If I'm not mistaken the 28 gauge in NSSA competition consistently showed a higher average compared with the 12,20 or .410.

A 28 gauge Parker DHE was WHF’s favorite Skeet gun… and his favorite grouse gun as well.





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Bear in mind it was thirty or more years ago but my 410 average was right at 97 but the other three stayed a bit above 98 . By no means all that great but I was happy with . And of the three over 98% the 28 was usually .1-.2% above the 12 and 20 . I think when it was all said and done I had as many if not more hundred straights with the 28 than I did the 20 . As to the 12 gauge most of the 100’s I scored in that gauge were shot with a 20 only 12 100 straights I shot with a 12 were done with an 1100 or 11/87 .

If you look at NSSA averages for a AAA shooter the 12-20-28 are all .25% apart, the .410 is 2% lower (this is for classification not the scores). I take that to mean that over a long time with shooters of similar ability the .410 is 2% less effective but still shooting 96.5%. For the average bird hunter/recreational shooter I'm not sure that translates at all.

I'd love to have a VH Parker in both .410 and 28. BUT, no way I'm dumping that kind of scratch into a shotgun. If I have that kind of disposable cash it'll buy something that with one pull of the trigger can do a mag dump. To each his own.

One of the reasons for slow sales of the .410-bore Parker during the early years was the available ammunition. From the introduction of the .410-bore shell in North America circa 1914 it was offered in two loadings, 3/10-ounce in a 2-inch shell and 3/8-ounce in a 2 1/2-inch shell. Things picked up for the .410-bore in 1933, at the depth of The Great Depression, with the introduction of the 3-inch shell doubling the max load to 3/4-ounce, along with the Winchester Model 42. A few years later the 2 1/2-inch shell got upped to the 1/2-ounce load we all know.

Similarly, the 28-guage loads were 5/8-ounce for many years. Finally, in 1931 the ammo companies got around to introducing a progressive burning smokeless powder, high velocity load to the 28-gauge with 3/4-ounce of shot. Chas. Askins mentions in his 1910 book of loading 2 1/8 drams of bulk smokeless and 3/4-ounce of shot in the 2 7/8-inch 28-gauge shell for his heavy 30-inch barrel Parker Bros. but the ammo companies didn't offer anything heavier than 2 drams pushing 5/8-ounce.

Turns out what goes around comes around. The old 5/8oz load is a dandy if you handload.

After today's G&D auction, I think it is safe to say that prices for Parker 28s and 410s are still strong. The 410s blew past high estimates.

-Victor

Here is a reasonable one we all could have bought.
Bob Jurewicz
https://bid.guyetteanddeeter.com/lot...-skeet-shotgun

Well, there’s your problem. You weren’t shooting a 12 gauge Parker. :)