So, the question is, if you take the screw in choke out of a shotgun to get a large pattern quicker, will it damage the barrel when you shoot it?

Would it be an Improved cylinder at that point?

Would the plastic wad protect the barrel?

I think it would be an open choke at that point. I don't know this for fact, but I could easily see some of the shot striking the threads and damaging them. I think it would be a one time deal and you would be shooting a wide open choke from then on.

Why not just go buy a Skeet/Open choke tube and put that in the barrel?

I have a Browning Citori 20 ga and two of every choke tube so I can tune it..

Why do you want a larger pattern that quick? Self defense? I don’t think it’s going to matter in that scenario.

You might be able to get away with a few shots if you’re using lead, but you’ll probably have to take it to a gunsmith and have them fix the threads before you can get a choke back in the barrel. Steel will probably irreparably ruin the threads. Just find a choke that suits your needs, would be my recommendation.

The wad is behind the pellets, and it’s the pellets that would do the damage to the threads, but I also read that the plastic wad can get stuck in the threading, which isn’t good, either.

If you take the choke out of a shotgun and shoot it, yes it will eventually damage the threads. If you’re looking for the loosest pattern, then you would need a cylinder choke.

Improved cylinder is just a tighter patterned cylinder choke.

You need a spreader choke tube. It actually has less constriction and creates a wider pattern than cylinder bore.

You can shoot the gun with no chokes. The barrel won't be damaged, lead is soft.
However, patterning on the shot string will be very bad. Meaning targets can fly through the holes it would create.

Go with a skeet, or cylinder choke. And this would be on targets closer than 20 yards.

A "cylinder bore" choke tube delivers the widest spread followed by a "skeet 1" tube.

I would have to disagree on their being no damage. The differences in metals can be overcome by energy. If your statement were true you would never be able to shoot a lead bullet through a steel plate.

Interesting question. I agree with Reel Texan on this. Lead is softer than steel.

I think the shot is contained in the shot cup until after exiting the barrel.

Keep a cylinder or skeet choke in it. The pattern will be terribly unpredictable and damaging without a choke tube. The money you spend on a choke tube is less than a new barrel or gun smith.

What choke? I cut 2 inches of the barrels on what I call my "meat gun" - it's even cerakoted blaze orange - heckuva quail gun!!

I shot competition sporting Clay's for a lot of years,check out a diffusion choke. It spins the was causing it to release quicker from the shot. We used them a lot on real class fast rabbit targets.

Yes it will damage it. You often hear the "lead is softer" argument, but that is a very poor argument. Hardness and durability are not at all the same, similar to why scratching and smoothing are not the same. Even though metal is higher on the Moh's hardness scale it will still displace passed a given shear threshold. It's the same reason soft brake pads wear into steel disks, and diamonds are cut with a chisel.

You can also expect your threads to be full of deposits, since part of a chokes design is to swage wads down to bore. Without the choke you are going to fill every thread with poly fouling. You'll also need a dedicated solvent to clean it, since most all bore cleaners are either ammonia based, caustic soaps, or petroleum distillate derivatives. It's generally a pain to remove but if you use a choke it will make removing it mechanically much easier if that's easier for you. I don't remove it mechanically unless I have to though, since Perazzi chokes are $100 a pop. I keep BoreTech shotgun blend by my side for this reason.

But more to the point, if you truly are looking to maximize shot spread, for whatever reason, try using a rifled choke instead. There's some give and take though. The give is you'll receive wider spread, the take is your shot density will be non existent. Shot "patterns" (strings) are 3 dimensional, so it might be wise to take that into consideration for whatever system you are trying to optimize.