On most vintage American guns--Ithacas and Model 21's being fairly rare exceptions--the chokes weren't marked anyhow. So unless it's a collector gun--higher grade and/or field grade in close to perfect condition and unaltered--who cares if you open the chokes? And who will ever know, unless factory records (if available) are checked? You can usually tell, just by looking, whether cones have been lengthened. But I've never considered that a negative. Lengthening chambers . . . that's taking out a bit too much metal for my comfort level. Although in truth, probably not a safety issue on most 12 bores, or even on smaller bores except those with very light barrels.

Last edited by L. Brown; 11/06/13 09:24 AM.