Steel shot special ID?

[Jared Valeski]

Were there any 3" chambered 12 guage repros. that were NOT steel shot specials?
JJV

[Marvin Kells]

According to the brochure, 3" chambers were offered only on the Steel Shot Special and Sporting Clays Classic.....

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/ll36/Markel51/ParkerTrifold_0006.jpg

[Jared Valeski]

So a 2 3/4 and 3" chamber marked gun has to be either a sporting clays classic with the choke tubes or a steel shot special with the chrome lined bores? I'm a bit confused as I have seen some 12 guage repros with the 3" marking on the barrel and not advertised as either of the above. I need some clarification on this.
Thanks in advance,
JJV

[Greg Baehman]

...and then there was this Repro brochure that lists 12 and 20-ga. 28" guns as available with either 2 3/4" or 3" chambers.

[Bill Murphy]

It also lists the 28 gauge 3" chamber as an available option. Repro paper is notorious for oversights. However, some "oversights" may have been considered for production but not actually produced.

[Joe Bernfeld]

Were there any 3" chambered 12 guage repros. that were NOT steel shot specials?
JJV

Yes, I own one :). 12 ga, 28", IC/Mod, 3" chambers, Str/Spl/DT (of course). All Parker Repros have chrome lined barrels.

[Dave Fuller]

I have owned a 12ga with 3" chambers that was not a SSS or an SCC. I have also owned a SCC with 2-3/4" chambers. Those matrix charts from the catalogs will drive you insane trying to figure out what was available and what was not. They often conflict one another.

[Jared Valeski]

Thanks all for the input on this subject. Do ALL Parker Reproductions really have chrome lined bores? What are the distinguishing features of a steel shot special other than the reinforced heavier frame? It seems that there are more than a few out there with 3" chambers that are not the Sporting clays or steel shot models.
JJV

[Dave Fuller]

The chokes and the forcing cone borings are nonstandard in the SSS. Call John Allen at Gamefair in Nashville he can tell you the whole story on how those came about and what they did to them. He still hunts with the first one I believe.

[Steve Kleist]

I also have a 3" 12 ga Repro with 28" barrels. I have not seen any markings that indicate it is a SSS or SCC.
Steve Kleist Ely, MN

[Dean Romig]

Joe, I like that wood!

[Greg Baehman]

What are the distinguishing features of a steel shot special other than the reinforced heavier frame? JJV


I have read that the SSS's were unique, in that they were produced with a "strengthened frame" and as you say "reinforced heavier frame", were they really? I've also read they were reportedly produced with .740 bores and .006/.018 chokes, but does anyone have information on how they differed, either dimensionally or structurally, from the standard 1 1/2 frame Repro?

[Dave Fuller]

An "American Rifleman" article (sorry no date) states the barrels are 12% heavier with corresponding extra weight in the butt. Bores oversized to .733 with choke diameters of .721 and .726 providing .012 and .007 constrictions. The gun they examined weighed 7lbs 6 oz.

[Joe Bernfeld]

Thanks, Dean, me too! Jared, according to the full color, fold-out Parker Reproduction brochure (and several other brochures and newsletters I have), listed under Standard Features is: "Chrome barrel interiors". The Steel Shot Specials all have "SS" in the serial number. They did not have heavier frames, and to my knowledge had the same barrels as the ones made later that were not designated SS. My Steel Shot Special weighed 7 lbs. 5 oz. with a beavertail and pistol grip; my non-SS special weighs 7 lbs. 2 oz. with a straight stock and splinter forend so I don't see how the barrels could have been much heavier. Also, mine is choked .009" and .012" (marked IC/Mod). I have a letter (2/9/1988) from Paul Jaeger where the Steel Shot Specials were sold from (Dunn's), and it states that they are built "on a frame size of 1 1/2" and mentions all of the options available, including a weight of 7 1/4-7 1/2 lbs., with no mention of any frame reinforcement.
Joe

[Greg Baehman]

An "American Rifleman" article (sorry no date) states the barrels are 12% heavier with corresponding extra weight in the butt. Bores oversized to .733 with choke diameters of .721 and .726 providing .012 and .007 constrictions. The gun they examined weighed 7lbs 6 oz.

I've got a copy of that AR article, too; Dave. They (AR) reported different bore diameter and choke constrictions than what the authors reported in TPS for the SSS. Wonder who's right, or are they both wrong? I guess it really doesn't matter---unless you're one of us anal types!:knowbetter::dh::vconfused::biglaugh:

[Dave Fuller]

As I've said before... trying to sort out all the configurations and the different sources from which they are gleaned is maddening.

[Chuck Heald]

Just in the short time I've been hanging here at this site, I've seen various choke sizes in the 28g Repros. I can understand a few thousandths variance, some from measurement error, and some from production tolerance. But Mike Shepard reported a .007 or .008" variance from the "norm". It seems like there's some pretty significant variance in dimensions out there...or people are making measurment errors. No offense to anyone, but based on my yrs of manufacturing experience, my money would be on measurement errors by owners/writers. You have people with various backgrounds and various equipment making measurements that are very very small.