I have some questions about using Briley subgauge tubes in a 12 ga. Parker
 

I currently have (3) 12-gauge Parkers (1 Trojan,1 GH and 1 GHE) and would like to possibly use one of them as a .410 or 28 ga. I have come to the conclusion that I will likely never spend the amount of money needed to buy a 28 or 410 Parker, so I have been thinking about using my 12 ga. GH as a small bore. Do the Briley tubes all have to be fitted to the host gun or how does that work? Are there other options besides Briley? What about the drop in Four Tenner's? Any of you have any experiences with this I would love to hear about it.

I have had Briley put tubes in one gun of mine. A 12g (not a parker) that they put 20g tubes in.
Their website says that they need the whole gun. But when I spoke with them beforehand on the phone, they said for a SxS, they just needed the barrels. I dont know what the difference is in that regard.

They offer two weights of tubes. The lighter ones save you like 4 oz on the set and cost like $100 more.

The tubes do add extra weight of course, but it is not really that noticable when push comes to shove.

I personally do not have any experience with the shorter inserts. I would think it to effect patterns vs a full length tube. But others who have used them think they work fine.

Also, i cannot remember if there is any issues with the tubes if your chambers are shorter than 2-3/4”. You will want to ask them about that. Many would not want their chambers altered to be able to put tubes in.

I have a set of Briley 28 Ga. tubes bought from a member here. In 2 VH Parkers 1 will accept them fine the other they bottom out a 16 th short. That gun has a shorter chamber. Have used them in a Remington hammer gun with no problem and a Barreta 686. Of course the Baretta has 3 inch chambers. After a lot of in and out i found the plastic button that gives a snug fit wears to the point that the extractors lift the tube also. Put a drop of super glue on the button and good to go. They are the standard weight tubes and i do notice the weight.

I considered doing it with a small 16g VH I have. The gun shoots unregulated, the left barrel center of pattern about 6" to 8" left of center at 25 yards. I called Briley and they said their tubes would not fix this, so it's at Jim Eysters now. But he did tell me that you can pretty much leave them in only occasionally taking them out to clean and make sure nothing gets stuck and corroded. I have a friend with a set in a Model 21 and they always seem to pop out with the ejector or he's always swearing at them, while I hear many have better luck. I may yet take one of my 16's and put 28g tubes in it, but someone told me that is disqualifier for many SxS events. ???

Fitting Briley tubes to your SxS
 

Dave, just give Briley a call and find out from them exactly what to do. It will take less than 5 minutes and you'll know everything including the cost. Call them at 800-331-5718
BTW Briley can fix the point of impact on shotgun barrels.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.

They can Larry by doing a concentric screw in choke is what he told me. I figured for less money I'd have Jim Eyster try to fix it. I will only go to screw in chokes if I have no other option, I hate the freaking things.

Dave, both Kolar and Briley want to drill out your forcing cones to install sub gauge tubes. I have always felt that it is a money thing. All you can do is ask if it is mandatory. It didn't used to be mandatory at Briley. Make sure you ask for 3" chambers in your .410 tubes or you will get 2 1/2".

I have a 12 GA Parker DH with 2 1/2" chambers that I fit with a set of Briley Universal 20 GA tubes meant for 2 3/4" chamber. A little careful grinding at the forward end of the Briley chamber area and final polishing. They work great. I don't know why you couldn't do the same with 28 or 410 GA tubes.
Bob Jurewicz

If I’m not mistaken Briley will sell you the shorty tubes that require no messing with chambers or forcing cones and I believe a three gauge set of those cost around $900 new . https://www.briley.com/c-467-side-ki...tube-sets.aspx

The short tubes make it very inconvenient to change chokes. Whether you like screw ins or not, they come standard with the full length Briley tubes. I like my .410 Briley tubes in my 20 gauge Parker so much I haven't fired a 20 gauge shell in that gun for many years.

Is it true that some SxS events don’t allow these? Don’t know where I read or heard it.

It’s frowned upon at some shoots to use the short tubes that are interchangeable between guns. Most shoots are OK if a gun has full length tubes that are fit to a specific set of barrels and are kept in one gun.

Thanks Mike. See you in a few days.

Briley Side Kicks
 

Just a word about the Briley Side-Kicks. These were my first exposure to sub-gauge tubes and since they are short and not fitted to the gun's bore diameter there is a large amount of burnt powder residue that comes back between the tubes and the barrel, even though there is an O ring on the end of each tube. You will be doing a lot of heavy cleaning between shooting the different gauges. And then when you're done you will be doing a lot of heavy cleaning to the tubes themselves. They do work okay other than that. Really, the full-length drop-in tubes are the way to go, especially if you're just doing one gauge.

I appreciate all the good information you all have given me. I am not sure which route I will go yet. I know this is totally a different thing, but have any of you tried the Little Skeeters? They are like $49 per set.

I used a set of the short ones a friend had . The 20’s were a skoosh longer than the chamber , the 28’s a bit more and the 410’s about as long as what’s available now . And I never had a problem with unburied powder .

Read the rules for sub gauge tubes. Some side by side shoots allow sub gauge tubes only in composite barrel guns. I think the Southern may be one of those shoots.

BURNT POWDER
 

Of course, I said burnt powder Craig.

Nobody asked me, but I gotta say I never wanted to shoot .410's badly enough to carry a 7 or 8lb .410 around! When I get the urge I just pull out this little sweetie. She's no Parker and she may be ugly but she sates the urge, and much easier on my bank account :)

https://i.imgur.com/7qCLl2Gl.jpg

I do not differentiate between the two when it comes to cleaning and or removing insert tubes . The biggest problem I ever heard of were some skeet shooters that had ported the barrels as well as the 20 and 28 gauge tubes . They would be a bitch to get out , but I never saw the need for ported 20 or 28 tubes in typically a 9 pound tubed skeet gun .

Phil, there are lots of alternatives. As they say, "life's too short to shoot an ugly gun".
X
X

Ugly is in the eye of the beholder, Larry. I personally find what some people think is ugly about my little Stevens endearing, but I know lots of people don't, so I included it in my post. I like it just fine. And let's be honest: bet those Smiths and whatever the other ones are cost a lot more than the $350 I paid for my Stevens ;-).