| which barrel and chokes
One of the reasons U/Os are generally superior in their scoring ratio to S/S's is that the under barrel of an U/O places the recoil pressure line directly into the top of the heel pad.
If the gun is correctly fitted and mounted, the bottom barrel being fired first produces a minimum of muzze flip.
If you fire the top barrel first, the pressure line comes out above the heel and automatically lifts the gun. With two quick successive shots in either trap or skeet, firing the to barrel will always dis-advantage the shooter, as the gun needs to be brought back under control.
The pressure line of both barrels of a S/S are above the heel, and you will note that upward muzzle flip in S/S's is pronounced. Not a disadvantage in the S/S's main application of driven game - but a big problem in trap or skeet.
Dedicated Skeet and Trap guns do not have barrel selectors, as the makers are fully aware that the competition shooter will always fire bottom barrel first on a discipline specifc O/U. I shoot a Perazzi retro choked skeet MX8 28", and a 31 1/2" MX-2 trap set choke 1/2 3/4. Neither have barrel selectors and both are set choke. You will only find barrel selectors on sporter and guns set up to be middle of the road all purpose guns where the odd situation arises where top barrel first is better than bottom, but those situations are actually few and far between.
As far as skeet chokes go, anything between Cylinder and 1/2 is in the norms of acceptance. Dedicated skeet guns tend to be 1/8th and 1/4 choke, or cylinder and 1/8th, but the ideal choice will depend on your shooting style, and therefore your average range of break, and also whether you are using 24g or 28g. You may prefer slightly tighter choking on 24g carts to preserve pattern density.
Similarly, on trap, what discipline are you shooting? I can shoot DLT with skeet chokes as they are so slow I can take 'em 15yds out of the trap with ease. On the other hand, O/T or D/T need fast reactions to make my 1/2 3/4 effective, many top shots prefer 3/4 & full for these target speeds.
The faster the target the tighter the chokes, but conversely, the quicker your reactions the more open you can use. Each trap discipline is a balance on these target speed and your personal ability. To simply say, for trap I will use X and Y is naive. You can only ascertain this for you as an individual by keeping a shooting diary that records the improvement or otherwise of each change you make - i.e., does your performance improve with this set up over that one, or this cartridge choice over that one, etc etc.
There is one rule that is always sound, how-ever. If in doubt, choke down. It is imperative that the only factor is your skill in shot placement, so where you are in doubt choose the tighter choke configuration. That way, if the shot load is placed accurately then the score is guaranteed, no holes in the pattern. It may be smoke 'em or miss 'em, but it soon trains you to place centre or front patterns on the clay.
Front patterns on the clay are always the best as 9 mistakes out of 10 are to slip back on lead. If you are cutting fronts off clays and slip back on lead you will probably still break it with the trailing edge of the shot string. So practice with slightly tight choking for the discipline ( if the gun allows), but always aim for front edge breaks leaving the trailing shot string as the reserve for short lead or gun stall occasions, and the chance that you will still score despite an error.
Jerry Parks Young
CPSA Senior Coach | 
Advice needed: Chokes? 
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