Short 10
 

Looked back in this thread and did not see if i replied, yes 1 short ten used for turkey, crows and clays. I do reload for it and the information Pete Lester has posted is what i use for 1 oz and 19 grains Red Dot for 1-1/8.

heminway

or Hemenway?

Hemenway was a trade name produced by JP Clabrough & Bros - my 10ga 32" Clabrough mid+ grade new model (low hammers) patterns at 91/92% with copper plated lead - the new model came out in 1883 - and the serial numbers were reset to 1- mine is #36

http://parkerguns.org/forums/picture...pictureid=7856

That's a beautiful gun. The ten's pattern 1 1/4 oz. of shot better than the twelve, obviously. My ten's don't pattern at 90+ percent but they do throw beautiful tight patterns with a 1 1/4 oz. load of fours. They also throw decent patterns with #2 shot. I don't load under 1 1/4 oz. simply since I only use the 10 for hunting. I wish I had a ten back in the days when I used buckshot for swamp whitetails. I could get decent patterns from my 12 bores by using #1 buck and melting wax around the pellets four to a layer. But the wax created an interesting situation. The shells were only good for about a week. After that, the wax would hold the shot together and the buckshot would shoot like a slug without the accuracy. I found that very strange. I wouldn't have believe it if I didn't experience it. Having seen that, I only loaded enough shells for a week of hunting. I would shoot the last weeks shells to make sure I didn't use the older shells by mistake.

really nice and a reallly low serial no what a great gun to have owned in 1883 and in present day and shooting above 90 percent patterns...charlie

I did have a Ithaca NID super 10 that shot 99% with 1 0z 7 1/2's, :shock:
scott

man could miss easy with a gun shooting 99 percent thats the kinda gun i need shooting them tight pattern..my lc smith long range will shoot 92-93 percent and i have a remington 1900 10 ga that shoots about 90 percent...long live the short ten.......charlie

We have/had over 100 of us owning and shooting a variety of vintage 10 gauge doubles, wow! Back in 2011 I would never have guessed it would be that many people. I suspect the combination of Sherman Bell's "Forgotten Ten" article and the availability of of 2 7/8" 10ga shells from RST really helped to bring the Short Ten back to life. They are great guns that come into their own when the birds are big or the range long. Thanks to those who have shared pictures of their 10's.

For me the turning point for using the 10 bore was the availability of cases and components from Ballistic Products. I was always fascinated by the 10 bore and wanted to hunt with one. With the availability of components from BP I could get my wish. I was a rabid fan long before Sherman Bell's article came out. My opinion is that if anyone is going to get serious about hunting with a 10 bore, they need to reload. You can load exactly what you want for a lot cheaper than manufactured shells.

some thanks also has to go to Pete for making the reloading data from a variety of sources so accessible

To me the 12 was always a big bore. Damn, now I'm really considering a 10 after I just bought a M12 HD. Does this madness ever end??

Don’t forget, at the 2019 Southern SxS there will be a 10 bore shoot just like the new 16 and 20 shoots. Ishot my NH at a Vintager shoot today. Did pretty well with it too. Reloading is the only way to go.

Sorry to tell you Daryl the madness never ends, it may go into remission for a periods of time but there is always one more gun out there somewhere you have yet to run across.

BTW having seen what you can do with your 32" Sterly 20ga and 3/4 ounce loads, if you should get a 10 bore the Fox Collectors will have to move the Bo-Whoop competition to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds :rotf:

I believe for some, the technical performance of the ten bore is just one of the reasons for its popularity. For me, the appreciation of the ten bore harkens back to the period in which the vintage guns were built. Before the turn of the century, the ten bore was very popular and in the 1870’s might have been the most popular gauge. When I was a boy growing up, my grandfather regaled me with stories of his old market gunner friend and his prowess on grouse. The man shot a hammer cylinder ten bore for the market. And so the 10 bore always held a fascination for me, from an early age. When components and hulls became readily availability, I jumped in.

I often load black powder for my goose and duck shooting and roll crimp the shells, color the top wad orange, like some of the old ten bore shells, and stamp the size of the shot. Although the cases are plastic, those shells are the closest I can come to the shells that were used before the turn of the century. I savor the boom and the smoke of the black powder and, in a small way, am transported back to the days of old. For me, it is a sublime experience taking game the way it was done long ago and with a fine Parker. I can easily imagine that my ride home will be in a horse drawn buggy. Using a vintage ten bore is one of the great pleasures of my life.

I have snagged 2 Parker 10 gauges this year and came close to 3. Lost count on how many I have

what tom said is my way of thinking too...shooting a parker 10 and loading my own shells most of the time and with a little imagination i too can change time back over a 100 years or more if need be....charlie

Short Ten
 

The challenge of finding a short ten, putting it right to shoot, finding hulls and reloading with a roll crimper has been enjoyable as well as challenging. It has been much easier with the expertise of members here. I was extremely lucky to land a grade 5 top lever 4 frame. I had passed on the short tens for many years because of different reasons including ammo, weight, and application. It is now my new Parker endeavor and I am looking for the next one. I only wish I would have started sooner.

You are very fortunate to have found a grade 5 on a 4 frame. That is the holy grail for a lot of us. I am working on a currently purchased 10 bore. It is a run of the mill gun, so to speak, on a 3 frame. It had virtually no remaining finish but it had no turned screws and no large dings in the stock. I am currently finishing the stock and will do the twist barrels next.

Short tens are out there and with a little patience, one will eventually turn up that hasn't been abused or molested. I watch the market closely and will grab any unmolested 10 bore I see, regardless of the grade.

I probably missed it somewhere in the thread or site. Where can one find Sherman Bell's article on the Short Ten? I have really enjoyed using my EH on geese over the past several seasons. I'm reluctantly considering going down the reloading path.

Tom is right. A grade 5 on a 4-frame would be quite a find. I was lucky enough to find a grade 3 on a 4-frame. Personally, I think tens are undervalued. There some good ones out there.

Can anyone recommend a gunsmith near Idaho to check out a 1884 grade 2 10 bore?
The action is tight but there is pitting of course.

I've got a pretty nice lifter that's a short ten upland gun. It's a great pleasure on preserve pheasants.

Pete' original post on this topic was back in 2011, 7 years ago. In 2011 I had two LC Smith 10's. I have been busy----today I own 4 LC Smith 10's, 1 Ithaca NID Grade 3E, and 5 Parker 10's. A NH 6 frame, a D TL Hammer 6 frame 36", DH 30" fishtail, CH 30 Bernard, AH 32" Damascus. I find them big fun to smoke clays and topple ducks.

a fella has to love these big guns....charlie

Surprising to me, this is the most "viewed" thread/topic of discussion in this forum and the second most viewed thread is long way behind it, 59,267 views vs. 47,568 views. Go figure.

If you want to see a great one, look up The Double Gun Journal Vol. 13, Issue 2, p. 43.

I added another one last week - a 1926 field grade Ithaca (or ithica to the hooked on phonics fans) super 10.

I've tried to find an honest one for a while, so the fourth time's the charm :rolleyes: I finally found one with full chokes and unmolested chambers. Metal is honestly worn, but it does need wood work. The top of the stock head needed repair on both sides and the comb at some point was sanded down so someone could use their left eye, once again a story lost to time, war injury? simple accident?

I'll fill that gap and use it as a pattern to build a new stock, but will shoot it ugly this season :rotf:

http://parkerguns.org/forums/picture...ictureid=11200

http://parkerguns.org/forums/picture...ictureid=11202

http://parkerguns.org/forums/picture...ictureid=11199

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Very nice Rick!

Thanks for the pictures of your new Ithaca (er, Ithica). They are "far reachin'" guns for sure. A couple of years back I managed a fall turkey -- on the wing -- at 80 steps. I may have frightened the bird to death, but it sure was an experience to take that bird. Unfortunately, I can't hit waterfowl with mine (or, I'm not as lucky as on that one shot at a turkey). I shoot the back trigger on turkeys to save my middle finger from getting pounded by the recoil.

I'm sure you'll get a kick out of shooting yours (sorry!)...and a longer arm from carrying it.

I Do--underlifter

nice 10 ga s they are my favorite guns...i have a few short tens a parker hammerless p grade 10 2 early lifter 10 s a lefever e grade 10 hammerless a calybourne hammer 10 a d h grade parker 10 a ithaca mag ten....the pictures of the shells with the 10 ga was a neat picture i see some of them were ajax heavies what was the dark blue or black shell....charlie

I have always thought of the short 10 as an elegant "full size" shotgun. I don't currently have one, but have been been accused of cavorting with those who have.
Anyone remember John Shannefelt from the Sacramento area?

The red hulls are Climax heavies - the black ones say Climax on the brass and DuPont on the over shot card

The calls are an F Allen, a Ditto and an unmarked tongue pincher

Whaa...?






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Here is a plebe question. I recently acquired a 3 frame TA Damascus 10, in the 58,000 range with heavy barrels. Is it a given that it is a short 10? Or were there 10’s of that era meant to shoot the big stuff?

It should be a short ten. There were longer chambers on a few. But the extra length was for wads to improve the pattern. Not to shoot Roman candles in them

That's duck hunters for ya

Take a steel machinist's rule and measure the chambers. There's a very good possibility, probability yet, that the chambers have the rim at the front of the chamber rather than a forcing cone.






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Gotcha..and am expecting short chambers........just kind of wondering when the big stuff started showing up...

but still- even if the chambers are longer - the pressures it was designed for were not higher.

the modern 3 1/2 was introduced about 1932

Parker Short ten A very nice weapon, With the season just recently started over here, been out a couple of times, still yet to be used to date.