doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Fixed chokes were made to open?

I haven't seen a tremendous amount of old ads, but never saw one that mentioned openning chokes to suit after purchase and don't recall any that touted more open chokes as better game getters. I just don't think you could make that a big selling point to the masses even today. 'kinda like saying 'our bacon double cheeseburgers are lower in calories and fat and better for you'.

Gentelmen ,we can discuss this for ever and you will not come to an agreement. I offered you the insight of 40 years of working in the British gun trade for 9 years of which [1968/1977] I worked on building new guns. Believe what you like, but I saw the orders for those guns, some had chokes specified some were sent out full& full. Chokes were not finish bored untill after proof, if a specific patern was required this was done when the gun was stocked up again after proof. As we are all entitled to our own opinions I will say no more and let others believe what they will.

One of the key differences herein is between fine (expensive) SxS's versus mass-produced shotguns for the average american hunter/farmer.

Clearly in the latter case, the shotguns were meant to be used as-is, with the factory choke.

There is probably more doubt about the intent and business practices of the makers of the more expensive (and european) SxS's.

JERRY

Interesting observation.
I never saw one of the best German guns Sauer Mesterwerk mod.18E choked F/F, usually IC/IM.
Definitly this guns been made by orders only.

Choke....


If you hunt wild game bigger that a pigeon it's nice to have lots of.

If you just shoot targets along with an occasional pen raised bird and spend more time sitting around the study writing about how your open choke smoked those weak pen raised birds that fly at half speed then you're better off without any.

Concerning American guns, from the 1940 "Shooters Bible": Browning Superposed's new "Lightning" model came with 3 standard choke combos: M/F, IC/M, skeet/skeet. Anything else was an extra charge.

No standard chokes listed on Parkers. LC Smiths were "bored to order". Fox Sterlingworth, standard chokes were F/F with 32" barrels; M/F with 30 or 28"; cyl/M with 26". Other barrel borings, no extra charge. All the Savage Fox Model B's were M/F standard, no charge for other borings. Marlin 90, 26" IC/M; 28 or 30", M/F. Iver Johnson Hercules, all M/F except 32" 12ga and .410 which were F/F. Winchester Model 21, bored to order.

As noted above, the "choke" marking on British guns first appeared under the proof rules of 1887. It remained as part of the proof rules until 1955. Under the rules of 1925: "Choked barrels could still be stamped with the word CHOKE; this was optional if constriction was from .004" to .008"; if it were more, the choke stamping was obligatory."