Kick’s Choke Tubes For Waterfowl Season

Part I
I recently sought the opportunity to test Kick’s “High Flyer” Choke Tubes for waterfowl.

Choke Selection
Choke selection is the most important means a hunter has over how commercial ammunition performs, whereas the gun itself is more of a constant than a variable.

Shotgunning should be a serious and interested discipline. But, because life is brief, I have no desire to collect choke tubes. Kick’s Industries seems to understand this by simply offering 3 or 4 “High Flyer” Choke Tubes for each gun model. They even describe their Full Choke as an “All around choke that works well”.

Design
High Flyer choke tubes are installed and removed by hand. I thought these chokes were visibly glossy at first, but I took them outside, in the natural light and they do have a duller, black finish preferred for hunting. These chokes have stamped/engraved lettering for easy identification that remains visible when installed and during use.

The High Flyer is an extra long tube milled from solid 17-4PH stainless steel with a parallel section after the choke that stabilizes the shot constriction. It extends approximately 1 ¾ inches beyond the muzzle, and has a round/flat, precision crown. High Flyer chokes allows you to extend your range, barrel length and mass. A longer barrel handles more steadily and generally improves shot pattern. Increasing the mass of a barrel reduces recoil acceleration.

High Flyer chokes are designed for steel shot, non-toxic shot, tungsten, hevi-shot, lead substitutes and lead.

Porting | Braking System

Kick’s chokes are diagonally and directionally ported at a precise, prescribed angle of 135 degrees forward of the shooter. Upon firing, these ports vent forward, slowing the recoil and better protecting the shooter, bystanders and hunting position from shock pressure, smoke and debris.

The High Flyer’s heavy porting is very similar in appearance to many of the newest compensator designs and is a long-established, ballistic improvement characteristic.

24 sharp-edged cut outs, measuring nearly ¼ inch each, are oriented to provide momentary, retrograde traction for the stressed boundaries of shotcup-wads. 

Surface interruption by perforations (porting) also vibrate the wad by converting some of the otherwise wasted energy from wad stress. This vibrational energy yields a more efficient separation between the wad and pellets (author’s conceptual model based on improved pellet release and the deformation and shear of plastic components).   

Unhelpful Aspects

There are very few unhelpful aspects of the High Flyer choke. Ported chokes are generally louder and have an increased surface area that requires cleaning. Furthermore, because Kick’s has developed another choke called Vortex; that is specific to Federal Premium's Black Cloud ammunition, I suspect that the High Flyer Choke may not be fully optimized for Black Cloud.

Contact:
Kick's Industries Inc. 800-587-2779    

     

http://www.kicks-ind.com

Part II
Ranging and tower skeet testing for the High Flyer Choke:

http://the-reverend-fowl.blogspot.com/2011/08/kicks-choke-tubes-for-2011-2012.html

About:

I requested the opportunity to independently test, review and give opinion for Kick's “High Flyer” Choke Tubes. I utilized donated samples for this purpose. Currently, I am not otherwise affiliated or associated with Kick's Industries and have not received pecuniary compensation or incentive from Kick’s.