What is the difference between multi choke and fixed choke?

Answer 1

Fixed - will not change

Multi choke - choke can be changed.

'Choke' is a degree of constriction over the last couple of inches of a shotgun barrel, the reason for which is to alter the characteristics of the shot pattern as it leaves the end of the barrel and forms the shot-string. Non-multichoke guns have what is known as 'fixed' chokes, which are determined by the manufacturer, but which follow standard constriction levels such as '1/4', '1/2', '3/4', 'Full', 'Cyl' (or 'Cylinder'), and 'ImpCyl' ('Improved Cylinder')...........on side-by-side guns, the left barrel generally has a tighter degree of choke than the right, as the left barrel is generally fired last, and at targets which are further away. The tighter degree of choke results in the shot pattern remaining tighter at greater ranges. With over-and-under configurations, it's the lower barrel which has the tighter choke, but for similar reasons.

With a multichoke gun, the degree of choke for either barrel can be altered by replacing the threaded end section of the barrel with a separate insert. This allows the shooter to choose the degree of choke required, dependant on his requirements at the time. For instance, most standard game guns are choked '1/4' and '1/2'......this affords the best compromise for game shooters without overly-specialising the gun. Trap & Sporting guns generally have the facility to alter the chokes, as the targets that the gun will be presented with can vary hugely. The gun may be required to shoot every target from simulated high pheasants at 50 yards-plus, to 'skeet' (which are typically at less than 20 yard ranges)..............so it can be seen that to have fixed chokes on a gun required to perform these various tasks will result in a serious handicap to the shooter wishing to take on various disciplines with only one gun.

This isn't set in stone,of course........wildfowling pieces, for example, tend to have tighter chokes than standard game guns, as the quarry they're designed for tend to be heavier, and fly higher and faster, so demanding a gun to throw a pattern of heavy shot at greater ranges, or a gun of larger bore than a standard 'twelve'. And, of course, the cartridges required for wildfowling tend to contain larger (and therefore fewer) shot than a game (or clay pigeon) target, so to keep the shot-string tighter is desirable.....................