In my growing up (1950's) all the men in the family hunted and shot and used the chokes and the shotguns (mainly Model 12's) just as they were when they left the factory in Conn. I can remember some of the really screwy variable choke gizmos from those days- Shooting Master-Jarvis-Weaver-- so if you were missing birds, just change the choke setting on the "steam whistle" out on the end of the muzzle. Granted, some choke devices were well made- the Cutts came from Col. Cutts and his design to cut the muzzle jump on the short barreled Thompson SMG's in .45ACP--but all were as ugly on an otherwise fine-lined Model 12 as home made poop! Now today, the SC Yuppies that are gadget crazy, have to have all the tubes, battery driven wrenches, etc. they can haul around-
To me, the hallmark of a good experienced wingshot (NOT clays) is how well he can kill birds awing with a tightly choked 12 bore- if the bird disintegrates in mid-flight from a snug pattern, that is a "bell weather" that his lead, gun mount, trigger timing and follow-through are "Top Notch' and no 'slop' from the cylinder bores some (yes- George Bird Evans and Mikey McIntosh recommended at times in their writing years)- I'll bet dollars to doughnuts the late Nash Buckingham's 12 bore shotguns had snug chokes- and not just the famous Burt Becker Magnums either!!
