 Which one is better? Pattern master or kicks? In this video, I'm going to talk about both and give my conclusion after two seasons in the field. Let's go. All right, guys, before we get started with this video, I want to say a huge shout out and thank you to Ridge Wallet for sponsoring this video. Yes, guys, this is a wallet. Look how thin it is. Look how light and compact it hardly weighs anything. I've been using it for like three weeks now. So on the one side, it has a nice spot where you can put your thumb and push the cards out and grab what you need to use. And then on the back, it has a cash strap and you can put your cash. You fold it three ways to try fold. They have over 30 different colors that you can use in this wallet. I've got the carbon fiber, which I love. Plus, it's got a really cool look. This is a perfect father's day gift. If you guys use my code MVM, you guys will get 15% off. Check down in the description or in the comment that I pinned in this video. And you guys can get 15% off with that code MVM. Use it like I do. It's a great product. Welcome back to the channel. I'm Titus with Mid-Valley Mercenaries. And I want to preface this video by saying every single shotgun, even if it's the same making model, can shoot differently no matter what choke you use if you use the same choke in each one of them. So I'm shooting for the last two seasons when I tried these two chokes out with my Browning A5 12 gauge with a 28 inch barrel. And these are the two chokes I'm going to be talking about today. This one is the Pattern Master Code Black Duck. And this is the Kicks High Flyer Full Choke. Now I just want to take a few things that each company gives on their website on information that you can find about these choke tubes. To be honest with you, I love both these. And it was really hard for me. I had started out with the Kicks Choke first. And then last season, for the whole season, I used the Pattern Master Code Black Duck. I've got about one or two seasons with the Kicks High Flyer Full. But I want to go into each one individually, give the information that comes off the website, and let you guys know the details about it. And then give my conclusion at the end. So stay tuned. If you guys haven't already, check out our podcast, which is a lot of waterfowl content, but also a lot of other different things too as well. But I would say probably three to one is waterfowl content. It's the MVM show. And you can check it out on all platforms. Let's start with the Pattern Master Code Black Duck. Now remember, their Pattern Master has a lot of different things. And I'll be honest with you, several years ago, I tried Pattern Master. Their original, the classic, I guess, what they call it. I personally did not like it. I did not like how it shot out of my Browning A5 12-gauge with a 28 inch barrel. So I was very hesitant in trying this. But a friend of mine had mentioned that has another channel, Hunts in Arkansas. He said, you need to try out. If you're looking for a choke that really punches the ducks hard, you need to look up the Pattern Master Code Black Duck. And I was like, man, I've tried Pattern Master before, but obviously it's a different type. And trust me, it is different. So number one, it is one of the only, if not the only, non-constructive choke tube. It says that it has substantially more energy on target due to a wad stripping technology that they have. This technology is their patented stud ring. And actually, if you look inside of it, you could actually see that stud ring. What this stud ring does, and they designed it for is to basically slow down or stop the wad just for a millisecond. By doing this, they're able to tighten the shot string. It says on their website up to 80%. Now, that's huge for me because I want full impact of the shot hitting that bird. I don't want it kind of spread out, which is what a shot string is. Usually a shot string can stretch out quite a bit over a period of 20, 30, 40 yards. It gets longer and longer as time goes on. But what this is designed to do is keep that solid impact and have all the shot hit the bird or whatever it is you're shooting all at once. Also by this pause, the shot charge leaves the barrel undisturbed by the wad and gases causing what they say is beautiful patterns on paper. Let's reset again, beautiful and dense patterns is what the website says. The exact verbatim. And then lastly, it has a bronze non-reflective finish, which I do like that. And it's pretty cool looking. And I supposedly, it gets darker the more it's touched and the more it's used. But mine's only a season old and you can definitely tell it's starting to get that darker look on it. Now, here's my thoughts about this. That was from the website. That's what they say. Now, my thoughts after a whole year of use in the field and trust me, I've been, I think it was 55 hunts that I was on this year. And I would say probably 45 to 47 of those was with my 12 gauge with this choke. I will say beautiful patterns before season. You can check the video out right here, whatever spot it's going to be on. You can check this video out. The patterns were beautiful on this and in that video, you're going to see me struggle a little bit to admit that. And I don't know why that is. I had been using kicks, like I said, maybe for two years. So I felt like I had confidence in it, a loyalty in it. And I just was hard for me to say, but the proof is in the pudding. Like they say, and you could see that the patterns on this choke were definitely better. There was less flyers, which is always a big thing. That mean like flyers are shot that can just really go off target, but there was definitely less flyers, if any. And the best thing that I love about this choke bar none. And why I went to it and gave it a chance is the impact on the birds that it has. It's insane. What I wanted was to blow feathers off birds. I didn't, I'm not saying I wanted to ruin the meat. I know a lot of people have seen Thomas and I's shots this year and really it was never mined with this choke. It was more on Thomas's, but he was using a factory choke. And there's a few times it did even ruin the meat, but that's not our end goal. That's not what we want. That's not what we're shooting for. But what I want is to put these birds to a dead stop and put them in the grave. I don't want no kicking. I don't want no flinching after I shoot them. And I'll tell you, if you've hunted long enough, you know mallards are the toughest birds and you could shoot them with the best ammo at 10 yards and they could still somehow, some way crawl away and get in the toolies or wherever the habitat that you hunt in is. And I didn't want that. I wanted something that's going to be a showstopper. And I will tell you this, that is what I love about this choke tube. All the pattern, all the shot hitting that bird and punching that bird, even if it's at 30 or 40 yards, I'm telling you it knocks the snot out of them. So that's how I feel and that's my thoughts about this. I'll give you a conclusion of both comparisons at the end and which one I would rather pick, but let's go into the kicks high flyer choke right now. All right, here she is, the kicks high flyer full choke. And as you can tell, that was one thing I did like is where it came into the barrel. That's the difference right there. If I'm not too close to the camera, but let me move my hand here. That's how much more, you know, it would stick out of the top of my barrel because that's where it would seat in. So it was nice to have a little bit shorter, but it's not that big of a deal on kicks high flyer site. And again, these are both companies that I trust. These chokes are made from solid heat treated 17-4 pH grade round bar stock. And what I like about that is, is the fact that the use of a solid bar stock actually helps or eliminates problems with weak seams because it's all one piece and that's what it's made out of. So that alone is good to know because of the durability and the strength of these choke tubes. Now in this choke, there are no blocks, there are no stud rings that as kick says deform your shot or inhibit your pattern. All kicks chokes have unique conical and parallel sections. The conical section, what they call it is actually where the choking happens. And then the parallel section is where the wad stripping action happens. If you'll notice on this choke tube, it's diagonally ported at 135 degrees away from the shooter, which also reduces side blast. And it also acts as a braking system, which slows the wad down to provide superior patterns. Now kick says it improves pattern density up to 20%. And I think another thing that we all know what this does is it reduces muzzle jump and felt recoil, which ends up giving you faster, more accurate follow up shots. Now my thoughts with this bottom line, I'm very confident with this choke. It has proven itself to me time and time again. And just having the confidence in your mind when you're shooting birds, just having that confidence. And knowing when you're going to pull the trigger, it's going to do what you need it to do. And it's going to knock the birds down that right there is everything you need, whether or not reality is it's the best when you have confidence in your shooting. That is key. I remember the first time I shot a bird with this choke, that bird was easily 40 yards. And that's our max of shooting birds. And four yards is a lot farther than you think. A lot of people say, I shot about 40 yards. Well, when you end up marking out or stepping out 40 yards or using a rangefinder, like, um, I don't really shoot hardly birds ever at that range. But I do know that this shot was easily 40 yards. And I mean it folded it like he was 10 yards away. And I was just honestly, I was shocked of how hard that bird crumpled. I'm definitely not advocating everybody to do that. You got to know your distances and you got to know your confidence levels. And I was confident at that, but I hadn't shot it with this specific choke yet at that distance. So that was my only hold back just a little bit. But once I seen what it did, I definitely got that confidence right back up. Another thing is it does beautiful patterns. Honestly, the patterns on this choke are beautiful. I think I mainly use heavy shot products, heavy steel, heavy hammer, heavy metal, heavy bismuth. I even dipped in a little bit last year with the heavy 12. Now I didn't shoot it with this choke, but I will tell you kicks chokes with the Browning a five does great job with the heavy shot products. But I also tested it with a bunch of other products prior a couple years ago. So I will say all around this choke does good with most brands. Now the conclusion, which one would I take in the field and which one would I use? I will say I'm always going to keep this choke. I'm always going to keep the kicks higher flyer full close by if I ever need it. But bottom line is after a season of use, I will definitely be going with the pattern master code black duck. The knockdown power that this has with the ammo that I use and with the gun I use is incredible. It's impressive. I love it. It doesn't damage the meat. It will blow feathers off and you think, man, is there going to be anything left of this bird? And then you go breast it out. You go pluck it if you're going to cook a hole and you're like, you don't even look like I shot this bird. And last year, I mainly shot heavy business out of this, this choke. And again, I shot heavy 12, which was unbelievable. I've never seen nothing like it. I almost felt like I was cheating, but it is expensive. So I pretty much stuck with heavy business, even though that's not cheap as well. But I just know that the business, the penetration that it has is the best thing. And then you pair that with an amazing choke. It's just deadly. I had very rarely had cripples, which Intel means I shoot less shells. So even if I'm paying more for the shells, I'm shooting less when you have a deadly combo, like a pattern master co black duck and then the ammo that I'm using. So that's my conclusion. I hope this video kind of gives you guys a thought to think about something else. I'm not saying you have to use an aftermarket choke like these two, but I am saying why not shoot the best you can and have the best pattern and have the best confidence in what you're shooting when you're shooting at the waterfowl. So you can be more ethical, harvest more birds, shoot less shells and be happy with the products that you use. Let me know down in the comments, what you guys use and the combo that you like the best. Don't forget to subscribe, give this video a thumbs up if you liked it, give those products a try, see what you like best and I'll see you guys on the next one.