reversed chokes

[RonBarnes]

Guys, I bought one ot those brass choke gauges from Galazan. I checked my VH and found that the right barrel was 1/4 choke? (which is between mod & ic) the left barrel is ic. Is this common or did I get hosed on this gun! I have checked my other guns, all of them have choke tubes. I was surprised that a couple of the aftermarket and factory tubes were a size off.

[Autumn Daze]

Ron,You must remember that choke is the relationship of bore diameter vs. final constriction. An example would be a 16 gauge bore of .662 with a final constriction of .657 the choke would equal .005 or"skeet". The brass choke gauges just cannot tell you that. A good bore mike is really the way to go for many reasons. Sorry..

[John D.]

Hi Ron!

Not necessarily (did you get "hosed")... I'm a bit suspect about the gauge itself when your screw chokes aren't matching?

As well - while chokes are a lengthy topic - the correct way to measure constriction on fixed choked guns (Parkers) is best done with a bore dial gauge like this:

http://www.intlmidway.com/intl/eprod...eitemid=225330

It will tell you constriction to the bore, choke length, etc. And frankly - I use one on all my Parkers (you can also get some idea if the tubes have been cut down, looking at the length of run on a choke)...

While not an average "home owners" item, most good shops and smiths will have one and be pleased to help you out. It only takes a minute or two...

Hope this help,

John

[Rod N. Gunn]

If you hunt ducks over decoys you might want the chokes reversed...

[Trigg Davis]

Without a gauge you really don't know what you have; you simply can't know the constriciton with just the brass gauge. With that said some very fine driven pheasant guns will have the right choke tighter because the birds are incoming. I have a 7 pin sidelock like that which was built for a member of a European Royal family and now resides humbly in my game/gun room.

I also had a 12 gauge 1929 Parker that I undestood was Skeet out (tighter) right barrel and skeet in (more open) in the left barrel. I was told it was built that way because in gun down as oppose to pre mounted skeet the first shot on doubles is farther away because of the time necessary to get the gun mounted and the second in comer is closer.

If your gun is original this could be the reaso.

Other possibilities are that someone was happy with the right barrel choke but thought the left was too tight and they just went a little farther than one might expect when they opened the left barrel. I know of a Belgian gun where this occurred.

Also as noted above it is possible someone wanted it that way for decoying birds.

Trigg

[RonBarnes]

thanks for all the info, I guess I need to do the work and get some butcher paper and pattern it to see what its really doing!

[nid-28]

One other possibility is that a left hander ordered the gun and reversed the chokes. In the past year, I've had a lefty DHE 16 and a lefty A grade Fox 16. Chokes reversed and in both of these guns, so were the triggers.

[Harry Collins]

There has been a reasonably priced DH #1 frame 12 gauge with 30" barrels around here and the right barrel is tigh and the left is open! I did not notice if the triggers were reversed for a left handed shooter...

Harry

[Bob Brown]

I have a damascus DH 12 1 1/2 frame that is cylinder left/full right and letters as original. It was built for a pro shooter and appears to be for a right handed shooter. I thought at first someone opened up the left barrel.

[Setter Man]

I have a 12 ga DH damascus with 30" barrels choked L=full, R=mod. The gun was ordered by and shipped to a gentleman in NYC who owned a rather large sporting good store. Before he passed Oscar Gaddy suggested that the gun was ordered specifically for watefowl.