I have racked my brain for an answer to why those bbls would be choked the same. IMO, a 2 bbl'd set should be same length, with different choke combinations, or in the case of a grouse hunter, open chokes on the short set.
If guns could talk. . .

Phil: I believe quite often Parkers were shipped with full chokes, especially to dealers like A&F, VL&D, VL&A, and others, whereby the ultimate purchaser could have the chokes opened to his/her need. If you could have been a "fly on the wall" in the Parker barrel room you could, probably, have heard the term "choked down like a rifle." The 2-1/2 inch chambers could, perhaps, denote that the gun was destined to be shipped across the pond.

Best Regards, George

An original two-barrel set is such a 'rare bird' (only approx. 1,000 ever ordered that way) that I would find it extremely hard to believe that even one of the major dealers of that time would have ordered such a gun for the rack. But a letter might have proved otherwise.... :(

Here are pictures of the barrel marks for 1 and 2

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...H/DSC_0013.jpg
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...H/DSC_0012.jpg

Two Barrel Set Roulette
 

When I was a kid we had board games where there was an arrow on a card; you spun the arrow and played the answer that the arrow pointed to. I think the same may apply here. Some of these answers assume that the chamber is really, and intentionally 2 1/2 inches, and not a .001 undersizechamber that stops the blade at 2 1/2.

1) The owner shot imported or handloaded short, light loads. A full choke barrel would yield the same pattern with 1 ounce as a 1 1/8 ounce modified, or with 7/8 ounce as a 1 1/8 ounce IC.

2) F & F was the "default" Parker choke prior to WWI. The first owner was happy with his or his friends earlier Parker and ordered his to match.

3) The customer couldn't decide how to choke his gun but realized he had to order now or miss bird season. He ordered F & F so that he could have any choke he wanted after trying the gun.

4) The initial customer ordered a 26 inch ( 30 inch) F & F, from a small shop. The initial customer became a no show. The dealer returned the gun and had the second F&F barrel fitted, so he had the flexibility to please a rare customer for a relatively expensive gun.
This answer should begin a twenty year argument among the real purists; is it still a real two barrel set if the second barrel was fitted before it was sold?

Back to being a kid; I helped out in a local tool and sporting goods store to buy my target ammo. The owner told me he always stocked a few short open choked guns , but that the longest barrels with tightest chokes always sold first.

I think it is necessary to measure that chamber with other than a blade to verify the length before spinning the needle. I have measured several guns that stop a blade gauge but have much longer chambers.

Best, Austin

I spun the needle again and came up with a few new things for me to think about. I had prviously only measured the 26" barrel chambers. Thought they would all be the same. I am using Brownell Chamber gauges which seem to produce very accurate measurements for me in the past. From the pictures you will see the 26" are truley 2 1/2 inch chambers. The 30" barrels on the other hand are 2 5/8 inch. Also just for info the 30" are the barrels marked 1 and the 26" are marked 2. The 26 inch barrels appear to have been shot the most.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...H/DSCN0019.jpg
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...H/DSCN0020.jpg

Phil, Great gun! That is a gun anyone would be proud to own.