doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Opening chokes

I'd go with cyl or skeet in and mod.
Remember, you need to think of late season grouse when the birds are more jumpy and don't hold so well for the pups.

If you go skeet in the open barrel you will not reduce the value of the gun as much as cylinder, possibly not at all since many use skeet choke in the right barrel at sporting clays.

I hunt the UP and WI in October, when the woodcock are still around. I bought my Parker Repro 28ga mostly because of the chokes: Q1 & 2. So, a little choke and a little more. Works very well . . . also on the early release quail hunts I do. 12ga . . . I would not be afraid to go cyl in the R barrel if I still lived in WI. Cyl will kill a grouse quite a ways out. Late season, simply use 1 1/8 oz trap loads of 7 1/2. If you have some concern about selling it in CO, the open R barrel might hurt you some. But I think it's the best all-around choke for ruffs and woodcock in a 12ga. Just tinker with your ammo selection as the leaves come off.

If you move forward with opening the chokes I can recommend Kirk Merrington for the job/work.

I can totally understand your point of view and recognize that it makes perfect sense. This is especially true with the shot cups of the last couple decades. I have however one point that I've learned from experience... a little choke such as .002" constriction can make the difference on a potential sale should you ever decide to replace it. I've had many English boxlock's that withered on the vine at cylinder while others with just 1 or 2 thousandth's were viewed as a big plus (sometimes common-sense is overruled!). Since it's yours then go at it as you wish but at least recognize the downstream impact. Good shooting....

Skeet & Imp. Cyl. Why bother with two barrel gun? Common sense tells me you need old Ithaca 37 with 26" barrel and Imp. Cyl barrel. Reason I say old is because old ones with fixed choke had light contour barrels making them wonderful upland pump. Naturally Model 12 Featherweight 12ga with 26" barrel would be just as good or better. The 26" barrel came with 1/4 choke standard. Does this help with your dilemma?

He already has the 2-barrel gun. Some folks don't like the pumping part. I recently wrote a chapter on guns for a new grouse book. ("A Passion for Grouse"). Looking at statistics from the Loyal Order of Dedicated Grouse Hunters (LODGH) concerning preference by gun type, early 1980's vs early 20-teens, pumps have dropped off significantly in popularity. As you point out, the problem isn't necessarily weight. The Ithaca English Ultra 37 weighed something under 5#, I believe . . . for those who can shoot a gun that light. But pumps just aren't as popular as they used to be.

Depending on hunting type I would expect semi-autos and over/under shotguns to be most popular. What I was trying to get at is having nearly identical or identical choke in both barrel of double gun is kind of pointless just like having single trigger instead of two. He would be very well served with Beretta 3xx series, Benelli or Franchi semi-auto.

Here is what I did when my Parker was choked tight full and tight mod.
I loaded the old way using card and fiber wads and as able to get a mod and Imp cyl.
I then made a spreader using 2 over shot cards each cut almost in half and inserted into each other to form an X. After loading the shot between the X petals, my patterns indicated Imp Cyl and a very light Imp Cyl.

I have an Uggy that was Mod/Full when I bought it. It actually threw patterns closer to full and full.
I opened it to CylMod, but the 'smith actually went to Cyl/Ic. I was a little ticked off, but, have used it for pheasants, grouse, sporting clays, skeet, and a few pokes at my local duck tower, and a not bad round of trap a few weeks ago.. It works fine the way it is.
I wouldn't worry much about value on an Uggy, especially a 12 gauge Uggy. Most people I know would spend the money to have the chokes opened anyway, assuming Mod/Full.
The guys with tubes seem to put a couple in, and then forget they are there. Nice to be able to change, but, few guys actually do.

Good Luck.

Best,
Ted