Destry, thank you, that answers the question. I will cut em to 2 1/2 and not be confuzzzed.

I went into my bunker and found a lot of short 10 ga Brass shells that I had set aside.
I find that most are 2 1/2 and some Marked 10A are even 2 3/8. So, evidently there were a lot of short 10 gauge ammo used early.

That must be why the 2 7/8" is called the Super 10

That gun was likely chambered for and supplied with brass shells of the correct length. Those short 10's are probably just the ticket for that Parker.

I am loading some of them tonight! 3 1/2dr, FF and 1 1/4 # 5's

Leighton, How do you know that the barrels were cut? I have a 10 ga lifter from 1875 which has 28 3/16" barrels which were not cut. Sr # 6461. Apparently the early guns did not necessarly have inch even lengths, and short barreled 10 ga guns were popular. My gun has 2 5/8" chambers and I had Rocky Mountain Brass make me a couple of boxes of brass shells. They fit beautifully. They will make the shells to fit, so measure everything, give them a call. Looks like a nice gun!!! There are a few collectors including Austin, who have guns close to yours in serial numbers. David

I just assumed they were cut. The book has even bbl lengths but the barrels touch well at the end. I have plenty of short brass cases and loaded some this morning

Brass Shot Shells
 

According to the 1885 Winchester catalog, No 10 shells less than 2 5/8 length were available at customer specified length, in case lots, at no extra charge.
One ounce of shot in a ten was an upland load in that time; the short shells may have been for that purpose. The "standard" 2 5/8 inch No10 case would just hold 1 1/4 ounce with a thin wad; black and bulk smokeless required a lot of case volume.

Best, Austin

I found another box of 2 5/8 unfired emptys as pictured below. The primer pocket is so large that a regular 209will not stay in. The headstamp is TEI.It must be some type of European with a large primer that I am not famialiar with?Any ideas what primer this is?
[IMG]http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medium/DSC_00062.JPG[/IMG]

Leighton, The Parker Pages; Winter 2007, Volume 14-issue 4 has several articles which bear on your gun. Austin Hogan's "My Favorite Parker" is about his appreciation of the 3000 serial numbered Parkers and is well worth reading. I was a Forum member who became a regular member because I was missing out on the Parker Pages and official events. I don't know anything about TEI shells but someone here may. David