doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Full Choke 20s

I have an opportunity to buy a nice, crispy Remington Model 31 20 ga. The first problem is that it's got a full choke. The second problem is that it's fairly but fully priced, leaving little wiggle room for barrel work. If it was choked IC, it would be a great little upland gun. If it was a 12, it could be a turkey gun or a waterfowler. But what do you guys do with a tight 20? Handicap trap? 50-yard doves? I've heard of duck and turkey hunting with a 20, but it can't be what the manufacturer had in mind. What was the intended purpose 60 years ago? I'm looking for some justification here, so help me out if you can TT

If it has the solid rib, buy it even if you don't know what you'll use it for.

My full choke 20's are for doves and quail in the desert, sometimes for pheasant. Also makes a nice gun for cottontails in the dunes. I'll probably take a Win Mod 12 in 20 gauge with a 30" Full vent rib barrel to AZ for September doves, after the first two or three days of the season. Shot a 20 gauge Win Mod 1912 with 25" Full solid rib barrel on opening day a few years ago, worked like a champ. Use smaller pellets (8's and 9's) and soft shot to open up the patterns. If you reload, use fiber wads or shorten the shotcup to open patterns even more. No real need for spreader loads.

I couldn't justify it, TT, with the birds around here. I shoot a 20 o/u a lot, IC/M. If I were to buy another 20 I'd open the chokes to cyl/cyl.

I have a 31 16 ga. with a 28" full. Bought an overpriced cut off solid rib barrel to go with it. Now have a cyl. bore for woodcock in case I backslide to a single barrel gun. Wanted to keep gun original so didn't open the 28" barrel.

Kent, those are fabulous, light weight pheasant and prairie grouse guns. Feed it an ounce of sixes for the grouse or an ounce of fives for the roosters and you're all set.

About once a year I pull out my Mom's old twenty and do just that. It's a hoot.

sv

For over 25 years I had the perfect Dove pass in the Shenendoah Valley of Virginia where a full choke smallbore could really shine. In the last few years I've gotten into Remington Model 31s. There has been a minty 16-gauge at the local gun show for the last year, but with a 28-inch full choke barrel, it just doesn't fit for any possible use I'd have for it around here. In the 48 years I've been shooting Pheasants, I've never seen any need for anything other then IC or Mod. I guess in the rare instance of acting as a blocker a full choke might have some use.

In the halcyon days of the California Duck Clubs there was quite an interest in long barrel tightly choked smallbores, probably beginning with Edwin Hedderly's series of articles in the 1910/11 time frame in his magazine Western Field. The most noted were the Widgeon Duck Club Parker Bros. 20s of about 1913. The demand must have continued, as I have an AE-Grade Fox 20 with 30-inch full and full tubes shipped to a Los Angles sporting goods dealer in 1920, ordered chambered for 2 3/4 inch shells.

I had a Spanish double built in the 1980s. I was choked full and fuller. It had a 7" pattern at 20 yards. It would be great for Turkey but I shoot skeet. It cost me $35.00 a barrel to have it opened to Skeet and IC.

In retrospect I should have have choke tubes installed for $150.00 but hind sight is remarkable.

Thanks, guys, for all your advice. I failed to ask opinions about opening the choke. I described the gun as crispy, but it's no museum piece ... enough handling wear to use in the field without guilt. I wouldn't want to open it to a skeet-type choke, because I have plenty of guns offering that kind of pattern, but I would consider opening to Mod, if it would make a big practical difference. On my question about the original intent for a Full choke 20-gauge in the '30s, my best guess is that, as with 16s and 12s, unlike today, Full was seen as a reasonable choice back then for an all-around field gun. I've heard here and elsewhere that modern ammo delivers much tighter patterns than standard shells from a few generations back, and that could also be a factor. TT

TT,
I think having that gun with a full choke would be a fine addition if you already have plenty of open and mid choked guns. I could even find a use for a full choke if called into blocking a cornfield, dove hunting, or I suppose late season phez (not likely to find me there).

Two Triggers: No question on the Full 20's purpose. SQUIRRELS!!!!Randy

I bought another 16 GA barrel from Corson's Barrels and fitted it to my M31. Now my full choke barrels sits in the locker while I use the Poly-Choke barrel. If you are not concerned with "collector originality" send the gun to poly-choke. Otherwise, be on the lookout for spare barrels. Of course, Briley's thinwall tubes may work as well.

If you reload, try cutting down the petals on the plastic wads, as the "bore scrubbed" shot should open up the pattern a bit. FWIW.

Mike Doerner

"I've heard of duck and turkey hunting with a 20, but it can't be what the manufacturer had in mind."

That's on of the things that the manufacturers had in mind. Light weight US guns manufactured 12's and 16's were not common. A way to reduce weight was to use a 20 frame and barrel(s). These guns were used from shooting pheseants to ducks to anything that had hair or feathers. Remember also, that the shell construction of the day gave wider patterns. I have a FULL choke 870 that I used for pheseant,ducks and whatever. With the advent of non-toxic loads, my son even shot Canada Geese with steel 2's in a 3" load. -Dick

' had a friend, who for years loved to hunt geese in Canada with his GWPs. His gun that he always was a Browning Superposed , 20 ga., with 3" chambers. He never thought of changing to something else.

Full choke twenties? Love 'em. Great for long doves, late season pheasants, ducks over decoys. I have 3, a pump and 2 doubles. They do all that 7/8 oz. or 1 oz. of shot can be expected to. For doves, 7/8 oz. of #8's can get pretty thin from an IC or mod. tube. Just my tcw. Chopper

I would not mess with the chokes. I have a shooting friend who collects and shoots M-31s. He was agast when I told him that you were considering opening the choke. Says he, original 20 ga. full choked M-31s are hard to find and pleads you not hurt it. I make spreaders for my tight 20s, other guages as will.

Make sure you measure it. My last model 17 that I purchased is marked full choke but is a very usable .018. It certainly was opened but it's a nice long tapper and a nice surprise.

Tim

Well, I did it, so I hope it doesn't turn out to be a gun I didn't really need. Oh, wait ... I already have a couple dozen guns I don't really need!

Walt -- no worries about altering it. As I badly explained in an earlier post (and, I suppose, the reason for the initial question), I have plenty of open choked scatterguns, and I'm not much for modifying otherwise decent ones. I'd sooner pass on a gun than open the choke(s). Earlier in my collecting career I opened up a Lefever to IC and Mod that I now wish was back at Mod and Full.

Tim -- You're right about the measurements. This one came in at 20 thou ... a light Full, if I understand these things, which should be about perfect for those doves. Hurry, September! Thanks to all for the input and advice. TT

As I recall back in the fiftys almost all shotguns regardless of bore size came with a full choke barrel. It wasn't till the sixties with the advent of shotcups that shooters went to a mod choke because of shotcup/full chokes would give such tight patterns.

When we used to shoot dove, there were several fields where the majority of shooting was done at relatively long range. My father would take a 12ga Remington 1100 with a 30" full choke barrel. Someone would always point out that it was fine for birds that were a ways off, but with those close in, you'd blow them to pieces, provided you managed to hit them. My father would reply that the ones that were close in were no problem, he just shot those in the head.