doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Full/Full chokes

Stumbled upon two vintage American guns in my preferred configuration with straight stocks and long barrels. Both are choked F/F but nothing else about them screams target/pigeon gun. They are both ~6 1/2lbs. Neither is exceedingly rare but they are rare enough that I wouldn�t want to alter their original chokes (assuming they are in fact still F/F). Would this choke combo deter you at all for upland hunting? Just throw a spreader load in one barrel? I hunted with a guy years ago who said he wouldn�t leave the house without at least one barrel being full choke.

I try to never hunt a gun without one barrel Full (except for waterfowl with steel). I have an Uggie sidelock 20 with 30� F/F and wouldn�t consider opening the chokes. Also a Parker VH 12 with 32� F/F that�s not changing. I prefer tight chokes, but I hunt mostly in the desert without a dog.

Don't leave the house without at least one barrel being full choke? Good advice. I can think of a couple scenarios where a full choke may not be the best choice, but it's a good generalization.

I also seriously doubt if a 6 1/2 lb. double was a pigeon gun. 3 3/4 - 1 1/4 loads usually don't go good with 6 1/2 lb. guns.

Nice catch. Pics?

SRH

Pass shooting ducks maybe, Turkeys of course. But otherwise, I can't think of a good use for double full chokes in a field gun. I am sure some would like it, just because there is always one person who wants something different, but no place where that would be the norm, yet guns were made that way for someone.

Were both guns owned by the same person? Were they custom ordered?

This comes up every so often, and it helps to understand not just the guns but the ammunition available when they were built.

Back in the 'day' there were no shot collars or plastic shot cups. Shot was generally 'chilled'.

A 'close shooting gun' was wanted by most, so full chokes were very common.

Only you can determine if you can use a full choke with modern ammunition to good effect in an upland situation with a light gun. I will state that 'Joe Average' cannot.

You can, however, easily load 'vintage' shells with fiber wads and chilled shot that will print modified patterns from those barrels without resorting to spreader inserts.

I would not let the chokes hold me back from purchasing the guns.

Handy for shooting ducks on the water.
Not so much in the woods.

Quail with a pointing dog and the relatively little heavy cover grouse and woodcock hunting I've done are the only places I would rather not use full choke. I have come to much prefer tighter chokes along with lighter loads.

One full is great, except with something like grouse.

Two however, sounds like a specialty gun or just something special for those guys that really a gun that "hits like Thor's Hammer !" etc, etc etc.

Everyone has an opinion about choke. McIntosh favored more open choking for upland hunting. Reading his work led me to Acquire a number of guns in the skeet/improved cylinder and improved cylinder/light modified combinations. As I got to be a little bit better hunter and shot, I begin to feel that the more open chokes Resulted in missed birds (especially wild pheasants). That led me to acquire a few guns in the M/F range. Then I discovered choke tubes and I purchased a couple of guns with numerous choke options. Even with all these guns, I keep missing birds, therefore I believe I will just have to continue acquiring more guns and different combinations and maybe I can Eventually solve the problem.

Vintage American guns?

Full and Full is certainly not rare. Frank Major Tobin, who built double guns at the turn of the previous century, noted most sports of the era requested full and full chokes, but, he felt they would be better served with more open chokes. This was around 1910.
Not much has changed, from what I have noted.

Best,
Ted