to cut or not to cut

[Double Lab]

Originally Posted by Harold Lee Pickens

A somewhat similar question. How do you feel about changing chokes to make a gun more shooter friendly. My first Parker, a VH 16 1 frame, was originally m/f, but back in 1986 I had it changed to IC/IC, and it became a much better upland gun( gunsmith only had an IC reamer for 16's).
I have a nice Lefever G grade 16 damascus from 1897 with 28" f/f, and even with spreaders it shoots dam tight--still, I successfully used it on grouse and woodcock. Have thought about opening it up, but probably will not.
I have a VH 20 and DHE 16 O frame, both have 26" barrels and have factory chokes ordered at cyl/mod , confirmed by factory letter.
I also have a very early" The Sterlingworth Co." pin gun with factory cyl/mod borings, a standard offering in their field guns. I woulnt be surprized if that cyl/f was ordered that way.
Great find, sorry i missed it--snooze, you lose!

Harold;
I'm against reaming choke out of a gun especially if the factory letter on that gun states what chokes were ordered. A well known shooter once told me that misses are measured in feet, choke only gives you inches.
It took a while for this to register in my dense brain but what he was saying was focus on your target, not your chokes. The older I get and the more I shoot the more sense it makes to me. Glad you had a good trip to the UP.

[Mills]

The thing is, if you practice hard and become a good shot with full choked barrels, you are not a good shot, but a really good shot.

[Double Lab]

Originally Posted by Mills Morrison

The thing is, if you practice hard and become a good shot with full choked barrels, you are not a good shot, but a really good shot.

If your center the bird (feathered or clay) in your pattern it does'nt matter if you are using full choke or cylinder bore, you are still in the center. That's where you want to be. A tight choke gives you instant feedback on where you are shooting, chipped targets do not.

[OH Osthaus]

ok for clays

but in the uplands, in close cover, centering a bird with a fullest choke means you are a good shot and going hungry

[Mills]

That is right.

[King Brown]

My 1889 16 Parker hammer 0 grade factory-ordered cyl/full. My son on first hunt killed a black on his first shot with it at 35 yards!

[Double Lab]

You are missing my point. Don't cut or ream out an original set of barrels, have fun locating a gun with original open chokes if that is what you feel comfortable with. I think Cyl/Full is the best combination for me. Hunt with what you shoot best. The birds deserve it. But I promise you; if you practice with a tightly choked gun on clays you will be deadly in the field where it really counts on feathers no matter what choke you choose.

[ForrestArmstrong]

I received this gun today and it is a beauty, better than the pictures, a fair amount of case colors & blue, tight as a tick. My first vintage Parker so my question is what are maximum loads for this gun? I was thinking 1 1/8 ounces.

[ed good]

an ounce sounds better; keeping in mind that the wood is over 100 years old!

[OH Osthaus]

exactly - go with the 1OZ RST's and enjoy it

they will drop any upland bird at a reasonable range