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But I can tell you, that 30" tube was WAY to long to tote ridge to ridge after a wandering gobbler.
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I won't argue with that, but I will point out that a lot of folks, particularly of my generation, who grew up somewhere between lower income and dirt poor seldom had much choice. When there was one shotgun in the house and it was a 30" full choke, that's what we used, and what we learned to hunt with.
Another point was that a 30" full choke "does it all", and while its not as handy for some things, it will serve.
My 16th birthday present was a Winchester Model of 1912, 30" full. Field Grade, made in the 1920s. some finish wear, mechanically sound. With modern shot cup shells, its full choke is more like Xtra full or Super full. But that's what I learned with. Shot a bunch of "backyard" trap with it, too. The gun fit me, and I learned to use it fairly well. (later I learned that the $125 my Dad spent on that gun was nearly half his monthly income. Don't think I ever thanked him enough...looking back now,..with the eyes of a grandfather myself, I should have..)
Later on I got a more open choked gun (modified) and discovered my success rate went down. The dense pattern I was used to simply wasn't there....
My Grandfather's 1909 Ithaca SxS was choked Full/Full (per his order). He held the opinion that if you were missing, you didn't need a more open choke, you just needed to learn to shoot better!
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Couldn't the existing barrel be reamed out to a modified choke?
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any fixed choke barrel can be honed to a larger (more open) choke. The down side to that is, once done, tis done, and there's no going back.