2 Barrel Sets
 

Lots of people like 2 barrel sets so I thought I'd post a couple of pictures of some. The hammer gun is a 10 gauge, the DH is a 10 gauge/12 gauge, and the GH is 12 gauge. The GH was originally ordered as a 2 barrel set, the other 2 were both sent back to the factory to have a second barrel fitted. The DH only has 1 forend but it fits the 12 gauge and 10 gauge barrels. Hopefully others will post their sets for all to enjoy. Thanks and Happy New Year to all.

I will post 3 sets of pics.

The DH 10/12 Gauge set
 

This gun started life as a 10 gauge and the 12 gauge set of barrels were added at a later date.

Nice ones Todd! I like that early DH in particular

GH 2 Barrels Set
 

The GH started life as a 2 barrel set, one short barrel with open chokes that is heavily used and one longer barrel with tight chokes that was not used much.

1891 CH 10/12 Factory Set
 

Great thread, Todd. Maybe we can get back to appreciating Parkers with this subject.

Here is an 1891 CH, one of the early hammerless C grades, on a #2 frame with 30" heavy Bernard 12ga barrels and 26" Damascus 10ga barrels. The 26 inchers are factory cylinder bored. With the Bernard 12's , the total gun weight is about 8 1/2 lbs, with the Damascus 10's, about 7 3/4.

The gun was proofed in 1891 with Wood's smokeless powder and intended by Parker to be used with smokeless powder. This gun was used in Portsmouth NH for most of its life, then acquired in poor condition by Austin Hogan. This was a project gun for Austin, who after substantial work on it, gifted the gun to me, and I put more time and money into it to get it to its present condition. Both barrels were loose against the frame standing breech face , and Larry Del Grego repaired the wear.

Its not perfect but really a nice gun, and I have shot waterfowl and pheasant with it. I am grateful to Austin to be its present caretaker.

I've posted this gun many times before, so hopefully it won't be too boring to the regulars. Very early heavy, bit over nine pounds, 2-frame GH-Grade, Damascus barrel, 12-gauge. Was back to Meriden between 1918 and about 1926 for a set of 32-inch Vulcan Steel 20-gauge barrels and the post 1910 bolt and bolt-plates. As originally acquired --

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...er/Big2001.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...Big20045x7.jpg

Restocked and barrels refinished --

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...pscaad5fec.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...ps20acc38a.jpg

Don't worry, we won't ever get tired of seeing that gun. Beautiful photos! Mine is not nearly as nice as others posted here, but here it is. It is a great gun to shoot

I am envious. I don't own a two barrel set.

The two barrel set is a curious thing to me, while I understand the thought behind them haveing two sets of barrels of different lengths and chokes allegedly makes the gun more usefull but how often does the second set get used?

I currently have four two barrel sets. The Hollywood gun a 16ga left the factory with two sets of vent rib barrels both 28 inches one set skt/skt the other M/F, A CHE 16 with two sets of Bernard ejector barresl the second set being in 12ga, An AAHE 28, Parker barrels IC/M the second set came from Purdy M/F and a GH with 28 and 32 inch damascuss barrels. I have had others sets that have found different homes.

The M/F set of barrels haven't been on the Hollywood gun 5 times in the 8 years I've had it, the 12ga barrels on the CHE have never been used since I've owned the gun, the Purdy barrles on the 28 have been used twice and the 32 inch damascuss bbls on the GH 16 are at Dale Edmonds so the jury is out on them. Maybe it's just me (it wouldn't be the first time:) ) but I just don't get the added value of a second set of barrels.

Which just begs the question... If you "just don't get the value of a second set of barrels" why then, do you own four of them??


It seems to me that anyone who ordered a gun with two sets of barrels, or sent their gun back for another set with different chokes or even gauges, shot a lot more and more often than we do today and likely at a lot more diverse kinds of game bird. Hence, the flexibility of two sets of barrels made a lot more sense to the man ordering them.

Rich -

just guessing- but i always thought it was a thinking process of the time.

Many would have one good gun -

a traveling hunter could handle one gun case with two barrel sets easier than two cases, and he was less likely to have different guns for different game anyway.

so, off to the prairie by train, going to hunt sage grouse and ducks - or ducks and woodcock in the Maritimes of Canada - the set may make sense.

we - now days - are more likely to have a dedicated gun (or 2 or 12) for what ever species we hunt, and an extra case in the truck is no big deal.

no proof of it at all- just a thought

I need about 3 of the guns I own: a rifle, a double for ducks and turkeys and a double for upland game. The rest fall into the "don't need, but couldn't possibly live without" category.

Mills I could narrow things down quite a bit myself. Somebody asks "how many guns do you have?" The response is "More than I need but not as many as I want":rotf:

Not counting a .22 LR I could get away with one deer rifle (just hard to choose which one), The Hollywood gun, Gunners Gun and the VHE 28.

That is a good response. My standard one is "lost count"

Who was it that said, need has nothing to do with it.

I may be wrong, but I don't think there were many 'gun collectors' back then. Making one more useful was more in line with the average man's thinking. I've passed on guns which I really liked, primarily because the seller felt the 2nd set of barrels added more value than I thought. Maybe 20% could be justified, but not 40 and 50%.

I have a lot more two barrel sets than I need, but not nearly as many as I want. I have only one more three barrel sets than I need, but, again, I want a few more. My original two and three barrel sets are my favorite Parkers. I believe I displayed my 16 gauge GHE Damascus three barrel set at the Fall Southern three years ago. I displayed my CH Grade Bernard two barrel set "Charleston Gun" at the Fall Southern two years ago. I plan on bringing the completed and cased CH to display at the Northeast Shoot this June. I may also bring my outstanding DH #3 frame two barrel Damascus gun to the Northeast Shoot also.

Bill's CH Charleston Gun is in the NEED category for sure

More photos please. There have to be some more out there for us to see

UH, Mills, I guess you know the case is finished, but I still have to wrap the straight grip in copper wire so I can shoot it. Are you coming to the Northeast Shoot? We "need" you and Julia there.

I need to come too. Let's see how the year goes.

This is another original two barrel set from Austin Hogan's collection. Ser. No. 23150
It is a 3-Frame 10 gauge lifter and also includes both forends marked 1 & 2 respectively.
The barrels are;

Barrel set #1 is listed in the Ser. & ID book as 27 inches but are in fact 27 3/16" and have relatively open chokes. I do not own a device for measuring 10 ga. bores but the chokes look to be about open and imp. cyl.

Barrel set #2 is most certainly recorded as 30 inches but are in fact 30 3/16" and have what appear to be extra full chokes judging by the wall thickness at the muzzles.

Barrel set #2, the 30" set, as well as the forend #2, appears to have the most use/wear.

The forends are not interchangeable and you can see the difference in the shape/size of the forend lugs.... very strange that barrel set #1 has the very unusually filed smaller lug as well as the much smaller recess on the forend iron and barrel set #2's lug looks like most all other Parker lugs that have the Deely style of forend latch.

The wood is original and has great grain and lots of "fire".

The engraving corresponds with most all Grade-2 engraving of that wonderful era... almost 'over the top' for a low grade.
Looks like a pair of pheasants on the left lock and a couple of woodcock on the right, and while the bird engraved on the bottom of the frame certainly must be a woodcock.... it sure looks like a Do-Do Bird to me :shock:



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More pictures of 23150




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i can see this fellow certainly used one barrel more than the other...real nice set up... charlie

I walked in to a gun store in Alaska in the 1980's and the person that I would deal with was not in so I told the gentleman that I would like to put a deposit down on this 12 Parker with 32 inch. barrels and would pick it up on the week end. I looked it over and thought I think this would do for my first Parker. I came back that week end and paid it off and was getting ready to leave and he says hold on I will get the other set of barrels. I didn't know anything about them so man now I'm really excited. He came out with a set of 26 inch barrels with matching numbers. The letter I got on the gun states nothing about a two barrel set and it says it came with a 28 inch. It is what it is. Thomas

I bet there are more two bbl sets that are made up than produced fom the factory.

I bought a set of grade 2 32 inch Damascuss 16ga bbls last year from the forum here and fitted them to a GH 16 0 frame that i have. In researching the 32 inch bbls it seems they were part of a two bbl set for a GH 16 0 frame the second set was 28 inches and thats exactly what I matted them up to.

Of the four two bbl sets I have only one left Parker with two sets of barrels and thats the Hollywood gun.

You may be right Rich,

A DHE 16/20, two gauge, two barrel set, both barrels 32"... Not originally ordered as a two barrel set in 1929, but an interesting combination just the same. It was fun to shoot, but I find most of my hunting is done with a 12ga or larger bore gun these days...;)

Best, CSL
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One more
 

1897 Grade 3 Factory 2 barrel set

I agree with the others here who have stated they most always use only one set of barrels on their two barrel sets. I don't seek out two barrel sets and won't pay a premium to buy one but I also won't pass up a gun I want just because of an extra set of barrels.:)

VHE 20ga, 32" f&f, 28"ic&mod.

now that is a great combination Fred

1915 Winchester Model 12 26" skeet 30" full Oh s--t this is a Parker site! Damn it :rotf:

mighty nice...charlie

Chris thats a nice set up and would make a great clays gun or an upland gun for the wide open spaces. Congrats.

you can PARK 'er at my house then Dave

Heck, I forgot to mention my 30" PHE Trap with 26" bird barrels, both factory vent rib.

Rich,
It was a fun DHE on Pheasants and Partridge. Always thought it would be a great Shorebird gun as well with the 20-bore 32" barrels. The DHE 16/20 lives in Montana now, and from what I'm told it's enjoyed in the field on a regular basis...
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CSL
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I have a made up 3 barrel set. A DH 90739 with its original 30" Titanic barrels choked ImpMod/ImpMod and I had Russ Bickell fit a set of 30" Damascus barrels to it that are choked cyl/mod. I recently bought and am in the process of fitting a set of 30" 2-Frame Damascus 10 ga. barrels to it which are reverse choked left IC and right Full. Amazingly the one forend fits all three sets of barrels. The 10 ga. barrels are still in the tedious process of fitting. I brought it to Mr. "Crossed Chisels" in Maine and he got me started with smoking the surfaces then filing, smoking and filing, smoking, filing, smoking, filing... it is a long process but with his initial guidance they will fit with precision.

There is one two barrel set I miss. It was a GHE 20 with 28 & 30 inch bbl from the factory. I bought it at the Southern about 8 years ago and traded it for a GHE 20 skeet gun and then sold that for something I can't remember....oh well I'm sure it was a good cause:whistle:

No need to apologize OP, I should dig my 2 barrel M12 out of the safe just to make you feel better.:whistle: