Contrary to an old wive's tale, patterns delivered by screw-in chokes are equal in quality to those produced by fixed chokes.

The interchangeable choke concept began to enjoy some degree of popularity among hunters when Winchester introduced its Versalite system in the Model 59 shotgun in 1961, but the idea had already been around long before then.

During the late 1800s American designer Sylvester Roper came up with a set of short tubes with various bore constrictions and their internal threads allowed them to be attached to the muzzle of a shotgun barrel. Roper's invention was attached to the outside of a barrel, but otherwise it worked the same as the modern chokes we see on the inside of shotgun barrels today.

Before quick-switch chokes as we now know them became as plentiful as fleas on a stray coon dog, other devices that allowed the owner of a shotgun to quickly and conveniently change from one choke constriction to another had their time in the limelight. One of the more popular developments was the Cutts Compensator.

Developed by U.S. Marine Corps veteran Colonel Richard M. Cutts, it consisted of interchangeable tubes of various constrictions that screwed into the front of a vented cage, the rear of which was permanently attached to the barrel. The U.S. military adopted the compensator alone for use on the Thompson submachine gun and also used the same device with interchangeable choke tubes on the Winchester Model 97 shotgun.

A set of screw-in chokes with various consrictions adds a lot to the versatility of a shotgun.

Lyman bought the manufacturing rights in 1929 and went on to sell many thousands to shotgunners. There was a time when just about every skeet gun in America wore a Cutts Compensator and my .410-bore Winchester Model 42 is a classic example. The device also became mildly popular on field guns and if bird dogs of yesteryear could rise up from their graves and talk, I am sure those who hunted with hunters who used Cutts-equipped guns would tell us how unpleasant the muzzle blast was.

In the eyes of most shooters the modern choke system has one major advantage over older designs such as the Cutts; it screws into the barrel rather than onto the barrel and for this reason it does not change the appearance of the gun. Other advantages offered by the interchangeable choke system are equally obvious; technically speaking, it is capable of transforming one shotgun into an entire battery of shotguns.

Screw in a Cylinder Bore or Light Skeet choke and you are all set for shooting ruffed grouse in thick timber, bobwhite quail in piney thickets and for breaking clay targets out to 20 yards. Switch to regular Skeet or Improved Cylinder and you have extended your range out to about 30 yards and that takes in a lot of hunting territory.