Best Chokes For Dove Hunting | Dove Choke Tubes Explained

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The best chokes for dove hunting will allow you to achieve the best shotgun pattern density at distances you expect to be shooting the most. For this reason, the best dove hunting choke tube for you will be situational.

Choke tubes may seem complicated because of marketing jargon, but don’t overcomplicate it. Choosing a choke tube is actually very simple. At the end of the day, choke tubes allow you to open or tighten your shotgun pattern depending on how far you’ll be shooting.

Below I talk about the main types of dove hunting chokes, what range each is best for, and some examples with links to some of the best dove hunting chokes on the market.

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Table of Contents

Types of Shotgun Choke Tubes

There are a lot of choke tubes on the market. The most common ones are listed below, in order, from the most open to the tightest pellet spread.

Skeet
Cylinder
Improved Cylinder
Modified
Improved Modified
Full

But which chokes are best for dove hunting? Keep reading to find out…

Best Choke Tube Types For Dove Hunting

The best choke tubes for dove hunting are skeet and cylinder chokes because they are perfect for short to mid-range shots at small, fast-moving, and agile doves. These relatively unconstricted choke tubes will allow your shot spread to open up rapidly.

There is no singular “best” choke tube for dove hunting. It is actually beneficial to have more than one so you can adapt to your hunting situation accordingly.

For example, I would suggest getting a skeet, a cylinder, and an improved cylinder choke for dove hunting. This way you cover all your basis depending on how far you plan to shoot. Many new guns come with these in the box already.

Choke Tube Effective Ranges with Diagram

Skeet Choke Tubes For Dove Hunting

Improved cylinder choke tubes are a great option for very close-range to medium-range dove hunting. For a 12ga shotgun, you will do best if doves are between 15-30 yards. If you expect doves to be at close range, the skeet choke is an excellent option because this choke will give you the least constricted (aka no constriction) shot pattern, making it easier to hit doves at close range.

Cylinder Choke Tubes For Dove Hunting

Cylinder choke tubes are a great option for short to medium-range dove hunting. For a 12ga shotgun, you will do best if doves are between 20-35 yards. This choke will give you a little bit extra range than the skeet choke tube. So, if you know doves will be a little further out, the cylinder is a great option. This choke tube is one of the most versatile for dove hunting because of its short to mid-range capabilities.

Improved-Cylinder Choke Tubes For Dove Hunting

Improved cylinder choke tubes are a great option for medium-range dove hunting. For a 12ga shotgun, you will do best if doves are between 20-40 yards. This choke will give you a little bit extra range than the cylinder choke tube. So, if you know doves will be a little further out, the improved-cylinder is a great option.

Modified Choke Tubes For Dove Hunting

Modified choke tubes can be a great option for dove hunting. They are a great long-range choke tube for doves. If you know you’re mostly going to be shooting at birds in the 25-45 range, and especially if they are crossing shots, this might be the choke tube for you. At close distances, this choke is too constricted and may damage the birds making them unfit to eat.

Full-Choke Tubes For Dove Hunting

It is not recommended to use full chokes for dove hunting in most situations, especially for beginners. This choke is too constricted and will cause too much damage to birds at close to medium ranges. Additionally, the tight constriction will make hitting birds at short to mid ranges difficult because of how tight the pattern is. If you do use a full choke, you’ll want to shoot no closer than 30 yards.

*Choke Tubes Explained, Generalized Comparison Illustration of Different Choke Tubes and Their Effective Ranges (Cylinder vs Improved Cylinder vs Modified vs Full Choke Tubes).*

Best Dove Hunting Choke Tubes To Buy

It does not matter what brand you go with. If you have choke tubes that came with your gun that’s probably all you need. That said, when buying a new choke tube I like to choose from reputable time-tested brands to ensure quality materials. Here are some of the time-tested choke tubes for dove hunting.

Carlson’s Skeet Dove Choke Tube

Carlson’s is one of the best shotgun choke tube brands because of their quality products. This is their skeet choke tube which is great for close-range dove hunting. It can also be used with steel or Hevi-Shot in areas like public land where you can’t use lead.

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Carlson’s White Wing Decoy (LM) Dove Choke Tube

This is Carlson’s close-range dove hunting choke tube. It will give you more range than the skeet choke tube above but is made for close to medium-range shots.

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Carlson’s White Wing Extended Range (IM) Dove Choke Tube

This is Carlson’s longer-range dove hunting choke tube. It will give you more range than the Decoy choke tube above and is made for longer-range shots when dove hunting.

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Carlson’s Cremator Choke Tube Set

You can also get Carlson’s choke tubes in close-range, mid-range, and long-range options. Or you can buy a pack of all 3 so you’ll be ready for any dove hunting scenario. These equate to an improved cylinder, modified, and full choke. These are also some of the best choke tubes for duck or waterfowl hunting.

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Are The Choke Tubes That Come With Your Gun Any Good?

You will need to pattern your shotgun with them to see if they work well in your particular shotgun. However, yes they are good and are all most hunters will ever need if they come with an improved cylinder, modified, and full choke.

That said, sometimes stock choke tubes can’t handle the shotgun shells you want to shoot. For example, full chokes often can only shoot lead and can’t shoot steel shot at all because the choke isn’t strong enough. In this case, you could buy a 3rd party choke full choke if you wanted a tighter shot constriction than a modified choke.

Pattern Your Shotgun For Dove Hunting

Each gun will shoot a little differently so it is important to pattern your shotgun to determine the shot density. To do this all you need to do is set up a large paper target at different yardages, shoot them, and see how spread out your pellets are.

You’ll want a roll of paper 36-inches wide, plywood, and a staple gun. Draw a 30-inch circle on the paper after stapling it to the plywood and place the target at 30 or 40 yards (or at a distance you shoot the most). Check to see how many pellets are hitting within the 30-inch circle.

If most of your pellets are spread out and have a lot of gaps then you’ll want to use a tighter choke that has more constriction to achieve tighter patterns. If your pellets are very tight together, you’ll want to use a choke tube with less constriction to spread your bbs out.

Best Shot Size For Dove Hunting

6 to 7.5 lead shot size is perfect for dove hunting. You can fine-tune your choke tube performance even more by choosing the best shot size. For example, if you use a 7.5-shot size with a skeet choke to have a lot of bbs + a wide bb spread for very close-range birds. Additionally, if birds are further out you could use a 6-shot size with an improved-cylinder to have more knockdown power and a tighter bb spread.