Parker Bros. 20 Gauge Chamber Reamer

[Gary Laudermilch]

I'll just throw this out as an alternative. I had a 20 ga Browning that would stick certain cases in one chamber. I narrowed the problem down to cases that have steel bases. I solved the problem by 1) using cases with brass bases, or 2) by sizing the steel based cases just a bit more. Both solved the problem.

[Dean Romig]

Thanks Gary - I shoot RST almost exclusively and this is the only gun I own that gives me this problem. It's the gun for sure.

[DoubleDown]

Dean,

I have the 20ga Parker Chamber Reamer, however there is a chip in one of the blades and I'm unsure if it's still usable or not. Not sure who could tell us, but I'll bring it to Rock Mountain if you're going to be there over Labor Day.

Mike

[Dean Romig]

Thanks Mike. I spoke with the Member who donated that reamer and he told me the same thing and that he would be reluctant to use it because of the damage to it.

[William Davis]

I have cleaned up a number of rifle shotgun chambers and even revolver cylinders by making a wood lap. Turn it cartridge size charge with compound. Which grit depends on now bad it is. Valve grinding compound will clean up the worst quickly. Most times I start with less aggressive compound moving to more course only if needed.

You can turn the lap with a cordless drill, however I prefer my drill press. Put a small tube in the chuck run a plumb bob through the tube to index a wood board on the table with muzzle size plug or if a single barrel shallow hole muzzle size. Replace the tube with the lap put the muzzle on the table plug and clean the chamber nice and true. Back off on the quill to check cartridge fit. It cuts a lot faster than you would expect so check often.

If hardwood they last long enough to do the job, and can be cut down for smaller chambers when worn. If you want can post a photo of one made up.

It can be done on the lathe too, that's how a reamer is run, but the drill press is faster and easier lapping because you can insert and remove quick and true. I an getting ready to do a .25 Krag Chamber on the drill press now that finished rough from a rented reamer, cases stick on extraction.

William

[Bob Brown]

I brought this old thread up because while sorting through a box of very old reamers tonight, I came across a chipped 20 bore that was also marked Parker Bros. Meridian, Conn. I was surprised to find this thread when I searched "Parker reamers". Does anyone know if the Parker reamers were a part of their product line for retail sale? Thanks.

[B. Dudley]

I have had intermittent issues in the past with RST hulls sticking in chambers. It is the shells, not the gun.

With fired shells that is. If the shell goes in and the gun closes fine and the only issue is after firing.

If a loaded shell is the issue, then it may need some work. Usually the rim is what needs cleaning up.

[ArtS]

Dean

I have used FlexHones for over 20 years in several gauges. There is pushback from some smiths about them, but the problem is when trying to hone extremely pitted barrels they will sometimes leave a ripple. My personal opinion based on experience they only do this on a barrel that is well beyond honing and need to be reamed. They are available in several grits and come with detailed instructions which should be followed ( oil liberally and always keep moving, while limiting passes without checking).

That said, for a chamber that is just tight, I think the brake cylinder hone is your best bet. It will take off a small amount of metal and leave a polished surface. It may just need a polish. If it is a problem with profile which needs to be corrected, you may need to start with a coarse set of stones and switch to a light set when the shell extracts. If it is a profile issue where the front part of the chamber has an enlarged section, a ball hone won't help since it will enlarge all sections the same amount. I would try a little honing at the breech section first to see if that helps.

Also, I would try a bore gauge first and insert the gauge to the front of the chamber. Then carefully withdraw it and note if there is any point where the reading decreases below a previous reading. If so, a slight reaming may be the best answer.

[Richard Flanders]

I have had 3 Parkers that suffered stuck shells after firing. Each time the issue was with THE SHELLS ONLY, not the bores. My problems always involved Win hulls, never RST hulls. The Wincheter HS hulls have out of round extraction rims, more so than any other brand. I would warn anyone who reams chambers or rim recesses before checking the roundness of the rims on the shells using a micrometer. It's way too easy to over do it when even gently reaming a rim recess - I have and used a Clymer 12 ga reamer that I believe(it's been a while)reamed both the chamber and the rim recess and learned that it's wayyy too easy to over deepen the rim recess.....and that you can't go back once you've done that. I learned the hard way that if I just put away the reamer and used anything but Win HS hulls, to include vintage paper hulls, RIO and RST, the gun would never stick.... ever. I never run Win HS hulls through my 28 Repro; the rims are so out of round it's almost comical and has actually had me having to drive 25mi to home to put the gun in a very padded vise and gingerly clamp it shut until I could carefully work the lever and release it, which is a pretty scary operation, I assure you. I also learned to brush out any Ballistol the might have been in the chamber for a few years and had varnished up. That happened in an Ithaca 37 once - you brush that out and you're good to go. It can glue a gun up pretty hard after a few rapid shots at clays, to the point where you can't pump it. Before you touch any gun with a reamer of any kind, make sure the issue is in the gun and not just the shells. So far with me, it's been the shells every time and has nothing to do with the gun. Win hulls are especially out of round, which is easy to measure with a micrometer on a flt surface. You'll also find that the sliding guide on the reamer has the reamer NOT parallel with the center line of the chamber and bore. If you ream enough to get the entire rim recess reamed, the chamber will not be parallel to the bore center - that's a huge issue. I found that to be the case and easy to detect when you the reamer into the chamber and look closely at how the recess cutter portion is NOT hitting evenly on the recess all the way around. If you fire any shells with out of round rims, they will be forced into the nicely round original rim recess and lock the gun up, sometimes solidly as hell. The older Win HS rounds are generally nice and round; the more recent versions have thinner brass on the base and are more out of round, period. You can shoot older vintage paper rounds all day long for the rest of your life and never get a stuck shell if the chamber is brushed clean when you start. I will gladly ship my Clymer reamer to anyone who wants to monkey with it; I just warn you that it's not the do-all answer to shells sticking a gun shut, and most every time it's the shells NOT the gun. I haven't looked at the reamer in a long time but am beginning to remember that it might just ream the recess and not the chamber. A simple test is to just TRY to seat a shell rim into the recess backwards; if it's out of round, it will not seat, while a nice round rim on an older hull will.