12 or 14?
 

I have an old Parker hammer gun that I had a gunsmith look at for me. According to his caliper measurements, the breech of both barrels equates to 14 gauge, but the barrels are 12 gauge (.730). Just wondering if this would be classified a 12 gauge, 14 gauge, or something entirely different. Thanks!!

P,S. Many, many thanks to Mr. Romig who sent me an article regarding this situation, but which I didn't entirely understand! Guess I'm just not too gun savvy!

It could be chambered for the relatively rare 12B shell which is smaller in diameter than the 12A or the modern paper or plastic 12 ga. shells.

A 16 ga. shell will be loose in a 12B chamber as will a 14 ga. shell.


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A lot of early Parkers are overbored. Meaning the bore will measure larger than modern nominal diameters. So, your .730” may actually be an overbored 14g.

It's not going to change no matter how often this comes up. It is a 12b. It is not a 14:

http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthr...088#post133088

http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthr...t=25849&page=3

That’s right Jerry, that question was settled long ago by your measurements and Dr. Richard Hoover’s complete explanation of the chamber and bore measurements of early Under Lifter Parkers and the various shells that were intended to be used in them

Thanks Jerry for bringing it all to the surface for all of to learn from.

Dean





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old Parker you looked at for me
 

Thanks for your input and all your hard work checking out the gun. I am sorry if I upset you. I am not refuting what you have said about the gun--I am just trying to understand the early gunmaking and gauging processes and figure out how a gun with 14 gauge chambers is a 12 gauge. I guess I am just stupid when it comes to this sort of thing. Think I'll just stick with my L.C. Smiths.

P.S. What got me to thinking about this again is I took the gun down to Greentop's to sell and they labelled it a 14 gauge, but offered such a ridiculous price, I brought it back home.

Jack,
I do not believe you upset Jerry, and I can assure you that no one here thinks your questions are stupid. We all had to begin our learning curve somewhere. Enjoy your L. C. Smiths, but do not give up on Parkers just yet. Also, why not consider becoming a member of the PGCA so that, among the other benefits, you can begin receiving our quarterly publication " Parker Pages ".

Thank you for your kind words! I only have the one Parker, and since it is a non-shooter, am going to sell it as soon as I find the proper venue.

Jack,

Briefly, the bore size is 12 gauge.

The inside of the 12B shell also measures the same as the bore - .0729”+/-

The difference between the 12B shell and chamber size and the 12A shell and chamber size is that the 12A chamber was designed to accept the paper shells of the day which necessarily had thicker walls than the brass 12B shell. 12A shells were also made in brass for those who preferred brass but the 12A chambers would accept both paper and brass 12A shells.




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Richard Hoover did some Parker Pages articles on 11 gauges and mentioned how Parker played around with bore and chamber sizes. Complicated but interesting

The best are the 12 gauges with 11 gauge bores. They pattern so well