doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com To open chokes or leave them be?

To begin with, I own dozens and dozens of shotguns, auto shotguns, pump shotguns, over and under shotguns, and quite a few side by side shotguns, including A.H. Fox, L.C. Smith, Lefever, Miroku, AyA Model 100, Huglue, Stevens, and my latest love, a 12 gauge 2 3/4" 30" barreled 1959 V. Bernardelli S. Uberto I Charles Daly import, choked improved modified and full.

Bladeswitcher sold me my Bernardelli, and it weighs 6 3/4 pounds and handles well, it fits me, and I'm just head over heels in love with it.

I occasionally shoot doves, but otherwise I have no real use for a light game gun choked full and improved modified.

I shoot skeet two or sometimes three times a week with Blade and my friends, and it's seldom we shoot trap or sporting clays, and if we do I certainly have better trap guns than my Bernardelli.

My Berardelli is nice, but it's a $600 gun, with an added half inch pad, and has no real collector's value.

My inclination is to ship the gun to Mike Orlen and specify about .008 in the right barrel and .012 in the left, so that I could shoot skeet, 16 yard trap, casual sporting clays, and even hunt with it.

But while I regularly have other guns choked tighter than modified reamed out, something about this Berardelli makes me pause and want to ask for advice from devoted side by side gun fanciers.

The late Michael McIntosh thought that no choke in the right barrel and .015 in the left was the perfect side by side upland game gun.

I've always wanted a gun choked that way, but don't own one.

Or I might have both barrels choked .012, because I've found a tight improved cylinder does all I want to do with a shotgun.

Any ideas, from the board?

Your input will be greatly appreciated.

Probably the first thing you should do is to determine what you would be using it mostly for and pattern it with the loads and distances that you would be shooting it. My SxS's are all choked IC/MOD and I do well with them. My first SxS was choked MOD/FULL and I did surprisingly well with it. It seemed to me that an open choke would hurt me more at distance than a tighter one would close. I believe it was either McIntosh or Hill that suggested that a double would be best choked at a two choke difference than one, instead of IC/MOD to try SKT/MOD as an example.
I've never had a double opened and one member here has said that he wouldn't consider it. If you have had good work and success then I don't see why you shouldn't if you want it to be more versitle. Incidently, I just picked up a SxS 12 ga. choked .003 right and .011 left, and after patterning it at 20 & 30 yrds. I find it amazing how little constriction is needed. This particular gun was purchased expressly for woodcock and grouse hunting next year.
Hope this helps,
Karl

What if someone were to save the cost of barrel work, and just shoot a few rounds of each of the clays disciplines and see what happens. See if the gun can smoke 'em. The next gun doesn't seem like it's too far down the road, maybe it'll be choked differently. I wouldn't be opposed to choke work, but you could get the next six hundred dollar gun for a pretty good discount if this one might have a place as is, like in the duck blind. Only thoughts, nothing more.

Naturally before doing anything with chokes one patterns the gun and tries it at shooting clay disks or disks with "wings" first. From logical standpoint DT SxS choked 3/4-full makes no sense. What would make sense are cyl-1/2, cyl-3/4 or full, skeet or 1/4-3/4 or skeet or 1/4-full. I mean, in hunting gun why would you want two single barrel shotguns fused into one with very close performing choke combination? Why not just go with modern good handling light weight semi-auto and 1/4 or half choke tube installed?

Craig, that gun MIGHT be good in the duck blind . . . if the poster hunts ducks, and if he were able to shoot lead in it. But as is, it's clearly choked too tight for steel. So unless he shoots ducks and wants to pay for the more expensive nontox loads, opening it up to nothing tighter than mod would seem to be a good idea. Then he could even shoot steel at ducks.

I have one 1894 Remington with mod/full, one SK/SK, and five with LM/LM. If skeet was more my game it would be IC/IC and that way you could still shoot most any game. I'm not a great shot, but do shoot three times a week and don't feel handicapped with LM/LM. I do my own choke work so the cost is not a factor.

I have no problem with opening chokes in non collector guns. Cylinder or near cylinder bores have always produced the best patterns for me at the ranges I normally shoot, which is seldom over 30 yards. Modern shot cups provide their own "choke" that the old timers didn't have the benefit of. A couple of my English guns are factory bored cylinder and full, which certainly gives a wide latitude for variable shots. I like them. To each their own.

I support opening them.

Because they are ugly.



Or send it to me and I'll hunt pheasants with it in heavy wind.

I suppose it isn't cost effective but I put tubes in one of my guns and then it is the right gun every day, no matter the game, the conditions, or regulations.

One of my favorite "hunting Shotguns" is a Husqvarna hammerless SxS that was originally choked Full & Fuller. I had it opened to Improved Cylinder & Modified; and have been very pleased with the results. I also use it for informal Sporting Clays.

Its probably not good idea to do so with an expensive collector graded SxS, but great for a user shotgun.

JERRY