[Austin W Hogan]

When I was a kid we had board games where there was an arrow on a card; you spun the arrow and played the answer that the arrow pointed to. I think the same may apply here. Some of these answers assume that the chamber is really, and intentionally 2 1/2 inches, and not a .001 undersizechamber that stops the blade at 2 1/2.

1) The owner shot imported or handloaded short, light loads. A full choke barrel would yield the same pattern with 1 ounce as a 1 1/8 ounce modified, or with 7/8 ounce as a 1 1/8 ounce IC.

2) F & F was the "default" Parker choke prior to WWI. The first owner was happy with his or his friends earlier Parker and ordered his to match.

3) The customer couldn't decide how to choke his gun but realized he had to order now or miss bird season. He ordered F & F so that he could have any choke he wanted after trying the gun.

4) The initial customer ordered a 26 inch ( 30 inch) F & F, from a small shop. The initial customer became a no show. The dealer returned the gun and had the second F&F barrel fitted, so he had the flexibility to please a rare customer for a relatively expensive gun.
This answer should begin a twenty year argument among the real purists; is it still a real two barrel set if the second barrel was fitted before it was sold?

Back to being a kid; I helped out in a local tool and sporting goods store to buy my target ammo. The owner told me he always stocked a few short open choked guns , but that the longest barrels with tightest chokes always sold first.

I think it is necessary to measure that chamber with other than a blade to verify the length before spinning the needle. I have measured several guns that stop a blade gauge but have much longer chambers.

Best, Austin