I just picked up an Ugartechea Model 119, which is one of their higher-grade guns. The gun is choked modified and full, and I prefer more open chokes. The cost to install Briley chokes is not significantly more expensive than opening up the fixed chokes. Would you open the chokes or install removable choke, and why?

If I wanted to sell the gun for value, I would do nothing to it.

If I wanted it to be choked IC/M and nothing else, boring out the choke makes some sense, but I would think that I would want to choke it based on the use at the time, so choke tubes make more sense to me.

If you get the tubes that are fully in the barrel, it will look the same as a unmodified gun.

I would decide if the gun was a shooter for me, and if so put in choke tubes. If it was a range toy or an investment, I would leave it alone. In neither case would I go for opening up fixed choke boring.

The gun is one that I will likely keep for a good long time.

I'd probably open them instead of installing choke tubes. I only changed chokes when shooting sporting clays for score. And I'm afraid I don't remove the chokes to clean under them often enough and might someday fund rust. I do have a Merkel 16 gauge with briley thin wall chokes and they're virtually invisible.

I have couple Merkel Model 201E's, 12 gauge and 28 gauge and it was chocked tighter than I wanted and had Briley open up to SK bores. Giving thought to having screw in choke tubes done for the 12 gauge, but just hate to modify it. Either approach, Briley does very professional work.