Briley 28 ga tubes in a 16: Attn Mills

[Harold Lee Pickens]

After reading the Parker Pages tonight, I was intrigued with Mills use of 28 ga Briley tubes in a 16, he mentioned short tubes in his O frame 16--barrels must be rough! I shoot only 3/4 oz loads thru this unique( at least I think it is) PH 16 on an O frame, with rough bores. We measured it at Brett Hoops one day, and was not scary, but I dont shoot anything other than 3/4 oz thru it.
Mills , did you have to send the gun off and have those fitted--or will they just drop in most guns?
Great PP article on your hunt with Steve Parker and Harry, and of course Sherwood. Met Steve last June at the Parker banquet, and he is a truly nice guy.

[Harold Lee Pickens]

PH 16

[Bill Murphy]

Harold, I have Parkers with Briley tubes and am contemplating having another done. I recommend full length fitted tubes rather than short tubes or "one fits all" Companion tubes. Clean up your pitted barrels the best you can before sending your barrels to Briley. Make sure all rusting has been stopped and keep all pitting well oiled, forever. PM me if you have any more questions.

[Bill Davis]

To my knowledge, there are no 16 gauge Companion type tubes. Anyway, as Bill says, get them fitted for your particular gun and you’ll be a happy camper! 16 gauge to 28 gauge is a perfect conversion on an O frame gun!

[Bill Murphy]

I have a GH 20 Damascus that I had tubed to .410 years ago. I have a PH 16 with badly pitted bores that I plan to have tubed to 28 gauge. I also have a Prussian Lindner 16 hammer gun that has barrels that are perforated from one barrel to the other. This gun is worth sleeving but no one is claiming to do this at this time. So, some time in the future, this one will also have Briley 28 gauge tubes installed. These things are not $300 any more, more like $700 plus.

[Kevin McCormack]

I have a nearly identical gun/gauge/full-length tube inserts as Bill and Mills described above and in Mill's article. It is an 1897 Damascus AH Grade 16 gauge 0-frame 26" gun. When I bought the gun years ago it was not quite a train wreck yet but had been horribly abused. The barrels had been blued over the Damascus pattern, a terrible VH stock fit to it that the owner had "customized" by drilling an extra hole in the trigger guard, and the words "Invincible Grade" stamped in the left barrel about 3 inches forward of the breech). The VH stock had a truly garish diamond-shaped plate in both cheeks of the stock to hide the through bolt repair, and this was white plastic "aged" to look like ivory. I soon dubbed the gun a "Pimp Grade" and it became somewhat well known in the PGCA community.

By the time I got the gun, the Damascus barrels were so corroded and pitted (.014"RB, .018"LB) they were unsafe to shoot anything out of, so I sent it off to Briley and had ultralight full-length 28 gauge tubes with screw chokes installed. They were billed as a "special" deal at $380 complete, fully removable. (I paid extra for the ultralight tubes and would not do so again; the gun today weighs 6 lbs. 6 oz. and handles as fast as I can move it).

I bought the gun because of its extreme rarity; only 2 Parkers of this exact configuration are known in the records. It was originally ordered by a well-heeled attorney in Norfolk VA to be used in the wonderful turn-of-the-century quail hunting in the VA tidewater of that era. The PGCA letter states that it was returned to Parker Bros. three different times; for restocking, once for a straight grip in place of its original PG, then a second time for a change back to a PG, and a third time for an "extra small" 1/2 PG. All three orders specifying 1/4" cast off. This man obviously knew what he wanted!

The third time the gun went back to Parker, the order stated to restock for yet a third time with an "extra small half pistol grip", and "fit an extra set of Titanic Steel barrels, 5lbs. 14 oz. choked cylinder and close." I have been looking for these barrels for years to no avail and would pay serious money to reunite them with this gun.

Interestingly enough, the original LOP for this gun was 14 1/4"; subsequent orders specified a 13 1/2" LOP. (Perhaps the original length hampered fast handling in the clover and peanut fields!).

After years of procrastinating, in 2019 if finally decided to have the gun totally restored to its original configuration, the dimensions of which fit me well. I can readily recommend full-length sub-gauge tubing allowing us to shoot these old gems again; I consider it rescuing history.

[keavin nelson]

This past winter I had my PH 0 frame 26" 16ga tubed to 28ga by Briley, with screw in chokes. I love it! I shot the gun with 2 1/2" shells for years on grouse, but the 28 brings a new dimension to it, and it handles well.

[Arthur Shaffer]

I own two sets of tubes; an older set of unmarked 28 gauge tubes that came in a 16 ga DH that I purchased and has a separate extractor which must be installed with the tubes. They will only fit this gun, having been tried in several barrels. I also have a pair of like new 28 ga Briley's that came with a nice high quality English boxblock with Damascus barrels. They must have been installed due to the Dasmacus barrels but there was absolutely nothing wrong with the barrels (they were perfect). These (for a12 ga) don't want to fit anything else either. These guns are both 2-1/2" chambers. I suspect that Briley's off the shelf will not fit any short chamber gun. This is the same thing that limits the usefulness of chamber inserts.

[Bill Murphy]

Brileys will fit any short chambered gun if they are fitted for "that" gun. Just ask that they not lengthen the chambers in the gun to be tubed.

[Arthur Shaffer]

I guess I was trying to back into the fact that the ready made companion tubes or any standard tubes or chamber inserts were a no go for short chamber guns. That makes them a costly solution for most older guns.

[Ed Blake]

This is a question for Briley, but will they tube a 20 to a 28?

[Mills Morrison]

One of the chambers was bulged and deemed beyond repair by several experts, including John Hosford, Dave Fjelline and Briley. It is a great shooting gun with the 28 gauge short tubes.

[Mills Morrison]

Important to note: Briley has to ream out the barrels some to fit the tubes, so I would only do this to barrels which are beyond repair in their current condition

[keavin nelson]

Briley can tube a 20ga down to 28ga. I tried to have it done, but unfortunately the bulge in the barrel could not be reduced, and so they would not tube the barrels.
The remove any dents, and bore roughness so that the tubes don't become "stuck" in the barrels. They also lengthened the chambers to 2 3/4" in the 16ga I had done.

[Bill Murphy]

Ed, they will tube a 20 to 28, but the chambers and extractors are a bit fragile and need extra care when using them. Also, heavy loads are discouraged. I have always chosen to tube 20s to .410d, leaving my 28 gauge tubing to the 16 gauge. However, I don't see any mention of fragile 28 gauge tubes on their website. Call and ask.

[Ed Blake]

Thanks Bill.