Briley will put 28 ga inserts in a 16 ga, dont know the price. Start scanning Ebay, and all the gun sales sites like Gunbroker, Guns International, etc. Got to believe somebody has a set somewhere. Dont think I'd put 4-5 grand in it.

How does one tell if barrels have been hot blued? Is it visibly something buyers can watch out for? Thx

For the most part it is very easy to spot.

Thank you everyone! I’ve been looking around at barrels I can find and complete guns and at this point I’m leaning towards throwing in the towel on this gun. Seems like any barrel worth buying is $2000 or more and any parts guns describe their barrels as a sewage pipe. For now I think I’ll just put her in the back of the safe and keep my eyes open. Maybe I’ll send the barrels off to Briley and see what they say, they still lock up tight and fit the gun, another 28 gauge could be fun.

As for hot blueing causing the blow out, its totally possible. I’m not a gunsmith but I do know they were re blued. That said the bluing does look more like the original bluing on my Fox Sterlingworth which leads me to believe they were rust blued, but I could be wrong. Either way they are no longer safe to shoot in their current configuration. I’m just happy I didn’t get hurt or somebody next to me didn’t take shrapnel from an exploding barrel. Either way this gun gave me the bug and I’m on the hunt for my next Parker, it will be in better shape than this one.

I know a lot of guys hate to hear this, but part it out and put it behind you. That’s my 2 cents. Use the money towards a good solid shooter. You will be shooting right away and in the long run save a lot of money and aggravation.
You will also make a number of guys looking to get their guns up and going happy.

Talked with my gunsmith again about the gun today, I’ll start with he DID NOT do the work. The barrel was rust blued and not hot blued, he said the temp would have melted the the solder and the barrel would have fallen apart. Also it has new solder at the end indicating they did drill it out so it could dry out and not trap moisture. He spoke with a few other gunsmiths he knows it they all seem to think this was just bad luck and there must be some flaw in the metal. He doesn’t think it was an over pressure shell either as the blow out is further down the barrel not after of the chamber where pressure is highest.

I do agree that the cost will probably keep me from replacing the barrel. As of now I’m going to sit on it and see what I can find, doesn’t hurt anything to have it in the back of my safe till I figure this one out.

I would love to take the top rib off and have a look at whats there

Yeah, I agree. That barrel set needs to come apart and see what the inside looks like. It wouldn’t take more than 10 mins of time with a propane torch.

Depending on what I decide this may happen. I’m still in the fence about sending it to Briley for sub gauge tubes and turning it into a 28 gauge. I kinda feel like I might enjoy it as a 28 gauge more than the money I can get out of it. Also even after all this, the barrels still ring like a bell.

Tomorrow I’ll take it out of the safe and try to get some pictures

Here are some pictures of my VH 16 gauge...I measure and the blowout is about 13.5 inches from the chamber