First post and I just moved to South Dakota a few months ago. Anyway, I bought an A5 Ultimate last year before hunting doves in the Imperial Valley of California. I killed many doves with it, but the Invector DS chokes had my really confused and wondering what I was doing wrong. After Buying another 5chokes to figure out what in the world was going on, I figured it out.
In the shotguns of my past: Remington, Winchester and older Brownings mostly, both with and without choke tubes; a Modified, was a Modified, was a Modified. That's what I wanted for my choke so I could shoot effectively from 20-50 yards without need for adjustment. In the new Invector DS choke system, you can save a lot of money and time spent by just "choking up". Meaning that a Modified marked Browning Invector DS choke does not perform like a traditional Modified, but pretty close to a Light Modified or maybe even an Improved Cylinder. I now shoot a Browning made Improved Modified to get the desired effect. The aftermarket Carleson and Trulock chokes marked "Modified" were tested by me and performed tighter than marked. The result was that I was chewing up everything I hit inside of 30 yards. The Carleson and Trulock chokes were more like a traditional Improved Modified choke. But maybe that's partially due to them being extended chokes and adding an inch to the barrel length. Aftermarket chokes don't come in flush fitting for Invector DS that I've found.
I respect Randy Wakeman's articles, but my trigger brakes at just over 6 pounds on my A5. Maybe that's too much, but I don't really notice a shotgun trigger pull unless I'm shooting slugs and really aiming vice pointing. I don't think a pound and a half should make a difference for upland shooting.
The new A5 was only a good gun for me the first season that I used it for 2 simple reasons. First, the improperly marked chokes; second the hefty pricetag; period. Now that I know what my chokes are actually doing despite the markings and my bank account has recovered, this year's pheasant season will determine if the A5 is a good or great shotgun. I have had zero function issues through about a case of shells. It handles great and looks great. On another side note, I would however prefer the old magazine cutoff vice the new one, but it's OK. Right now, I'm on the fence if my A5 will be sold or not. There is nothing wrong with my old Browning Auto 5's and my Gold.