Opening up the chokes question

[HardCash]

I purchased an A grade Fox with nice stock dimensions for me and I am having Dewey Vicknair completely restore this Fox.
It is choked Full & Mod. and I am thinking about opening up the chokes to IC & Mod or even Skeet & IC.
I don't want to devalue the gun after the restoration, however I can't think of anything I do or hunt that needs that Full & Mod.
Is it consider blasphemy to open up the chokes of a nice FoX ??

[birdawg]

After your gun is restored it will be a great shooter but out of the realm of the purest collector.
I would say choke it as you like but remove metal carefully it is difficult to put back. There are some great spreader loads out there and it is fun to tune the load to the gun.
I am not saying you gun will be of no value, there are still plenty of us who hold a nice looking shooter in high esteems.
Jess

[Researcher]

As long as you are restoring the gun, and it is not a high all original condition gun, might as well make it as useful to you as possible. Forty-four years ago I had the right barrel of my straight grip 1914-vintage A-Grade opened to improved cylinder, and have never regretted it. That improved cylinder barrel accounted for three Pheasants Thursday.

I have a 1918-vintage straight grip Husqvarna 310AS which had .038" and .042" choke when I got it. I had that gun cleaned up and the barrels blued by Kearcher and had him open the chokes to .010" and .020". For the great bulk of my uses .005" and .010" would have probably been better!

[Laxcoach]

I, too have opened the chokes on my restored A grade 16 26" gun originally choked M/F and never regretted it. I looked long and hard for a graded Fox with 26" barrels and was unsuccessful, even went so far as to buy a couple S/W's with the intention of opening the chokes, but they both were #4 weight barrels and the muzzles-to my untrained eye, were so thin I was afraid to remove any more metal. I settled on my current gun because it has #3 weight barrels, and even though I'm a diehard Elsie fan, this A grade is my favorite in the field.

[lynn deforest]

What are your opions on salvaging barrells ruined by someone opening the chokes with what appeared to be a chipped king pin reamer and no pilot, opened almost to cylnder and no longer round? Briley thin wall screw in chokes? I salvaged a Winchester 12 3inch that some had cut 2 inches off the end of the barrel with tru chokes, turned $250 worth of nice looking useless into the best water fowl gun I've ever owned in 60 years for $75.

[eightbore]

Unfortunately, some guys who have no use for tight choked gun own a couple of hundred guns and are buying more every week and think every gun they own should be "ideal for what I use a shotgun for". I guess If my grandchildren want a pigeon gun, I had better save a couple for them. No big deal, I have some guns that have been drilled out, but I didn't do it and I didn't feel the need to own forty of them. Sorry, guys, I just don't think everyone needs to own forty quail guns that used to be something else.

[Researcher]

Not to worry Bill! I haven't reamed the .021" and .034" chokes out of that 1950, Stanley Anders, 20-gauge Superposed.

Dave

[lynn deforest]

I've never opened one up, scared to make the first cut, might wreck something. I did try spreaders in a high Grade Flues Ithaca that shot like a rifle, the only ones that worked were dispser x and the plastic fowling was terrible. Left the barrells alone and sold for a profit

[vaturkey]

I think its what your intended purpose for the gun is going to be and how many guns you own/use. If you want this gun (you didn't mention gauge) to be primarily a quail/grouse/woodcock gun and you don't want to purchase spreader loads, then you should (IMO) open up the chokes to fit the game. Otherwise, it would be like shooting skeet with a gun choked full and full. Sure what you hit your going to powder, but who wants to powder a woodcock at 20 yards with a full choke load. Dewey does excellent work. Just tell him what you plan on using the gun for and I'm sure he will have some ideas.

PS. My caveat on the above is if this is a do all gun and you plan on hunting everything from ducks (Bismuth) to quail with it, then I'd be careful about opening then up too much and just adjust my type of ammo to fit the game.

Double PS. For what its worth, I had Keith K, also open the chokes on a full and mod SW 16 gauge to .005 and .015 for grouse and woodcock about ten years ago and have no regrets. That gun makes annual trip to Maine and those chokes suit the game up there.

Below is my Golden Pup with two Va grouse taken last week. The gun is a Fox SW 20 gauge.