dissapointed with patterns from them. PM are certainly not for me nor are chokes with ports. I get much better results using constriction type chokes.

Chris
 
#6 ·
Honk-n-quack said:
out of curiosity, why would you want a constrction choke vs a patternmaster?
Very simple, my own test results, using at least ten diff aftermarket chokes, the stud type or wad grabbing chokes were at the bottom of my list in performance. This includes the Wad Wizzard. I tested two PM chokes in two diff guns. IMO, the PM choke could work for a narrow band of loads. I tested with 15 plus factory loads, none of which gave any promising performance with PM or WW. So it all boils down to two things, the PM doesnt work for me and it has ports. In addition, the chokes that did show promise with a wide band of loads were all constriction type.

Chris
 
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