Stan

More people should test more loads that differ by ballistics. I think a lot of people generally have a ballistic load they like and if they try varying loads to move the patterns they choose different brands of the same general load. There is no reason to believe the dynamics of a double shotgun are different than a double rifle. When trying to regulate a double rifle, the general method is to vary velocity and bullet weight slowly to do away with crossing point of impact. A load of shot is basically a bullet until it leaves the barrel, and will impart a varying recoil effect on the right vs left barrel depending on the recoil level of the shot. There is an effect also on vertical placement, but it is the same for both barrels and it seems, at least to me, that it is not as pronounced as the horizontal effect. That is due I think to the gun having more resistance to movement vertically due to the nature of how it is held.

Randy my 34" VH has chokes of .030 & .036 with a stock that measures 14 15/16 - 1 9/16 - 1 3/4. Which would normally be too high for me as I see a lot of rib, but like yours it shoots dead on with 50/50 patterns. Mine has no safety

This is a quandary for me. I would give a "purty" if I could shoot both Randy's and James' guns to see if they shoot flat for me, too. Until now no gun with less than 2 3/8" DAH has ever shot flat for me.

Maybe I need to reread my copy of The Stockfitter's Bible by Rollin Oswald to see if I can figure out what's going on here.

Nowadays I rarely do paper or plate patterning except to determine efficiency (percentage 30"/40-50-60 yards) when testing loads in special long range shotguns. I shoot a variety of guns regularly and with a new one I'll shoot a shot or two at a floating leaf or such in the water at about 30 yards and while on a platform or hill etc. I see the pattern in the water and can determine the approximate degree of choke and point of impact; rarely do I see much of a horizontal deviation. As the saying goes, "close enough for government work"; you can go nuts trying to be too precise given the poi variation with different loads and even a new lot of the same loading. That's something I learned from the late Kenny Eyster the noted barrelsmith from many days in his shop while tuning competition shotguns. I keep track of the vertical "water" height in a notebook and refer to it when using that shotgun on future outings. Subconscious does the rest.

To further add to the quandary Stan I shot a round of skeet and wobble trap last evening and this gun was spot on. One could opine or argue that the critical measurement in terms of drop is the DAC right below your eye or about 2" from the nose of the stock which I have not measured on this gun and compared with others. It may be quite similar thus negating some of the high dimensions in the DAH? Possibly? Of course that does not explain why I can see more of the rib on this one vs other guns and still shoot spot on, back to the quandary I suppose.

That’s a handsome gun Randy. Congratulations

Thanks Ed, it's growing on me. Might be a good idea to keep a couple of spreaders handy for those pesky 15 yard bunnies with this one.

Randy, could the reason they shoot flat be the 34" barrels? Do you have other Parker guns with 34" barrels? If so how do they shoot

Randy: does the letter document the original purchaser? If so I could check the Sporting Life archives and see if he was a "Top Gun". Also let me know the DOM so I know where to look.

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