Parker Reproduction chokes revisited
 

:dh:


Had a close look at the choke area on a few barrel sets.

It appears to me the chrome plating is inclusive of the choke(s).

On a shooter, I believe I fall on the side of cutting for desirable choke & practical use preceded by a good bit of shooting w/the original configuration to assure necessity.

That said, it would be wise to approach the modification(s) with caution and perform the alteration incrementally along with the aid of a patterning board.

Collector pcs should be left as is :nono:

Far easier to remove metal than to put it back

:corn:

My original Damascus Parker 20 has IC and M and that has worked well for many years.
My repro 20 and 12 came with improved cylinder and modified and that has worked well also. For bird hunting, there has never been a reason to mess with the factory choke.

Thank you Charles.

I too find that choke combo just fine for most all of my shooting with exception of dog training (liberated Quail) & WoodCock when they bless us with their presence. I often opt for spreader loads for these occasions but have a set of 20ga barrels choked IC/Mod that I am strongly considering opening up.

Considering cost (spreaders vs 20ga shells)..I gravitate toward pigeons more often than I would otherwise while working the dog. I'd like to begin using Quail more frequently again.

Shifting gears, have you a set of Repro barrels w/Full chokes? How do they fare for you?

MD*GSP
No, I do not a have a barrel set with a full choke, nor have I ever used a full choked 20 gauge Parker.
The other family 20 gauge doubles are also IC/M (Weatherby O/U and SKB SxS).
This choke combo must work for most small game hunting or it would not be so common from gun makers.
My personal experience is that the modified choke will kill birds as far out as I can reliably hit them. For instance, when a flushed quail has escaped and settled in to sail to safety, they are very easy to hit and kill with the modified barrel.
For special applications such as shooting competition skeet or Woodcock, there must be
benefit to more open chokes (Q1/Q2) or people would not have them.

Always remember modern ammo is made to shoot tighter groups than ammo from days gone by. So less choke is O.K. and still shoots hard!!

I agree with Kenny and he is my Repro expert/consultant.

Educate the group on modern shells..although I've been slinging lead with reckless abandon since the teen yrs..there might have been focus upon other "things" :whistle:

I am aware that steel & other nontox alternatives tend to cloud tightly but I am post paper shells & do not differentiate from plastic wads/hulls from years past going back to say, the mid 80's.

I understand from study (reading), but that means squat!

Kenny..a review of previous threads shows that you have done some patterning but I don't see much follow up

Problem is, 28" barrels on a 20ga. Repro. seems to be a hard combo to find, choked M/IC.

That is true..most often one must acquire a 2-barrel set to get a 28" barrel however single barrel guns do show up from time to time.

No matter the configuration, these guns represent a tremendous value not likely to be duplicated ever again..jmho.

I'll take a crack at explaining modern shells!

I believe the rule of thumb for steel shot it that a gun will shoot one choke denomination tighter with steel than lead. For example a Mod barrel will pattern about full with steel. Steel is harder so the shot doesn't deform much or at all on its way down the barrel, nice round shot doesn't stray as much...tighter pattern.

Modern lead alloys are harder, better production makes shot rounder, plastic wads keep the shot from getting mauled up on its way down the barrel. Like steel shot, the shot doesn't deform as much and the result is a slightly tighter pattern. Eigh?