He will almost certainly never bother to pattern test the choke once he gets it. Most guys just think that IC is close, Modified is medium and full is for ducks. I remember how I used to agonize over one or two thou one way or the other. Even the experts don't agree on the pattern percentages for each choke. I may shoot IC or Full with certain shells.
Browning says it is.
So, maybe these guys who don't know and don't test know more than we do. Bottom line is that chokes give an indication of what to expect on average, more or less, most of the time. If you have an IC and a Mod choke, you have the right to expect the IC to be looser most of the time. How loose is another question. Something is wrong somewhere.