:rotf:


that is what you get in your barrel when you trip over a submerged tree root on your way to the blind in the dark.

:bigbye:


simply put, a swamped barrel has a curved taper to the outside profile rather than the typical straight taper

in a shotgun, it allows a heavier breech while removing swing weight farther down the barrel

I took a #2 frame gun and a #3 frame gun apart today and found 4-8 and 4-12, not much difference for two 32" 12 gauges. Some are heavy and some are not.

We have seen numerous orders for "heavy" 12's and we have seen numerous orders for "light" 12's. In many cases these guns were built to the preference of buyer - hence a 3 frame 12 or even a 4 frame. Conversely, a 1 frame 12 would fill the bill for a light 12.

Alfred - usage of the term "swamped" originated with the Kentucky rifle. As has been said here by Mr. Osthaus, it refers to a heavy breeched barrel that tapers along its length. This enabled the early barrel makers who hammered out long barrels on a mandrel using wrought iron to balance the gun and maintain the strength of a thick breech. Look down the barrel of your Parker and you will see a degree of flare from the breech to the muzzles. The men who did this by hand with files were true artisans.

diverging from the 2 frame conversion for a moment

they did it with a special swage block on an anvil and a lot of file work by the over worked apprentice

seeing a barrel made the original way from a flat wrought iron skelp forge welded around a mandrel will increase your admiration

it is a little hard to see- but if you visualize a line from breech to muzzle - you will see a smaller waist mid way between the sights

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...arvingside.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...ewpatchbox.jpg

it is a little exaggerated in the drawings
http://buckeyebarrels.com/bspecs/lancaster.htm

With their great number of frame sizes, the Brothers P. did a lot of weird and wonderful stuff with weight and balance. Even though we normally think of 1/2 frame 12-gauges as light bird guns, we know of at least one fully loaded eight pound gun on the 1/2 frame.

I was surprised to see in the Parker Story that 3 frames were only listed as available in 10 gauge.

i expect we will never stop seeing something new or different that came out of that shop showing up now and then.

as has been said many times about Parkers- never say never

There have been threads on this forum that discuss and list the frame sizes and gauges that were not included in The Parker Story chart. Some years ago, there was an auction in California, at Littlejohn's if I remember correctly, where all sorts of smallbore guns on big frames were sold. I believe Kevin McCormack bought one of his big twenties from that auction or came upon it second hand. Some of the guns offered were on big frames, but the weights were off the scale, even for the size frame of the gun. Examples of located guns with frame sizes/gauges not mentioned in The Parker Story include these. 3 frame 16. 3 frame 20. 000 frame 28. 6 frame 10. 6 frame 12. 2 frame 20. 2 frame 16. 0 frame .410. Remember, The Parker Story was released many years ago and new Parkers surface every year.

and that is part of the fun- like i quoted above - never say never

Thanks for the information on the swamped barrels, that is pretty incredible what they did in the early days. Today, I saw an L.C. Smith 10 ga. hammer gun with I believe 32 inch barrels. It had a home made forend but locked up tight and looked decent with light pitting. It just came into a local gunshop with several other guns from a collection. They are pricing them now. Would this be something our members might be interested in?