Mark;
Do yourself a big favor and don't fret over chokes. Just shoot your guns at clays and those pesky grackles and get comfortable with your ability to center whatever you are shooting at. There are easy ways to open up a pattern without screwing with the original chokes. If you reload many of us here can point you in the right direction.

Thanks Daryl, Not fretting at all! Just trying to understand and decipher. Not to worried about centering...but dont want to vaporize the first Snipe that I snipe at..i recently acquired a Really heavy duty, 3" chamber, straight stocked , grade 3, Flues, 12 that has the tightest choke i have ever seen in the right barrel. And IC equivalent in the left. Cant wait to get it in the pigeon ring. But i have to admit, after 40 years of hunting Dove Quail and Snipe with a .410 predominantly, it sure is fun tagging those grey "tailwind" doves at 60 yards with a vintage tight choked double! Having the time of my life, collecting and shooting these functional works of art....and trying to cheat the knowledge learning curve in the process!

Thanks again to all for their input!

Lovely, you are wondering about chokes in 100 year old guns, shoot pigeons at $1000 or more a shoot, and don't own a choke gauge that Brownell sells for $90.00. Just kidding of course. But if you sent us your serial number, we could give you more information.

http://www.jpgbox.com/jpg/49701_600x400.jpg

Here is the letter on the DH that i paraphrased in the first post of this thread...

As much as i have shot over the years, i can honestly say that i have not put all that much thought into chokes...as it appears that modern guns and ammo are a little more consistant than their ancestors....and admittedly, i am a relative neophyte in the old, good, american gun game. But i will also say that i have become a nut for them. I have always preferred sxs's as hunting guns since i could afford a few. I hope all will excuse me if i am a little over anxious for info!

[QUOTE=Mark Ray;170491] But i have to admit, after 40 years of hunting Dove Quail and Snipe with a .410 predominantly, it sure is fun tagging those grey "tailwind" doves at 60 yards with a vintage tight choked double!

You are so right Mark. There is nothing like puffing a dove and watching him cartwheel to the ground with a cloud of feathers hanging in the air where his forward progress was halted by a well placed load of 7 1/2's.:cool:
I just love tight chokes!

Just shoot for the head and neck.

Even if you put an entire load in their head and neck, they are the most loosely feathered birds you will encounter here in the Mid-Atlantic. Does'nt prevent the "cloud".

By God Bruce, I believe with this DH I could do just that! Thinking about entering it in some card shoots!

Doves are always a learning curve for my dogs, the first time they get a full mouth full of soft gray feathers!

Mark, I would suspect that the patterns were shot with #8 shot.