Hey folks, I have a 1300 that was my grandfathers. Problem is none, and I mean NONE of the factory chokes make this gun kill like I think it should. I shot 9 times to get 6 squirrels and I had to do the "run & stomp dance" with over half of em. My father on the other hand using an old model 12 with same ammo, same squirrels, same basic ranges and the rats drop like bricks. I dont like injuring game and I dont like dispatching said game with my good boots. The only difference I can think of is the chokes. The 1300 has changeble chokes while the 12 dosnt. Any of you fine upstanding citizens found a choke that works really well in your 1300?

Well, what choke is in it now?





Have you tried to pattern the gun as it is? Maybe it isn't shooting point of aim for you.

There is your problem, assuming you have a tight choke like at least a Modified in the gun and you don't suck with the gun.  OEM tubes can be off by as much as one full choke size.  So even if it says Modified, in your gun it may truly be IC.  Go to a club or a smith who has the tool needed to measure both the barrel bore and choke diameters.  Then you will know what to buy in terms of the proper choke tube to get the desired choke.

Like said above, you should also pattern it.

I agree pattern different chokes to see what you want to use.

First you need to pattern the gun to see where it is shooting.  Depending on how it is set up it may be shooting higher than you think and thus you are only getting part of the pattern on your game.

Otherwise, for shooting squirrels I'd probably pick a full choke.  Any more choke than that and you will be loosing a lot of meat.

Ok. Gun was patterned yesterday and you guys were right. It is shooting high left by about 3in at 20yds. Measured from the center of the spread to center of target. Having tried the 3 chokes I have (mod, full, and ex full) I have decided the full is going to be the best for my needs (which is what I was using all along). So now im starting the shimming process to see if I can get it to center up. I have very little experience with shotguns and shooting off center never occured to me with a scattering projectile. I thank you guys for turning me on the right path. Now wish me luck with my experiments