1891 EH

[CraigThompson]

Carried my circa 1891 EH 28” loaded with a homecast slug in the right barrel and homecast 0000 Buck in the left barrel . I used the slug last year in another Parker 10 to take a deer but never the 0000 Buck . Had a 1 1/2-2 1/2 year old doe come within 26 yards of me so I shot and as might be expected all eight of the pellets found her and dropped her on the spot . Other then skeet birds or paper targets this deer is the first living thing this gun has killed since coming in my possession.

[CraigThompson]

I kinda get a little bored in the tree sometimes and take pictures of whatever guns I have along 🙄

[CraigThompson]

Now before the end of the season if I can plunk another one with a new to me VH 16 #1 frame using the Rooskie version of the 16 gauge Lyman sabot slug .

[Daryl Corona]

Craig, I would like to bag a deer with a Parker this year so what over the counter slugs would you suggest for either a 12 or 20. I'm guessing a cylinder or IC choke would be best. Buck is not legal where I hunt.

[CraigThompson]

Daryl I’ve got a circa 1928 VHE 20 gauge that does very well on paper with Brenneke original slugs . And that guns M/F . Although I’ve not tried Brenekes in my Parker 12’s I would think they’d be okay as well . I have a 12 VH and a 12 VHE both F&F that do very well with my handloads using the Lyman sabot slug . And my other four Parker 10’s I’ve killed deer with are all full and fuller yet , and they did very well with slugs inside my self imposed range .

[Mills Morrison]

Very nice.

[Daryl Corona]

Thanks Craig, I'll give them a try this week.

[CraigThompson]

Thanks Craig, I'll give them a try this week.

One last thought other then my GH 16 I keep all my slug and or Buckshot first shots inside 30-35 yards . My little GH 16 Damascus with the Rooskie version of the Lyman slug shoots exceptionally well out to 50 yards and maybe more just haven’t tried any further . The Brennekes may be ok out to 50 yards but I don’t remember having tried that far on paper .

[Daryl Corona]

Thanks Craig. I'm looking to use it on a still hunt where I will jump shoot them at 30 yds. or less. It's amazing how close they let you get before they spook and when they do they run about 15-20 yds. and then stop and look back. Hopefully photos will follow. Nothing better for jump shooting than a SxS.

[CraigThompson]

Thanks Craig. I'm looking to use it on a still hunt where I will jump shoot them at 30 yds. or less. It's amazing how close they let you get before they spook and when they do they run about 15-20 yds. and then stop and look back. Hopefully photos will follow. Nothing better for jump shooting than a SxS.

I wish I still had a lease in Dorchester for Sika deer . Buck is legal there 00 or larger . An EH with 00 or 000 would be nice to try there . I was hunting Chincoteague NWR a few years back for Sika and I had s new to me Pre 64 model 12 Field DeLuxe loaded with 00 Hevi Shot . Gun threw a great pattern , anyway I jumped a Sika hind about ten yards in front of . Being more used to 1100/870 safety placement and Model 12 being in the opposite place that deer was 40+ from me before I fired the gun and to the best of my knowledge didn’t cut a hair .

[Daryl Corona]

We had a lease on Taylor's Island right off of Slaughter Creek in Dorchester Co. and shot some really nice Sika's which were really great eating. Every one I shot was with a .270 or .243. Biggest was a 6 pt. which dressed out at 110 lbs. Worst part was getting them out of that boot sucking marsh.

[CraigThompson]

We had a lease on Taylor's Island right off of Slaughter Creek in Dorchester Co. and shot some really nice Sika's which were really great eating. Every one I shot was with a .270 or .243. Biggest was a 6 pt. which dressed out at 110 lbs. Worst part was getting them out of that boot sucking marsh.

We had a lease on Hiproof road that is now part of the refuge . We also got a year or so had the Inseley tract on Beachground Road . I killed a 6 on Beechground in 1999 and a big 6 on the Blackwater in 2005 in 99 with s ML and in 05 with a 12 gauge bolt action rifled slug gun .

[Daryl Corona]

I know that area well.

[CraigThompson]

I know that area well.

Place we had on Hiproof was owned by the Newcomb family and originally leased by Tom Fleming then he sold out to the two guys I hunted with . Across the road Brad Dysinger of Maryland trap shooting fame had a lease or so I was told as it was a skoosh before I arrived on the scene . I killed a few deer the years I was with that group but a pickup truck would not carry all the good food and drinks consumed in camp and at the local resteraunts . Ate a bunch at Irish’s Resteraunt which no longer exists I believe .

[Tom Flanigan]

Guys, if I may, just a few comments on slugs and buckshot. Back in the day, I did a lot of patterning with buckshot loads and used them for swamp whitetails. What I found is that 00 buck did not pattern well at all out of my full choke barrel. My particular gun, a 28” DHE bored modified and full, handled 00 buck better with the modified choke barrel. Obviously, the full choke barrel in that gun was bored too tight for the 00 buck. Big shot needs less constriction than smaller shot to perform best. I never could get the patterns I wanted with 00 so I tested other size shot and settled on #1 buck. I got what I was looking for from both barrels with this size shot and took many whitetails with it, even though buck shot was illegal in New York. Back in those days, that restriction meant little to me. The swamp I hunted was very close cover and a 40 yard shot was the exception. I used a plastic sleeve to surround the shot and melted candle wax in the shot column. It worked well.

As far as slugs are concerned, different brands should be tested on paper to determine which is best. Each barrel is a world unto itself and generally will shoot a given brand of slug better than other brands.

[CraigThompson]

What I found is that 00 buck did not pattern well at all out of my full choke barrel. My particular gun, a 28” DHE bored modified and full, handled 00 buck better with the modified choke barrel. Obviously, the full choke barrel in that gun was bored too tight for the 00 buck. Big shot needs less constriction than smaller shot to perform best. I never could get the patterns I wanted with 00 so I tested other size shot and settled on #1 buck.

As far as slugs are concerned, different brands should be tested on paper to determine which is best. Each barrel is a world unto itself and generally will shoot a given brand of slug better than other brands.

What you say is generally the rule but not always . I keep Buck sizes 00000 , 0000 , 000 , 00 , 0 , 1 , 2 and 3 on my shelf at all times and I try them all in any gun I plan on using . Amazingly in the 10’s I’ve messed with were not as picky size wise as one would think . In my 12 Parker’s I pretty much use 0 all the time they shoot well enough and they nest very well inside a CB WAA12 wad . In the 16 I’ve used #1 mostly but have started using 0 as well . In the 20 I’ve obly tried 2 and 3 . To date I’ve used all the sizes mentioned in various 10 gauge SxS’s to take deer as well as the two 10 gauge slugs I have molds for .

[Tom Flanigan]

What you say is generally the rule but not always . I keep Buck sizes 00000 , 0000 , 000 , 00 , 0 , 1 , 2 and 3 on my shelf at all times and I try them all in any gun I plan on using . Amazingly in the 10’s I’ve messed with were not as picky size wise as one would think . In my 12 Parker’s I pretty much use 0 all the time they shoot well enough and they nest very well inside a CB WAA12 wad . In the 16 I’ve used #1 mostly but have started using 0 as well . In the 20 I’ve obly tried 2 and 3 . To date I’ve used all the sizes mentioned in various 10 gauge SxS’s to take deer as well as the two 10 gauge slugs I have molds for .

My testing was with the gun mentioned only. It was the only gun I used for deer for a few years. I didn't test buckshot with any other guns and so my comments were for this gun only. I don't know whether or not similar bored guns would produce similar results. Maybe not. The important thing, from my perspective, is that a gun should be shot at paper with different loads or brands of ammunition with slugs. It's the only way to tell for sure which is the optimum load for a particular gun. As I mentioned, each barrel is a world unto itself. What works fine in one barrel might not work that well in another barrel although similarly choked.


One interesting and surprising thing I found is that melted wax throughout the shot column provided better patterns, but if the shell was left for more than a week and then shot, the wax held all the shot together and only one ragged hole was found on the pattern paper. I used to load every week for the shells that I would use that week. I was very surprised at this finding but apparently the wax left for over a week or so hardens to the extent that it held the shot together.

[charlie cleveland]

6 pt what kind of slug mould do you have for the 10 ga....charlie

[CraigThompson]

6 pt what kind of slug mould do you have for the 10 ga....charlie

Have one that a friend in Ohio initially had Accurate Molds cut for a 12 gauge full bore rifled gun , the slug is .730” and weighs 730 grains with s hollow base . I fill the base with hot glue , cut the petals from the SP-10 wad , seat the wad , wrap the slug with .010” Mylar and it shoots pretty well out my 10 gauge gun . I also have a mold based on the Lyman Sabot Slug but for the 10 gauge and made in Russia . That mold drops at about 660 grains , I don’t remember the diameter but it fits nicely inside an SP-10 with the petals still attached .

[Mills Morrison]

Love the new cover photo with Craig's gun! That is a great one.

[CraigThompson]

This ones on the ATV now . A new addition as of last week . Grade 0 circa 1881 #2 frame 30” 10 gauge .

[Mills Morrison]

That is a nice one

[charlie cleveland]

a turkey and deer getter....charlie

[Mills Morrison]

Rolled the dice on another 10 gauge E grade. Seller was particularly clueless but noticed weight was over 11 pounds. Just got it and it is another 4 frame. Really dirty but all there.

Then my son made me a drink and brought it to me. Life is good

[CraigThompson]

Rolled the dice on another 10 gauge E grade. Seller was particularly clueless but noticed weight was over 11 pounds. Just got it and it is another 4 frame. Really dirty but all there.

Then my son made me a drink and brought it to me. Life is good

Of course pictures would be appreciated , top lever ?

[Mills Morrison]

It is pretty doggone ugly. Dark now and have just my cell phone. Will do better when I get a chance

32 inch barrels. All original parts there. 26,000 serial number range. Early top lever E grade

[CraigThompson]

After I return from the woods tommorrow I’m going to meet some fellows at the gun club and shoot skeet . I’m going to do one round with the new to me lifter first then a couple rounds with a new to me VH 16 .

[Mills Morrison]

A few more. Really like the woodcock

[Mills Morrison]

Well, if you can see it. Will get better photos when it is daylight and I have my real camera

[Mills Morrison]

Better picture of the woodcock

[Mills Morrison]

Great VH 16 Craig! I just got one of those too.

[Mills Morrison]

Is yours a 0 or 1 frame? Mine is a 1 frame. My gun shop has a 0 frame but he wants too much for it. May yet work a deal with him

[CraigThompson]

Is yours a 0 or 1 frame? Mine is a 1 frame. My gun shop has a 0 frame but he wants too much for it. May yet work a deal with him

The VH is a 1 and the stocks been refinished . I have a newer 16 GH with Damascus barrels we’ve owned for forty years but before we got it someone decided to remove an inch from the barrels , it’s a 1 frame as well :whistle:

[Mills Morrison]

My other 16 Parker is a GH cut from 30 to 28. Ironically, I figured if it was cut from 30 to 28, it would no longer be the original full and full. When I got the letter, it was originally 30 inches and cylinder cylinder. It is a great gun. I had the wood redone by Brian Dudley and the barrels redone by Dale Edmonds