Took my BSS Sidelock out to the range this past weekend. 12 gauge, 28", DT, English, Factory choked Full/Mod.
I loaded some Federal paper hulls with a 7/8 oz load with a spreader disks and had at em' on a Skeet field.
23 first round, 21 the second. All losses out of the left barrel.
Pulverized doesn't begin to describe how hard this gun hit clay.
With some 1 oz 1190 FPS paper loads, this little 6 1/2 lb marvel dusted birds out to 65 yards. Hmm.
65 yard SKEET targets? Well, I guess if I were to shoot skeet targets at 65 yards, then I certainly wouldn't want a gun choked skeet/skeet!
Whether to open a very tightly choked barrel . . . depends on what you want to do with the gun. For some reason, the Japanese choked Parker Repro 28ga guns with 28" barrels M/F . . . which might have been OK except for the fact that the constrictions they used are more appropriate for a 12ga than a 28ga. Even M/F constrictions for a 28ga are tighter than I want. But then my uses would be recreational skeet, grouse and woodcock, and quail. Might want those tighter chokes for doves, but I don't shoot them.
Unless your gun has "collectible" value, I see no reason not to open a choke that's tighter than you want for your intended purposes. Even when I was shooting a lot of wild pheasants, I didn't want anything tighter than maybe a tight mod in the L barrel of my sxs. That's because I don't intend to take shots beyond 40 yards. Increases the chances of crippling and losing a bird, even with a good dog.
