doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Screw in chokes affecting value

Thanks all, I'll ponder it while I wait til I can try it out the first time!

What about lengthening forcing cones? From what I read, they only help your patterns. If I choose to send it in for choke work, it woupurist be an extra $110 or so. I woulf imagine it to would fall into kyrie's purist vs hunter concept like the chokes

I've lengthened forcing cones on a couple and left others original. Frankly, I can't tell any practical difference between them. I do believe Sherman Bell's research indicated a slight reduction in chamber pressure if shooting 2 3/4" ammo in short 2 1/2" chambers.

Hey, I know! Just have Briley (or, whoever) do only ONE barrel! Then, the loss of value should only be, what 50%, or so?

It ain't the Mona Lisa, dude. How rare is a 116? How desirable are early 70s production Spanish sidelocks? Every big dealer out there is swimming in used Spanish sidelocks that are priced at 1/2 of what they cost to buy, new, and they aren't going to sell until they are at about 1/2 of that. Think. Who is buying this stuff?

Just a few old grey haired guys with some extra coin in their pockets. It is a sliver of a sliver of the total shotgun market, and that dynamic isn't likely to improve anytime soon.

There is something to be said for sitting down, figuring out what chokes you want, and then going shopping for those chokes, but, a lot of guns don't get purchased that way.

It doesn't sound like this one did, either. Shoot it, find out if it works, and choke it how you want if you like the rest of the gun, and it fits.

Easy.

Best,
Ted

I won't buy a gun with screw-ins and would certainly never do it to one of my guns. Just my opinion.

Flush thinwall choke tubes like Brileys or Teagues are one of shotgunning's greatest developments. People who don't like them don't really know why they don't, they just don't.
JR

There is an article in the latest issue of Shooting Sportsman about the recent purchase of Teague Precision Chokes by Wesley Richards. Interesting read, but there is one particular comment that is relevant to this discussion. Managing Director of Wesley Richards, Simon Clode, speaking ........ "It's becoming accepted that if Teague has worked on the barrels, it actually enhances the value of the guns rather than diminishes it." He is referring to having Teague chokes fitted to the gun. He continues .... "The majority of Wesley's customers are over 40, and there is definitely a move toward tubes rather than extra barrels. We used to make a lot of guns with extra sets of barrels - sometimes three sets with different chokes - and while it's a lovely option, the cost is now prohibitive. Also, I don't really believe that extra barrels deliver enough value on the used market to justify the cost today. If you compare the cost - around 30,000 pounds for three sets of barrels compared with 700 pounds for a set of Teague chokes - you can see that Teague is an attractive value option". So, will a Wesley Richards Best, ordered with Teague chokes, bring as much on the used market as one ordered with fixed chokes? Remains to be seen, but I think yes. Will it detract from the market value of a hardware store grade gun? Only to a purist, and the market has a lot more non-purists than purists.

I suspect that, as the old purists die out, the younger generation of double gun enthusiasts may be more accepting of choke tubes in guns that did not originally have them. I am not a purist ........... but, I am not a total pragmatist either. Guess I fall "sommers" between the two extremes. I have a 32" 1918 BE Fox that has been choked with Briley S-1 series thin walls, and an Italian hammer gun that carries the same chokes. I can interchange the two. Would I have had the Fox screw-choked? No. Did it detract from the value of the Fox on the market? I think so, and I took advantage of it. Unashamedly.



SRH

To some; the use of choke tubes is a sin. My opinion is "It depends on the gun." I have a Purdey made in 1899-1900 choked full & full, and I would not choke tube it, nor would I mess with those chokes at all. On the other hand, a gun such as you mentioned is yours, and why not? I have to agree with the crowd who say "If You choke it IC right and Mod (or whatever)left, you will be happy." The fellows who say experiment with different loads are right too.
Choke tubes give a gun versatility. You can then shoot skeet, sporting clays & hunt with it. Noting wrong with that.
My experience, and just mine, is that guns choked with more "open" chokes perform much better for me. But, choke tubes would settle that question.
It's Your nickel.....go for it!

Three pages of opinion about chokes for a SxS! I just don't understand the hoopla.

R.

Yeah, it's called a discussion. You know, the exchange of thoughts and ideas on a subject of interest. The name of this site is Doublegunshop.com in case you might not have noticed.
JR

I agree - that's pretty much the case in the real world. I have a couple factory tubed guns and have had Briley tubed guns. I do not now and never will again have an aftermarket tubed gun. And I've seen some not exciting work from Briley. the real point for the OP is the money. Do you care that you're pissing away X$ for something that you don't even know you need and few others would want later if you don't? For me the whole sow's ear/silk purse thing ship has sailed.

But, your gun, your $.

have another day
Dr.WtS

PS - there is nothing that will remove a potential purchase from my consideration faster than aftermarket tubes. But that's just me.