Buzz, if you spend much time in the Ottawa, you probably have more long shots than I do. I've pretty much given up hunting there. It seems as if they do almost no cutting, the result being that it's a lot more mature forest than the places I do most of my hunting.
The gun in question did not have a lot of choke in the R barrel to begin with: factory IC, about .006, so not a lot of reaming to do. One of the patterns I used as an illustration in that article was the result of a Polywad SpredR, which is another option. Shot from a barrel that was a tighter IC than my Sauer, there was very little difference between it and the patterns I got with my bored-out tube. But in the case of that Sauer, it'll be pretty much strictly a grouse and woodcock gun. And after the woodcock have gone and the leaves are down, I'll use something tighter. But since I now live in very good grouse and woodcock country, it'll get plenty of use.
Pheasants present some real contrasts when it comes to shots. Although they have a well-earned reputation as runners, in good cover they'll sit about as tight as any bird you'll ever hunt. One of those C/F Brit doubles would not be a bad choice. As someone above noted, on a long shot, you can always select the tight barrel if your gun comes equipped with the proper number of triggers.
