Choke Tubes: Size Chart & Recommendations

An interesting suppressor was unleashed on the world a few years ago by Silencer Co. Dubbed the Salvo 12; it was the world’s first commercially viable shotgun suppressor. Rather than attaching to a threaded barrel like most silencers, the Salvo 12 relies on the shotgun’s choke system for attachment.

In this article, we’re going to give a basic overview of choke tubes, how they work, and their relation to shotgun suppressors.

What is a Choke Tube?

A shotgun choke shapes the shot pattern of a shotgun to improve range and accuracy. While some older shotguns, particularly over-under shotguns, will have a barrel fixed to a certain choke, many will have an interchangeable choke tube system.
These interchangeable shotgun choke tubes are typically installed via internal threads in the shotgun’s barrel. Almost every manufacturer uses a proprietary choke system. For example, Remington uses the Remchoke system, Winchester uses the Winchoke system and Saiga type shotguns rely on an externally threaded barrel.

Hunting Shotguns vs. Defensive/Riot Shotguns

Not all shotguns are equipped with chokes. Most so-called defensive or riot shotguns leave the factory as “cylinder bore” guns with no method of adding one of the various choke systems. If you need to have a system installed, it will need to be performed by a competent gunsmith.

Choke Tube Size

Chokes are popular with bird hunters and competitive shotgun shooters because the correct size choke tube will improve the shooter’s range and accuracy. The three most common choke sizes are improved cylinder, modified, and full. Each of these gets progressively tighter and holds the payload of shot denser than the previous
When the Salvo 12 was first released, shooters were restricted to cylinder bore as a choke. However, SilencerCo recognized this shortcoming and introduced the Echo choke adapter. The Echo choke adapter allows the shooter to choose from improved, modified, or full chokes. It installs via the shotgun’s choke threads, as a shooter would do normally, and has an external thread adapter/locking ring to allow connection of the Salvo 12.

Using Choke Tubes with Shotgun Suppressors

As most of us know, a shotgun is a different animal to suppress than a standard cartridge firearm, like a pistol or rifle, due to the nature of shotgun ammunition. With the exception of shotgun slugs, you do not have a single projectile spiraling through the barrel. A shotgun, as we all know, generally fires multiple pellets that are secured inside the shell by a wad. Between the pellets and the plastic wad hurtling through your shiny new suppressor, there is a lot that potentially can go wrong.

SilencerCo averted this by adding an internal rail to center the wad as it is propelled through the suppressor with the shot. On top of that, its modularity allows the shooter to make the Salvo 12 as long or as short as they want for their shooting needs.

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Shotgun Choke Tube Chart

Below is a comprehensive list of shotgun models and which system they use: