16 gauge BHE

[Parker-Hawes]

Now the very rare 16,20 combo with cut barrels and briley chokes. (thanks for those close ups), who would do that to perfectly fine gun that is a pretty tough bird to find ? you know the phrase "people never cease to amaze me". Also I like the story and mystery of the rare .410 Repros. I wish there were more out there so one could actually consider buying one to shoot.I think I would. Thanks & Best, Paul

[Kirk Potter]

Originally Posted by Bill Murphy

Cut at Briley's, end of story. We're not going to live long enough for 26" barrels to become interesting to collectors, especially not when they are cut.

I’m agnostic when it comes to a barrel length of either 26” or 28”.. is 2” really going to make a difference? I think the idea some people have of that extra 2” getting caught on something is pretty funny. If I’m in that thick of cover for that to happen it’s either going to or not.

As far as aesthetics though, I don’t care for 26” in a 12 gauge. The proportions just look wrong and it looks bulky. MO of course.

I wouldn’t let those barrels stop me from buying this if the price was cheap enough and I was in the market.. But yeah, no collector value really and the price would have to be a lot less.

[Southpaw]

Kirk I mentioned the other day that my Parkers with 28 inch barrels are very close in overall gun length to my modern doubles that I have that have 26 inch barrels. I guess its the overall length of gun that really makes the difference for me. Its also the weight of the gun and how it balances between the hands. Some like the extra length for sight plane and weight for the follow through on swinging targets. My VH 16 28 with light barrels feels comparable in handling in my hands compared to the modern 20 ga and 28 ga Dehaans with 26 inch barrels. Very balanced between the hands, I think that is what makes more difference than overall length for fast action in tight cover. It comes at a price though, not enough weight forward and gun feels whippy. I am with you its not the so called length of gun.

It also used to mean before screw in chokes longer guns had more choke and if you wanted less choke you needed shorter barrels. We know that is a misnomer but hard for a good myth to overcome fact. And if you don't believe that then I have some ghost and bigfoot stories to tell you and some Parkers with lopped off barrels.

I am with you on aesthetics as well even though I like the way the modern sxs feel and shoot there is something about proportions of the Parkers that look right and feel right.