Gauge Mates & Resulting Broken Top Lever Spring

[J. A. EARLY]

Gents,

I took the bait and ordered some 16 to 20 Gold Gauge Mates (very nice picture of a Parker with them installed in their ads). Inserted them into a 16 GA VH and nothing but problems. Foremost is the scratching the titanium coated GMs puts on the breech face, and the gun was so hard to close, and I opened and closed the opening lever so many times and holding the lever all the way to the right, you can guess what happened. I now have scratched up VH with a broken V-spring, not counting the drift punch I dropped right into the checkering.

What is the best source for these springs if there is one and does anyone else use the gauge Mates and have the same problems? They are oversized in my gun, and that is the first thing to hit the breech face when the gun is being closed. It makes the gun tight even without a shell or snap cap.

Like a dummy I invested over a hundred bucks in converting my 16 loader and buying supplies to load the short 16s, only to want the ease of shooting sub gauge 20s in three 16s I own, since I load lots of 20s. Should have left well enough alone. Thanks for the advice in advance.

Frustrated with what was supposed to work, I'm finally giving up going to bed with a broken Parker on my mind.

[Bruce Day]

I shot a friend's gun with Gauge Mates and while I know some here suggest them, they seemed to me to be a pain and unnecessary . I have guns of many gauges, so selecting another is not an issue, but I regularly shoot a 16ga on targets with 7/8 or even 3/4oz loads. I use the 2 3/4" Rem black hulls in a 16ga MEC Grabber. I have three 16's, a P and two C's, and don't worry about chamber length , forcing cone or any of the things that some people like to talk about. With about any gauge, you can load up or down enough to about duplicate the load of the nearest next gauge.

Maybe Del Grego can supply a new top lever spring.

[Harry Collins]

I buy top lever springs from Dixie Gun Works. Buy both sizes they are under $10 each. I have found three different sizes in the top lever Parkers and have had to grind down a spring for a hammer top lever Parker to fit a hammerless. I use a Dremel tool and match the length and width of the broken one. When grinding down the thickness of the new spring be sure to grind along the length. Grinding up and down along the width will weaken the spring.

Harry

[Ed Blake]

Galazan also sells the top lever springs. The only case for using chamber inserts, IMO, is going from a 10 gauge to a twelve because some folks don't want to reload for the 10.

[Harry Collins]

Be sure to compare prices of springs which is about $20+ per spring between Galazan's and Dixie Gun Works. Both need to be worked to fit.

[J. A. EARLY]

Thanks to all for the replies. I wanted to use the 16 to 20s so I could shoot off the shelf AA or STS with 7/8 oz loads, get the increased velocity they advertise, and thus have a good supply of quality hulls left over. The only problem is, 16 to 20, 10 to 12, 12 to 16, 20 to 28 have an adapter that is not completely circular, having a slot cut in it for different size chambers, and hulls fired through it are useless thereafter, as the split causes them to rupture there.

Harry,

Dixie lists a Parker Hammerless Shotgun Top Lever Spring number TP7203. But you said to get both the long and short ones which they also list a 1 1/4" and a 2" top lever spring. The 2" does not have a pin to locate it. So I'm guessing you have seen the need for all three springs at one time or another? I could not find anything on Galazan's site.

Thanks.

[Harry Collins]

What I was trying to convey is that with some Parkers the long spring (1 1/4) for the hammer guns will have to be cut way down to fit the hammerless guns because the hammerless spring is just a tad too short.

I order several to have on hand and in case I screw up.

[J. A. EARLY]

Harry,

Thanks. I've got it now. I'll order a couple of the springs listed as Parker Hammerless Top lever spring and a couple of those 1 1/4" for the hammer top levers.

[Big Friend Ten (BFT)]

Jerry,

Sorry to learn of your bad experiance using Gauge Mates. I use them often in 10-12 gauge reduction and occasionally for a 16-20.

Gauge mates fit in all my Parker and LC Smith 10 gauges without problems. They do not fit in a Spanish made Zabala Hermous 10 gauge magnum that I own. The reason is that the rim area of the chamber is cut to SAAMI minimum or perhaps even a little less.

I had to have one Parker's rim are enlarged a bit. It is a 12 gauge in the 68xxx serial numbers and didn't want to shoot any reloads. Upon firing in a larger chamber to include the rim area, the shell head/rim will expand to fill the void. Any reloaded haul caused the action to only close using much force.

The 12 gauge's hard closing prompted me to send her to the gunsmith. At the time I wasn't completly certain of the cause but I correctly guessed that it was the rim area of the chamber.

Your Parker may have a slightly undersized chamber, rim area, or even a shorter chamber that causes the Gauge Mate not to properly fit.

As for reloading hulls fired in the split version Gauge Mate, I can usually get 4 to 5 more 6000 PSI loadings from them. I will reload a AA or RXP hull until it looks like it will split in the loading press. This isn't optimum but... I've been collecting black hulled Remington bargin (sold in 100 packs) hauls as load, shoot, and throw aways!

Hope this helps. If you don't like you Gauge Mates offer them to another member in the Member's Only for sale section. They won't last long

Mark