Parker VH 1904
 

I am in the process of acquiring one that has alot of case coloring and wood and metal looks fine, 80% original bluing. It still has 2.5 chambers. My question is does it hurt the value to go to 2.75, or should I find a source of 2.5 shells. Where can I find them?

You should shoot reasonable shells in your short chambers like we have done for decades and continue to do today. If you have a composite barrel gun, you should select your loads just a bit more carefully than if your barrels were made of fluid steel. The VH is normally made with fluid steel barrels and is a very strong gun, suitable for modern ammunition of reasonable pressure and velocity.

Hi Ron, I have been purchasing shells from RST.com. They offer a big selection of shotshells in many different gauges that are perfect for the older guns with short chambers. My personal belief is it does diminish the value of a fine shotgun by lengthening the chambers. Others may disagree. I have also fired 2 3/4 inch plastic shells of low velocity in 2 9/16th inch chambers of a 16 gauge with absolutely no problems at all. Again, others may disagree. Good luck and good shooting with the new VH. We would all appreciate some photos of a fine gun. Dennis

I will post some as soon as it get my hands on it. Thanks for the info

Pics of 1904 VH
 

Attachment 13886

Attachment 13887

I cannot wait to get it these are the pics I was sent. I have always wanted a good one. Wood and checkering is excellent, it has a recoil pad.

Good find. Doesn't appear to have spent as much time in a duck boat as my Father's 1902 vintage 2-frame VH-Grade 12-gauge. Dad's gun is on its second stock and third barrel blue!! 2 1/2 inch chambers would be unusual for a 2-frame 12-gauge Parker Bros. gun. Most had 2 5/8 inch chambers, intended for 2 3/4 inch shells.

FYI

Ron that looks like a real "sweetie"! With Bruce's photo I think you can see what you can do without special shells or reloading equipment. My only suggestion would be to stay away from the Wally World and similar cheapie loads as they are designed to function in anything. Many times the pressures are kept high to achieve this. I would stay with target or field loads of 1 1/8 ounce or less and pressures around 9,000/9,500 psi. Some ammo companys will give you the pressures of their shells. The big concern is more for the wood in the stock where it joins the metal frame. Remember it is very old and possibly oil soaked enough to make it soft. Putting heavyloads and recoil through the gun can cause the stock to split. I would not alter the chambers as this isn't really necessary and there may not be enough metal in the barrels to do this and keep them safe to shoot. A really good "smith" can measure the wall thickness and make that determination. Remember, the shells we now have are so much better than the ones used when your gun was new it shouldn't require using more than a field load to duplicate what was a "heavy" load in those days. Lee.:)

I really appreciate the info, the fellow I getting it from says the wood grain is far nicer than most VH grades he has seen, so I guess it could have been restocked, but will let you know. What is correct method to measure the chamber?

Ron: There are some chamber length gages available from Galazan that work well and are inexpensive. They are like a jacknife and will measure several gages and chamber lengths by just opening them up to the right gage and poke them into the chamber till they stop and reading the measurement. Lacking this, if you have a small machinist scale or ruler that will go into the chamber you can set a light to shine into the muzzle end of the barrels and push the scale in until you see it touch the end of the chamber where the forcing cones start. This will be the first "ring" you see down in the chamber looking from the breech end. Just hold it there and see what the scale reads when it's square to the breech. Sometimes with a machinist scale that is thin you can slide it down the chamber wall and actually "feel" it stop or raise up at the end of the chamber. I would almost assume you are looking at 2 5/8" with that vintage gun, and the scale method should be accurate enough to verify it. Regards! Lee.:bigbye: