I prefer an over/under for the wing shooting that I do, which admittedly is not much these days. Reason being, the choice of full and modified chokes with a trigger (or lever). It’s a range thing. If I didn’t have that choice for quail and dove, I’d have to go with a modified choke and just give up the long shots, but, I’d carry along my choke set and wrench to change in the field if I felt the need. On the rare occasion I’m chasing wood duck up the creek, modified auto. Mallards and teal over decoys, full. For ducks I use a good auto. Canadians up in Tennessee, a Browning BPS 10ga.
That’s all I got. It works for me and I got there through trial and error. Chances are, you’ll benefit the most by starting with a modified choke and going from there. I have no idea what the pros would say. Happy hunting!
Modified on one shotgun is not necessarily the same as mod on a different gun. If I was having no luck with modified, I'd try Improved to see if it made any difference. Certainly I would pattern the guns with different chokes to see the shape and density of their pattern. Had a shotgun years ago that shot a sharp ellipse from low left to upper right and you would never know just from looking at the muzzle. Maybe change shells too.
Best bet is to pattern your shotgun at the distance you think you see the birds the most, also with the shells you’d use.
My Super X1 28” Mod does pretty good on them at about 20-25 yards without filling them up with pellets. Usually smoke them a little better with IMod on my Browning at those distances and a touch bit further. Use the same set ups with teal. I’m using steel shot for both.
Improved cylinder may help you out more by opening up the spread and once you lock in I’d probably try a tighter choke and let them fly a bit further just to keep it challenging.
At least in my experience, on opening day they are closer, so improved cylinder is what I use. After that, modified. (I use 28 ga on opening morning and swap to 12 ga for once they catch on to what we are doing!
If o/u first barrel improved cylinder then modified.