Although I have never kept records a gun I shot for several years & always felt I "Hit" s higher percentage of game shot at than any other I ever owned was a Birmingham proofed J P Clabrough & Bros.
Gauge was 12, bbls were 28" damascus, chokes were Ľ choke (.010") in both bbls. Gun wt was 6'14" & it felt neither Clunky nor Whippy, just shot where I was looking. Game birds shot were Quail & some Woodcock. It was also used when I accompanied my Father rabbit hunting with his beagles. Same load was used for each except for shot size. Powder was the original DuPont HyScore (pre 700X). 1oz of ordinary shot was loaded in a Rem Power Piston wad in #8 for the birds & #6 for the rabbits. Load was in the 1100-1125 fps range @ about 8K pressure. It digested quite a few of these with nary a whimper.
The differences of effective pattern spread & game mutilation are not really as large as many would have us believe between a cyl & a "Mild" choke.
I'm with You Buzz, I have not yet been convinced that a mild choke is such a bad thing & feel it makes a gun more "Versatile".
