Very nice gun, but the thought process here raises a few questions. What are the .410 barrels marked? If the gun was "sold as" a skeet choked gun, they should both be marked **$. If Full & Mod they would be marked * and ** respectively. What type gauge did you use to measure the chokes in determining them to me Mod & Full?
And what is the rationale for installing a "proper" long tang vs. the original configuration short tang? In this production era (c. 1967) Browning transitioned from long to short tangs (ST) and later from round (RK) to flat knob grips. The sidetracked wisdom of most SP collectors looking to buy minty guns from that era was/is if the tossup is between a STRK and a LTFK, go for the long tang for its graceful appeal to the hand and eye. Is this the attraction?
Art's is definitely the place to go for Browning repair and restoration, but what were the "missing parts"? on/in the gun?
I understand the appeal of an extra set of small-gauge barrels, and the reasoning for rechoking for skeet. My choice would be a combo of skeet and IC for the 28 ga. barrels. Then you would be set for both skeet and an occasional upland bird hunt as well. (Original FN factory 2-barrel, 2-gauge sets are quite rare and seldom offered for sale.)
So far as choke tubes are concerned, years ago I purchased a gorgeous Pigeon Grade Lightning Trap Superposed for use as a bunker (International/Olympic) trap gun. I got the gun at an obscenely low price because the former owner abandoned trapshooting for the then-new sport of sporting clays and had the gun opened up from its wonderful factory chokes of IM and Full to IC and IC. Then of course he wanted "more choke"!
I sent the gun to Briley, who at the time were in the vortex of the screw choke craze, and offered 5 choke tubes fit complete for $285 on a "special SC package". When I got the gun back I installed the IM tube in the lower barrel and the Full in the upper barrel. In ten years of hard bunker competition, I never changed the tubes again.
All things to think about.......
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