New to the Parker questions

[Wesley newcomb]

I recently got a parkerin decent shooter condition.90% blueing on the barrels..0% color on the frame...good wood but sometime in its past has a a pad added and probally the stock shortened.
What is the length of the stock fron where it meets the frame to the buttplate?
Serial number is 155833 and matching everywhere that i can find.
There is a "V" below the serial number on the watertable..is this the grade...bow does it differ from a VH grade?
Barrel lug has a "2" on it..is this the frame size?
There is also a "4" stamped on the bottom of the barrels.
Rib has vulcan steel .....are these safe to shoot
Bores are shiny and they ring like a bell.

[Robin Lewis]

Wesley, may I suggest a good place to start learning about Parker Bros guns and get answers to most of these questions is in the links on the left side of www.parkerguns,org

As far as is it safe to shoot, impossible to say without the gun in hand but odds are that it is.

[Wesley newcomb]

The gun is very sound and just wasnt sure about the steel used.....

[Dean Romig]

The more acceptable way of measuring a stock is from the middle of the front trigger along the center line of the stock to the far end of the butt plate or pad. The more common LOP or Length of Pull is 14" - 14 1/2"

[Dean Romig]

Vulcan Steel barrels are fine for use with modern powders in appropriate loads. Common sense should prevail - magnum loads are more than you should be shooting in an old gun like that. Standard or light loads in 2 1/2" shells would be perfect.





.

[Bruce Day]

See, I didn’t know that. I’ve been chasing pheasant for a week now with regular Federal 1 1/8 heavy field loads. I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to use them.

[Russ Jackson]

I have used the Regular heavy Field Loads such as Bruce ,but any more I have seemed to gravitate toward the Lighter Loads to protect my wood ,I feel the lighter Recoil is easier on 100 Year Old Stocks than the Recoil from a heavy field load , of course just my opinion ! Honestly never gave much thought to the Barrels as long as they are Fluid Steel , Before I started shooting the Vintage loads I always liked the copper coated 5 Shot for late season Pheasant !

[Dean Romig]

Bruce, you're right - those old guns can really take it if they're in good shape.
I had a feeling when I posted that that you might take notice and say something.

So... I know it can be done and you have even quoted the original factory loads here in the past... Loads that are really quite stout in fact.

I, not having seen the gun, wouldn't suggest shooting heavy loads in it... but that's just me.






.

[todd allen]

Bruce, you're right - those old guns can really take it if they're in good shape.
I had a feeling when I posted that that you might take notice and say something.

So... I know it can be done and you have even quoted the original factory loads here in the past... Loads that are really quite stout in fact.

I, not having seen the gun, wouldn't suggest shooting heavy loads in it... but that's just me.

.

I just got back from a hunt that included wild pheasants. One oz. of 5s, at 1200 fps killed them just fine.
A 4 dram load would not have made them more dead, but to each their own.

[Drew Hause]

Welcome Wesley. Bright shiny bores in an almost 110 year old well used gun suggests that the previous owner cherished and took care of his treasure, or that possibly the bores have been honed. ANY vintage double deserves a good check and clean by a double gun smith before use, with measurements of the barrel wall thickness and examination of the stock head for cracks.
You may then have confidence that you can enjoy the gun with loads for which it was designed; the original Parker hang tag probably listed 1 1/8 oz. with 3 Dr. Eq. or 1 1/4 oz. with 3 1/4 Dr. Eq. (both about 1200 fps). And the pressures of those loads with Dense Smokeless powders were quite similar to today's. The barrels of course were not designed for steel shot.
No. 2 frame 12g Parkers are quite sturdy. I had a 1 1/2 frame VH which was a wonderful Kansas/S. Dakota pheasant gun using B&P MB Classic 1 1/8 oz. 3 1/2 Dram Eq. @ 1330 fps 5s.
It might have 2 5/8" chambers designed for 2 3/4" roll crimp shells; of no concern with modern 2 3/4" shells.

[Tom Flanigan]

See, I didn’t know that. I’ve been chasing pheasant for a week now with regular Federal 1 1/8 heavy field loads. I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to use them.

My favorite pheasant and duck load for a 12 bore is 1 1/4 oz. at around 1200 fps. Its the old 3 1/4 dram equiv. load. I don't shoot released pheasants but if I did, I would use a 1 oz. or 1 1/8 oz. load in the 12.