Spreaders (hand loads and factory) out of my Darne are full of holes. I'm talking at 25 yards, holes big enough to drive a pinto through. Terrible patterns, but they do open the pattern. Forget that, that's not what I shoot the gun for. I want even, bird killing patterns at specific distances, spreaders don't do that. At 35 yards a spreader is worthless and at 35 yards the extra full original choke is equally worthless (when hit, birds are so badly damaged, they aren't fit for the table). So......guess what, the choke gets opened to make the gun useful. Nothing odd or sacrilege about that.