As I view it this would be the exact opposite of what Brister's wife said. The open chokes will give you a wider spread of adequate density at shorter ranges but will play out much closer to the same range than will the full. Even a IC choke will maintain density further on a centered hit than on the fringes but is not as drastically so as the full.
Miller, here are a few quotes from Brister's chapter "Choosing Chokes and Loads", including the following, which is the very first sentence in the chapter: "Full choke is a demanding mistress; improved cylinder a forgiving friend."
"However said, the significance is that at the distances at which much game is killed, between 20 and 38 yards, the IC is at its best, offering adequate killing density but at the same time a nice, broad spread to give the shooter more margin for error."
Re full, Brister gives its "reign of superiority" as between 40-50 yards. But also notes that aiming errors are magnified with range; that pellets are losing more speed (hence, more energy); and string becomes more of an issue. He points out that full is less efficient at 55 yards than is IC at 40. Since you don't really need full until you get to 40 (or more), it actually has a rather short useful range--although if you're shooting regularly at that range, then full is clearly what you need. But it handicaps you under 40 yards, when you don't need it . . . and then runs out of steam fairly quickly.
Last edited by L. Brown; 03/05/17 06:20 PM.
