Fred may have been a crazy old man who exaggerated his accomplishments, but he did experiment with choke and he did use it to his advantage. He ordered at least two Parker shotguns with "muzzles 1/14 inch thick" or "muzzles 1/10 inch thick" or some such, obviously with the intention to fool with the chokes. I seem to remember some documented proof that Fred sent one of his choked guns, maybe the Tonks, to England, possibly to Greener, for testing. It seems that neither Long, Kimble, Greener, or Pape is the first person to try his hand at muzzle constriction to improve shotgun patterns. If Manton was "freeing the muzzle" before 1816, I'm willing to give him the honor.
