doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com To open the chokes or not, that is the question...

I just leave em alone and learn to shoot em....My favorite Lefever 16 is choked so tight than when a bird gets up, I open the thermos, pour some coffee, close the thermos, take 2 swallows of coffee, then shoot...

Question for the oringal folks. If he shoots a 14" stock and the gun has a 16" stock should he live with it and not enjoy shooting the gun or make it fit him.

I'm with Recoil Rob - if the gun is in the original configuration leave it 16" - both for value and for stewardship. If the chambers have been lengthened to 2-3/4" and the action recased and a beavertail forend added then go ahead and chop the stock.

Best,

Mike

Ok ya'll win,I now refuse to scope my sniper rifle cause it didn't come with one and I want it to be as it left the factory for later resale so I'll shoot it like a shotgun and complain about its poor service and performance.

If practicality is your only objective, then I'd open the chokes. But based on the fact that we are talking about a 120 year old fine English hammer gun, I'm guessing there is more toyour calculus than that.

If you are only shooting a flat or two of ammunition a year, I'd pay the premium and just purchase some commercial polywad spreaders and keep the gun original. I'm not a purist, but if we are only talking a smal extra cost (ammunition) and only sacrificing a small bit of performance, then why alter the gun in a way that can't be undone.

Ken

Personally I wouldn't buy a gun to shoot with that much of a discrepancy in LOP. I'd sure buy it as a collector piece if it was all original, but not as a shooter.

Or, if I was really in love with THAT gun and money was no object I'd have it restocked to shoot and keep the old one to sell.

Well now, if it's a Revolutionary War long rifle used by skirmishers, I agree, I wouldn't scope it.

If it's a Rem. 700 that came D&T'd from the factory I think a big honkin' scope with a 56mm objective is the ticket.

Of course we don't have much use for them here in NY when deer hunting.

I would stick to the origional chokes and shoot some spreaders or find a load that you like, that way your gun remains origional and diverse. It seems that this way you have the best of both worlds.

Tim

Soon after Greener wowed the public with his winning of the 1875 Field trials for choke bored vs cylinder bored guns a large part of the shooting public went mad for choke - the holy grail of being able to pull off long shots and kill at greater range caught the wider imagination and gunmakers were filled with oredrs for the new guns.

After a few years went by it occurred to people that they actually did not shoot most of their game at extreme ranges and a vert tight pattern made them miss more than they hit at normal game ranges. Also, they found they smashed alot of birds at these ranges and spoiled the meat. Nobody likes to see bird explode I the air and nobody wants to eat 'winged pate'.

Tight chokes stayed the norm for wildfowlers wh were likely to be shooting long range more of te time. For game shots an open first barrel and a bit of choke in the second was soon found to do nicely. for walked-up shooting an open first barrel and a tighter choke in teh second gave a good kill at 30 yards as acovey flushed and abetter one at 40 yards when the second going-away shot was taken. Holds true today.

I would not hesitate to open the chokes if that makes the gun work better. The log 'fowling barrels are best left tight in my opnion as theya re good for nothing else but no problem opening the other set so they work for you.

Choke is a personal thing but I like I.C and 1/2 in a game gun (actually I prefer light I.C - say 3 thou of choke, and a bit tighter I.C - say 7 thou of choke, if truth be told for driven birds). your choice I really do not see sensible game borings affecting the value unlesss you take all the choke out of both barrels. Nobody will have any idea what the original chokes were anyway - they could have been anything.

Choke is a personal thing but I like I.C and 1/2 in a game gun (actually I prefer light I.C - say 3 thou of choke, and a bit tighter I.C - say 7 thou of choke, if truth be told for driven birds). your choice I really do not see sensible game borings affecting the value unlesss you take all the choke out of both barrels. Nobody will have any idea what the original chokes were anyway - they could have been anything.

???.....I would call both of those Skeet chokes. As a matter of fact I use .007 in all my skeet gauges.
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