Do any of you own/shoot an M12 with an external choke like a poly choke, cutts or some other brand? I thinking of buying one. It's difficult to find an affordable unaltered M12 with an open choke for skeet shooting at an affordable price. I guess I'd prefer the cutts but would consider something else. Interested in any comments pro or con. Thanks.
Doubleguy-
I have a 1959 M12 Featherweight that wears the omnipresent Polychoke. I can't think of a thing wrong with it, save for the fact that collectors hate to see these guns modified in any way. That is actually a plus in my book, because I bought my M12 to shoot and the alteration makes these guns among the best bargains in the firearms community and a better, more flexible shooter to boot.
Some think these external chokes are ugly, others tolerate them and very few consider them a thing of beauty. Put in the context of the times, external chokes on these single barrel guns made a lot of sense. So much sense in fact that many shooters put them on their guns right out of the box. A good number of M12s, like mine, left the factory with a full choke and with modern loads, a full choke has limited utility for my shooting, so I am very happy to own and shoot this alterned M12.
The Polychoke is the better approach in my opinion, in fact, you can for around $100 still get this choke. While it does add a bit of weight to the barrel, this was often offset by shortening the barrel, in return the shooter has a choke that they can adjust quickly and without tools. My Polychoke patterns very well and I have used it at all settings (but least often on the full setting), and depending on how I am shooting and what I am shooting, I do find that I twist it as needed. Anyone that is bothered by the device when shooting, is most likely shooting the shotgun wrong and not paying attention to the target but rather focused on the muzzle.
So, if you are buying to collect, pass on the Polychoke (or other external choke). If you are buying it to shoot, then consider that you are getting a functional upgrade that would cost you $100 to add today and the shotgun will at the same time cost you several hundred dollars less.
The M12 is one of my favorite shotguns (and my favorite repeater), it is in many ways, even today, the perfect repeating shotgun. The actions are smooth and flawless in function and these shotguns offer reliable feeding of 100s of rounds of anything you want to shoot (unlike auto loaders that can be particular about loads and get fouled with use). The quality of manufacture and materials is very good and could not be touched today in a new shotgun for twice the money.
Doug