Steel shot in a reproduction

[HENRY PITTS]

I am new to this forum and have been looking at a 20 ga reproduction. The Parker seems to meet all my requirements of being modern, good looking, light, SxS and reasonably priced. What else could one ask for?! My gun club will be requiring steel shot in the field so I sadly must find a replacement for my LC Smith. (Yes, a convert!) Can steel shot be used in the reproductions? I see a few 3" chambered 28" guns with choke tubes and I assume they are ok, but I am most concerned with the 26" barrel. And are both the 26" and
28" barrel chrome plated?
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Henry Pitts

[Robin Lewis]

Welcome Henry, lots of good info can be found here.

I think if you read the thread "Sporting Clays Classic chambers" you might find the answer you are looking for. It should be found at
http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthread.php?t=544&highlight=steel+shot+chambers

[HENRY PITTS]

Robin; Many thanks for the reply. That thread answered my question.

Regards,
Henry

[Paul Ehlers]

Henry,

By all means I recommend you buying a re-pro 20ga. you'll never be sorry you did.

But there are a few things you should take into consideration about the re-pro's. Even though they are manufactured with more modern materials than the original Parkers. They are still an exact reprodution of the original guns as far as design is concerned. What that means is they still head-up the same as the originals where the stock meet's the action and they are still subject to the same stresses that the wood takes in this area.

The problem I have with the current offerings of steel shot is in the last few years the steel shot ammo manufactures have had a race to out-do each other in the ultra high speed hyper velocity magnum race. Because of this these shells have to be extremly high pressure loads that could be very tough on any small bore Parker.

The good news here is that there are now a lot of alternatives to steel for non-toxic ammo that are low pressure, softer shot materials and therefore kinder to the older double gun designs. I'll bet your gun club rules don't specify steel shot, they are probably just banning the use of lead.

I own several repro's and I know that I would never stuff a steel load down one of my 20 or 28ga guns simply for that fact that I know there are alternatives to steel that will be much kinder to the gun over the long haul. Look into the offerings by RST, New Era, Polywad, heavy shot, kent, bismuth, etc.

Buy the re-pro and enjoy it, but remember these low pressure non-toxic loads can also be used in your Elsie as well.

Just some food for thought and good luck with the hunt for the re-pro.

Paul

[Eric Eis]

I agree with you Paul, but when you are shooting a round of skeet or sporting clays and a couple of shells are costing as much as shooting the course..... I mean $70 to shoot a round of skeet ain't going to happen... There is steel shot out there that is not as hot as you have said and that would be fine in a Repo

[Peter Clark]

I cast another vote for the repro. I own three, two of which are pictured in the thread nearest this one. All three are capable of handling steel in the mod or more open bores, but I don't use it because I don't like it and fortunately don't have to use it at our club, Del Monte Gun Club in southern CO. In fact I have never shot steel in a repro. I also have a Smith, a Fox, a couple of original Parkers and other "old stuff" so I always shoot low pressure loads and I doubt many people around here kill more ducks than I do. Hot rod loads are for the young guys on TV with guns that look like military weapons. I use bismuth and niceshot, which I load, for waterfowl. Lead for everything else.
-plc-.

[Paul Ehlers]

If I read Henry's post correctly he said his club will require steel in the field. I take that to mean while shooting planted upland birds.

The costs of the low pressure Non-Tox loads is a moot point for hunting purposes. If you can afford a Parker Re-pro to shoot a few planted birds every year, you can surely afford the extra cost of the ammo to protect your gun for the long haul. When you get right down to it ammo is the lowest cost item on any hunting outing and for some reason we seem to agonize over this cost more than any other. When I think of the money I've spent on guns, dogs, trucks and all the goodies that go with the game, ammo is cheap even if it would cost $40.00 a box.

But I agree that when your target shooting and going through hundreds of rounds the cost would become a factor. If I was having to shoot steel for target games. I would either find another place to shoot or I would buy a newer gun that was designed for steel and the heavy pounding that hundreds of rounds would put on the gun. Just my opinion but a Parker re-pro 20ga doesn't fit that bill.

[HENRY PITTS]

Many thanks to all who have replied. I may have misled some of you in my original post. My clup will be requiring non-toxic shot in the field, hunting released ducks, pheasant and chuckar. We are still using lead on the 5 stand and trap range because it can be recycled. And I certainly agree that light, low pressure loads will kill just as many birds as the 3" & 31/2" heavy loads. And 20 ga will kill just as many as 12 ga!

[Steve Kleist]

Hi Henry. Welcome to the Parker forum.
I am a Repro guy as well. While some members might disagree, the Repro is actually a superior gun for the modern shooter. They look, feel, and shoot the same as an original Parker.....and they will handle modern loads.
I have several Repros and shoot steel in them all of the time....they are made for it. A day in the field with a quality gun is ....priceless. Buy it and enjoy it.
Steve Kleist Ely, MN

[Fred Lowe]

While some members might disagree, the Repro is actually a superior gun for the modern shooter. They look, feel, and shoot the same as an original Parker.....
Steve Kleist Ely, MN

I would be interested in comments from members who have experience with both the originals as well as repro's.
I have owned quite a few repro's in both 28 and 20 gauges.
I believe that the 20 GHE that I purchased earlier this year is far livelier than any of the number of 20 repro's that I have owned or handled. It seems that the 28 gauges are much more similar, but I only have experience with one 28 ga. original.

Fred

[Kenny Graft]

The 20ga. repro's come in at 6lbs 8oz on the light end and 6lbs 12 oz on the heavy end depending on individual gun and stocking. Just like the originals. But many original Parker 0 frame 20-s will come in at 6lbs to 6lbs 4oz. and being lighter they can feel more lively. Also the lighter original Parkers are slim at the grip area...not as robust in the grip or rear section as the heavier parkers and repro's can be. I love my repro's but original parkers can be soooo nice trim and lively! thanks all Kenny Graft SXS ohio...(-: