Choke constriction

[Tom Jay]

The choke constriction chart from Hallowell & Co. shows 16 ga. IC between .006-.012 constriction what would a Parker 16 ga. IC measure in these terms? Looking to open up a Mod barrel and want to give the gunsmith some direction.

[Dave Noreen]

I don't own a Parker 16-gauge, but .002" - .005" sounds more like Skeet to me. My 1928 vintage Sterlingworth Ejector that letters as improved cylinder in the right barrel measures .008", two Remington 16-gauge improved cylinder guns I have from the mid-1930s both measure .011". However, my 1953 Winchester Model 12, 16-gauge, improved cylinder, only measures .004".

[Tom Jay]

Here’s the Hallowell chart (PDF)

[Gary Laudermilch]

I read that chart differently than you. Looks to me like .006-.012 is listed for IC which is a pretty broad range. I would think .009-.010 would yield somewhere near IC but it all depends on some other factors like shot size/hardness and payload weight among others.

Here is Briley's chart. While it does not list 16 ga specifically I think you can infer the range for the 16.

[Tom Jay]

Thanks for the correction Gary. I looked at the English, not American designation column. I corrected my original post.

[Harry Collins]

Tom,

If it were my gun I would leave the chokes alone and buy or hand load spreader shells. I opened up two Parkers and I have been both ashamed and remorseful. In my latter years I've found that Parker chokes are difficult to duplicate. Plus, I appreciate the gun for what it was made for. A quail gun is not choked like a duck gun so buy the gun designed for what you want to shoot. I have found Parkers that would be to expensive to bring back to life, yet the barrels were on a frame size I could use to make a two or three barrel set on an existing favorite.

[Tom Jay]

Thank you for your comments Harry. The gun I'm opening up is a shooter with little collector value. It's currently choked .028 left (IM) and .018 right (Mod). I patterned the gun and found both barrels tight for what they are so hence, for my shooting I'd like the right opened up a bit.

[Randy G Roberts]

I'm with Harry on this one. I have done it and I am sorry now. My hindsight is perfect unfortunately.

[William Davis]

Collector value aside, They are near perfect 16 G chokes for 3/4 oz or 7/8 oz loads. Light shot weight you want choke to get pattern density

Occasional very close shot use a spreader shell

William .

[Dave Noreen]

I've never for a second regretted having chokes opened to make a gun more useful to me. Half a dozen sitting in the gunroom getting no use because of their tight chokes.

[Joe Graziano]

Those are really nice 16 ga. chokes. I have a Belgian hammer gun with IC/IM chokes. I've used it on quail with RST #8 spreader loads with no problem at all. When I want to shoot chukkar or pheasant, I simply change shells. No changes needed to the chokes.

[Russell E. Cleary]

It is a persisting topic of debate and probably tiresome for many. But as these historically representative guns continue to undergo elective alterations, to improve them for our use, and not for repair, restoration or refurbishment, I believe it is worth continued discussion.

My father’s 16-gauge VH, choked full and full, and being fairly high-condition, I decided was not right for the brush and under-foot hazard-riddled terrain of the Northern Grouse woods. So, I bought a thoroughly restored VH 16, factory-choked cylinder and modified; and it has proven to be the right gun for that rough country.

The other 16 I will occasionally use on the range or in a cornfield for Pheasants, as did my father, and I will continue to dream about using it on a plantation (with spreader loads) or a prairie for birds I have only read about or seen illustrated in books.

With all due respect to those with far more experience and knowledge than I about these guns and their history, for me there is no threshold at which point any of these guns cease having collector value, “shooters” included.

[tom tutwiler]

Falling into the FWIW category, not all spreader loads are created equal. I took a SKB model 100 20 gauge to the patterning board last week. I was looking for a strictly quail gun that had a single trigger to use out west on cold cold days for use over pointing dogs. As such, on the patterning board I shot an RST spreader load consisting of 7/8 oz of number 8's out of the full barrel (.030 choke aka damn full). I also shot a Remington Gun Club load 7/8 oz number 8's out of that same choke at a measured range of exactly 20 yards. The Gun Club patterned more open at 20 yards then the RST spreaders. Actually 16" spread for the RST load versus 17" spread for the Gun Clubs. Certainly this could have been a one off, but I surmise that the Gun Club's used very very soft shot and the RST's used very hard shot and even with the spreader insert they didn't spread for sure. Also falling into FWIW, category, that SKB went down the road to Mike Orlen to be opened up to .005 and .015. Horses for courses and the spreader load didn't make this a quail gun for sure. YMMV for sure.

[Gary Laudermilch]

Tom, an interesting observation. My grandson has a SKB 100 choked IC/Mod. We tested Polywad spreaders in the mod barrel and could not detect any difference relative to standard AA loads.