Originally Posted By: Jawjadawg
F/F, F/M, M/IC, SK/SK

I have the chance to pick up a 20ga Sterlingworth with 26" barrels and F/F chokes. The gun is priced well, but I usually see shorter barrels having more open chokes. I guess you don't really know what the chokes mean until you actually pattern the gun, but I haven't seen many F/F barreled guns pattern well for upland brush hunting.

This has left me in a bit of a buying conundrum. Do spreader loads make a F/F gun more versatile and therefore desirable, or do you buy a gun for a specific purpose with the chokes you prefer? Closed chokes for turkey hunting and more open chokes for upland hunting, or do you even worry about it?


I think the first Fox that Michael McIntosh owned was choked like that. He and his friends figured the gun was ordered as a squirrel gun. I seem to recall he said the figuring was fueled by a bit of Maker's Mark, however.

Why don't you pattern the gun, use it a bit for what you intend to, and then make the decision about how it should be choked, for your own use? Later in the season, when the roosters and grouse have gotten a bit smarter, it might be the perfect gun, just the way it is.

Best,
Ted