• Hastings Extended Turkey Choke Tube Review


    As many of you already know, last year I received a Model 210 FT turkey shotgun from Savage. I have been quite pleased with it so far. It aims well, cycles reliably and isn't overly heavy. About the only thing that I found a little disappointing was the patterning of the factory choke tube. Since turkey season is upon us again, it was time to improve that situation.

    I was looking around for a suitable replacement for the factory choke. It is a standard full choke that is made on the Win-choke pattern which features internal 13/16" X 32 threads. I found a lot of offerings for this style choke tube and I also found myself a little overwhelmed by all the choices and what would be a good choice for me. That is where some research came into play. I decided I wanted a tighter pattern with the shotshells I was already using since they had been good performers in the past. This led me to look at the Hastings extra full choke tubes and several users of this brand said they were satisfied with their results. While looking at Hastings products, I came across their ported choke tubes and decided to give one a try. I selected the .660" ported extended choke tube, part number ACI 12660.

    What I ended up with is a choke tube that is longer than normal, 3 inches long with 1 inch long parallel cylinder, which adds about 1 1/8" to the length of the barrel. It has oval shaped ports machined annular to the tube to allow for full support of the wad/shot as it leaves the barrel. This allows the gas pressure of the charge to be vented into the atmosphere to control recoil and increase the choke's ability to pattern. The parallel cylinder constricts shot gradually to reduce deformation of shot pellets to provide better ballistics. The choke tube is made of 17-4 stainless steel with a matte blue like finish.

    There are eight sizes to choose from so you can fine tune your load/shotgun's performance. These range from .640", .645", .650", .655", .660", .665", .670", .675" and the .660" Compensated version that I'm using. The formula for choke constriction is Bore Diameter - Choke Parallel Diameter = Constriction in thousandths of inch.

    Installing the choke tube was simple and took maybe five minutes to do. All that is needed is to unscrew the factory tube with the proper tube wrench and place it in a clean container. Next, remove the Hastings tube from the container and lube the threads with some gun oil or anti-seize. Now, using the tube wrench that is included in the package, screw the choke tube into the barrel until snug. It doesn't have to be real tight. With that finished it's ready for the range.

    One thing I do need to point out though. When I received the choke tube I took it out of the container and was looking it over. While doing so I found a few burrs around the ports that were left from the machining process. I decided to take my Dremel tool and polish these smooth. I'm not sure if the burrs would have affected the performance of the gun but I felt better about it.

    Now I was ready to go to the range and try out the new choke tube that I had selected. To tell the truth, I was a bit nervous. This fancy little choke tube wasn't exactly cheap and I was really hoping that I hadn't wasted my money. Also, spring turkey season was just a week away and I didn't have time to come up with another replacement if this one wasn't up to the job.

    Using my Caldwell Rock front rest and leather rear sand bag, I set the Model 210 on the bench and prepared to test pattern the chokes. To make a true comparison, I pasted two identical turkey silhouette targets at 35 yards. I then drew a black circle in the area where the point of aim would be on both targets. The load for each was the same ammo that I had used previously, Winchester Supreme Turkey Load 3" #5 shot 1 3/4 oz., item number STH1235. The first choke to be fired in the test was the factory choke. I got into position on the bench, cycled a shell from the magazine into the chamber, steadied the gun and took aim. I squeezed of the shot and took note of the recoil. I then installed the Hastings extended choke tube and repeated the above but firing on the second target. I again noted the recoil.

    The performance of the factory choke tube was typical as before and nothing unusual was found. The recoil was the normal back and up push as it has always been. On the target, there were 16 hits on the turkey. Not too bad.

    The Hastings extended choke tube was a blessing. The recoil was still rather stout and not really reduced, at least not noticeably. It did, however, push straight backwards and there was no muzzle climb nor any twisting. Quite controllable as I never lost sight of the target. The pattern was even more impressive. I counted a total of 26 impacts on the turkey. Ten more than the factory choke with the same load. I was both excited and relieved!

    I am very pleased with the performance, materials, and styling of this choke tube. The only things I found fault with were the burrs in the cylinder from where the ports were machined and that the choke didn't have any noticeable reduction to the felt recoil. All in all, it's a great choke tube for any of you turkey hunters looking for a good choke.

    By: JCalhoun



    Additional Photos:

    Shot pattern with Hastings Extended Turkey choke tube. Shot pattern with factory supplied choke tube.



    Hastings Barrels
    PO Box 224
    320 Court
    Clay Center, KS 67432
    Phone: (785) 632-3169
    www.hastingsbarrels.com