A shotgun’s payload of pellets flies downrange in an expanding, lengthening swarm. The choke in the gun’s muzzle determines the height and width of that swarm. “Choke” is the taper in the last inches ...

When a shotgun is fired, a column of round shot pellets leaves the barrel and spreads out into a “pattern.” As the pellets travel farther from the firearm’s muzzle, the pattern widens. At some point, ...

“For the Banish 12 using 3-inch No. 2 shot (1550 FPS) it is hearing safe, or approximately 138dB,” says Lukas VanLaecken, ...

Dove season begins on Sept. 1, and here’s an important piece of advice to improve your shooting this season — don’t choke. I don’t mean that in an insulting fashion, though it’s easy enough to choke ...

We all have an opinion of what the greatest modern advancement in modern hunting guns would be. But as one of the top five I would like to nominate the shotgun choke tube. Coming off dove season I am ...

If you’re into starting ugly debates online, go to a shotgun forum and ask which barrel length is best. Of all the contentious topics in the world of firearms, this elicits some of the most ferocious ...

This article by John M. Taylor appeared originally in the September 2004 issue of American Rifleman. To subscribe to the magazine, visit the NRA membership page here and select American Rifleman as ...