New member in MI looking for some help
 

Hello every everyone, new Parker owner here in northern Michigan. I’m an avid bird hunter and SxS enthusiast. I recent purchases my first Parker, a VH grade 16 gauge on a #1 frame. The gun had a less than amazing restoration done a few years back making it the perfect gun for me, something I wouldn’t feel bad about taking through the grouse woods, and a gun I can enjoy taking to the range.

Now for the help...I took it to the range today and during a round of 5 stand the left barrel burst. I noticed a weird ring of soot in the left barrel, ran a bore snake through it and saw the hole. Before you say it, there was no obstruction, I check my barrels before putting shells in and I had no off sounding shots. Also the burst is toward the rib not the outside. I immediately called my gunsmith and brought it by for him to look at and he confirmed I had a burst. He is very well versed in SxS shotguns and went over this gun before I bought it. Today he remeasured barrel wall thickness and it was perfect (sorry don’t remember off the top of my head) and confirmed it hadn’t been backbored too thin. He doesn’t think it was a stuck wad based on were it blew out. In all his years he hasn't seen a gun give out in the spot this one did. He called a well know gunsmith he knows that does barrel repairs and he was stumped by it too, but said he could replace the tube for $4000-$5000 and a two year wait (over double the price of the gun).

At this point it seems like I have two options, I can send it to Briley and have a set of 28 gauge tubes made for it.

Or I can try to find a new barrel, which is why I’m reaching out to the Parker community as I have no idea where to find one or if it’s really even possible. I’m not picky on gauge or barrel length as long as it will fit a #1 frame. Even ok a with parts gun as long as the barrels are good.

Thanks everyone
Andy

Were the barrels redone and were there weep holes drilled in the bottom rib ? Sounds like it was rusted from the outside in . Sorry about your gun !

You could very likely find replacement barrels and have them fit to your gun by a qualified gunsmith. A member can seek such barrels on this forum.

Thank you, I’m not sure but I think the barrels were reblued, no weep holes in the bottom.

Where would the best place to post a “want to buy” post?

There is a "Wanted to buy" section in the members only area of the forum. It could be more than worth the price of membership.

I believe Josh has a set of 16 ga barrels for sale on the for sale forum.

I just checked. They are 30" ejector barrels.

Barrels do not simply interchange. They are all different. And the amount of work needed to fit another set to your gun is a complete unknown until you get into it. That is IF the given set can be made to work properly. And serial number proximity means nothing.

It does sound like your “less than great” restoration may have been to blame as a blowout inside the rib cavity would suggest rusting inside the tubes, possibly from caustic hot salt bluing.

In my opinion, due to the cost you are looking at to make the gun whole again (no matter how you go about it), you should likely instead just be looking for another gun. And a better one at that.

Sorry about your gun Andrew, thankfully no injuries. Check with Dave Fjelline in Lincoln CA for barrels, he's a good source for such things. Also post some pics of the gun please including the damaged area. There's some rather astute fellas hanging out here that might have some thoughts on the cause with good pics.

Briley will put 28 ga inserts in a 16 ga, dont know the price. Start scanning Ebay, and all the gun sales sites like Gunbroker, Guns International, etc. Got to believe somebody has a set somewhere. Dont think I'd put 4-5 grand in it.

How does one tell if barrels have been hot blued? Is it visibly something buyers can watch out for? Thx

For the most part it is very easy to spot.

Thank you everyone! I’ve been looking around at barrels I can find and complete guns and at this point I’m leaning towards throwing in the towel on this gun. Seems like any barrel worth buying is $2000 or more and any parts guns describe their barrels as a sewage pipe. For now I think I’ll just put her in the back of the safe and keep my eyes open. Maybe I’ll send the barrels off to Briley and see what they say, they still lock up tight and fit the gun, another 28 gauge could be fun.

As for hot blueing causing the blow out, its totally possible. I’m not a gunsmith but I do know they were re blued. That said the bluing does look more like the original bluing on my Fox Sterlingworth which leads me to believe they were rust blued, but I could be wrong. Either way they are no longer safe to shoot in their current configuration. I’m just happy I didn’t get hurt or somebody next to me didn’t take shrapnel from an exploding barrel. Either way this gun gave me the bug and I’m on the hunt for my next Parker, it will be in better shape than this one.

I know a lot of guys hate to hear this, but part it out and put it behind you. That’s my 2 cents. Use the money towards a good solid shooter. You will be shooting right away and in the long run save a lot of money and aggravation.
You will also make a number of guys looking to get their guns up and going happy.

Talked with my gunsmith again about the gun today, I’ll start with he DID NOT do the work. The barrel was rust blued and not hot blued, he said the temp would have melted the the solder and the barrel would have fallen apart. Also it has new solder at the end indicating they did drill it out so it could dry out and not trap moisture. He spoke with a few other gunsmiths he knows it they all seem to think this was just bad luck and there must be some flaw in the metal. He doesn’t think it was an over pressure shell either as the blow out is further down the barrel not after of the chamber where pressure is highest.

I do agree that the cost will probably keep me from replacing the barrel. As of now I’m going to sit on it and see what I can find, doesn’t hurt anything to have it in the back of my safe till I figure this one out.

I would love to take the top rib off and have a look at whats there

Yeah, I agree. That barrel set needs to come apart and see what the inside looks like. It wouldn’t take more than 10 mins of time with a propane torch.

Depending on what I decide this may happen. I’m still in the fence about sending it to Briley for sub gauge tubes and turning it into a 28 gauge. I kinda feel like I might enjoy it as a 28 gauge more than the money I can get out of it. Also even after all this, the barrels still ring like a bell.

Tomorrow I’ll take it out of the safe and try to get some pictures

Here are some pictures of my VH 16 gauge...I measure and the blowout is about 13.5 inches from the chamber

Out of curiosity, ill ask if those Boss shells were what did the deed?
I know they offer lower pressure loads but in longer lengths still.

No i wasn’t shooting the Boss shells. I guess I didn’t think about it but it has had the chambers opened to 2 3/4 (the blowout was 13.5 inches down. I was shoot a 1oz lead #8 doing 1165 factory Winchester load.

Ironically those are the low pressure Boss shells, 1 oz loaded with fiber wads at 1200 FPS. With everything going on I picked up those Boss shells for next hunting season.

The only other shells I’ve put through the gun where my 7/8 oz lead handloads

I think if the cause of the burst was the chambers having been lengthened the failure would have been at that exact spot - where the barrel wall/cone was too thin to contain the pressure.

13.5" from the breech was more likely the result of a different cause, in my honest opinion.





.

Welcome to the PGCA Andrew. It’s a shame about your gun. Go to the Want To Buy sub forum and list whatever you want. Likely someone will have it.

Andrew, can you post pictures of the "blowout"?





.

Dean go back one page .

I see what might be construed as a ring bulge...?

I was expecting to see a fracture type of catastrophic failure.

A ring bulge that far from the chamber is most often caused by an obstruction... even the tiniest obstruction or even from a stuck wad from the previous time that tube was fired.





.

The barrel has a hole and crack in side towards the rib, literally in the space between the two barrels, you wouldn’t know there is a problem without looking down the barrel. No bulge, no obstruction. I’ve only had the gun 6 weeks and had it out 3 times, never had an obstruction, never had an off sounding shell and I always look down the barrels before inserting shell. My gunsmith has looked at it twice and he doesn’t think it was an obstruction, he said if it was an obstruction it would have blown out the weaker side of the tube, the opposite side. He really thinks it’s a probable a flaw in the metal that finally gave out after 97 years.

He may very well be right.





.

FWIW and this is only FWIW: I got a very shootable but field worn 16g VH with 28" barrels for $1800 a few months back. So they're out there if you want a gun for the woods. It is on a #1 frame with 28" barrels and handles just beautifully. Actually, it's just awesome and my "rain gun."

I know it’s been a bit since my original post but finally an update…after looking around it seems like it’s going to be a lot harder than I thought to find barrels for my gun. I’m not saying I’ve given up, but I did buy another 16 gauge VH. This one is dated 1902, well used but not abused. The barrels are in great shape this time, my gunsmith has been through it top to bottom, inside and out and after some general cleaning on the inside he gave it a clean bill of health. I’ve had it out once now and it’s a great shooter, can’t wait to get it out into the wood. Thank you everyone for the help and suggestions