King Brown, montenegrin and Jim Legg all provide parts of answer. Another part is that relatively (comparied to modern USA magnums and ultramags with multiple oz of shot) small shot charges were/are used, so nice tight patterns were needed. I leave chokes on my old German and Swedish guns unaltered and find loads that pattern nicely through them -- generally simply 24 and 28 gram loads in one-peice plastic wads. Works great on ducks, geese, pheasants and inquisitive/sleepy foxes or coyotes. Maybe try on turkey next spring, when cannot use rifle.
Shooting big grouse (tjäder) sitting in top of tall trees, requires tight choke. Often they are/were hunted with "bird rifles" -- fågelgevär, usually singleshot, smaller caliber, lower power rifles. Distances easily 50 meters.
Niklas
Last edited by NiklasP; 10/04/09 04:34 PM.
