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How common are jug-choked shotguns? I always thought that a jug choke was only used when some choke was to be put in a gun that was already cylinder bored as when the barrels were cut back.
I was reading a letter to the editor in "Forest and Stream" 1889 which seems to indicate that jug-choking or as they called it "Recess-bore was common.
This may be of interest;
"Recessed-bored Shotguns

Editor Forest and Stream:
In the "Forest and Stream" for July 25 and Aug. 1, (1889) are the published results of a gun trial that you kindly had made on your range. As the recess system of boring is apparently but little understood in this country, Perhaps you will allow me a little space to describe its advantages. It is not really a choke, but an enlargement of the barrel, commencing about 2in. from the muzzle and extending toward the breech for from 2 to 4in., the last 2in. of the barrel being practically of the same diameter as that part on the breech side of the recess; there is, therefore, no obstruction to the passage of a ball. Without reference to the use of the latter, some English gun makers adopt the recess method of boring in all their guns, and obtain with it as close a shot pattern as with more common form of choke. It is much used by sportsmen for jungle shooting in India where game can only be seen at close range, at which the effect of a 12-gauge round ball is found to be quite as deadly as that of a .45 or .50 express bullet......."

How common was this? Has anyone found many English guns choked this way?
Pete

I have one Pete. It is a C. F. Leader hammer gun with laminated barrels. I think it is from Birmingham around 1875. I assumed jug choking was done prior to modern choking but I now see there is a dual function to jug choking allowing a round ball to pass through for larger game while having choke for sporting clays (just kidding).

I have not shot it for years and I am pretty sure it is in the back of the safe so a pain to get to but I think it is marked "not for ball" which now makes no sense to me.

If it is, as you remember, marked "Not for ball" It is strange. Why would they make a gun with a recessed choke and then mark it "not for ball"?
Maybe the gun was originally cylinder bored and then, to give it a little more range, jug-choked later.

Pete

Burrard speaks of this method being used when someone had ordered a gun to produce a given pattern with a given load. This allowed the gunmaker to increase the pellet count without "Backboring, which would often cause the gun to need Re-proof. The way he spoke it was a fairly common practice among "Bespoke" guns.

I wonder how common it would have been to make a gun with a recessed choke just to make it more versatile? To be able to use it for ball or shot. The letter in Field and stream seemed to say it was very common.
Pete

Maybe builder's gun had longer barrels marked "not for ball", and later shortened; then recessed choked to improve patterns.

That'd be my bet...Geo

I jug choked a muzzleloading trap gun I made 40 years ago. It's still easy to load it and yet get the choke you want. I have also more recently done it to a couple of my SxS's.

How did you do it Paul?

So we know what type of gun:


This is a beautiful gun in great condition. I measured the jug chokes. Both chokes start tapering essentially at the muzzles reaching their zenith at about 1 1/4" and returning to bore size at about 4 1/2" from the muzzle. The taper is gentle at the rear and more abrupt as it heads toward the muzzle. The left increases in diameter by about .030 while the right about .038"