XXL to L Parkers
 

Top gun PH 8/36" #6 frame
Second GH 8/36" #6 frame
Third CH 10/34" #3 Frame
Bottom VH 12/30 #2 Frame
The #2 frame looks pretty small compared to the big Parkers. Happy Friday Spring is in the air!!

Nice rack of big guns, Craig.

Frame size comparisons are fun. Here is a no. 4 frame 10 all the way to a 0 frame 20

Three frame 12 vs, Two frame 12

Here is a comparison between an 8 gauge 7 frame and a 20 gauge 0 frame.

John Davis is your 3 frame 12ga a BH grade?
Mills what grades are your guns?
Wayne your 20 looks like a spectacular gun tell me more.

Yes, a BHE. 34 inch barrels.

Craig,
The 20 gauge is the C grade gun I wrote about in this winter's issue of Parker Pages.

8ga #6 frame vs 410 #000 frame.

David Noble it looks like your 8ga is a GH?? What year was it made? Barrel length?

Yes, Craig. It is a GH with 36 inch barrels, made in 1911. Weight is 13lbs 1oz.

Mine are mostly G grades

Beautiful stuff right here in this thread!! I can see someone using these photos and specs and writing a Parker Pages article on frame sizes. I see one or two of you guys putting that together. It would be very interesting.

Big 10s
1. Three frame gh with 36" barrels
2. Six frame gh with 34" barrels
3. Three frame dh with 32" barrels

Big beautiful guns Jeff!






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I always enjoy holding my 6 frame 10 ga , it needs a brother to go with it but doubt I will ever find one . I wish I knew what the original owners line of thinking was when he placed the order .

Milton, what brother are you searching for?

Going to try and find another larger frame here soon . I got my eye on one right now may put a deposit on it next week if it doesn't sell . 10 gauge Parkers seem to be selling pretty easily this week though from what I've been watching . Or perhaps 1 person bought them all at the same time haha . As well I talked to Aaron Little not long ago , he does great work and said he could make a extra set of barrels for my 6 frame if I wanted to have a set of 8 gauge barrels made for it . Which I think would be cool to have a set of 10 and 8 gauge barrels . My only thing with that is I don't really want to wait that long .

Milton, do you have a letter on your 6 frame?
It may have originally been ordered as an 8.





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I don't have a letter myself but have seen the letter from when Craig owned it . It was ordered as a 10 gauge with a desired weight of 12 1/2lbs but finished at 12 3/4lbs if I remember correctly. I think perhaps Mr.Sims the original owner wanted a big gun but also something more versatile than a 8 gauge . He lived near alot of good waterfowling places and his family owned a 1000 acre plantation . So im thinking perhaps he used it for waterfowling and whatever he hunted on the plantation. Thats just my theory however .

That makes perfect sense. Must have been for waterfowl shot from a blind or boat. Who would want to hunt any other way with a 12 1/2 lb. gun??





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For me and Charlie thats about the perfect weight for a squirrel gun:rotf: . I would think if Mr.Sims did use his 6 frame on the family plantation perhaps it was carried alot on horse back and not carried far by hand .

Or behind a horse on a caisson. :whistle:





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For me what works best is breaking the action open and carrying it with the barrels over my shoulder . Its heavy but well balanced so it will basically ride on your shoulder with little effort. I had a idea , I've seen shirts with pads built in for recoil . I was thinking you could take that idea and move the pad to the top part of the shoulder. It would give some cushion for the heavy barrels I think .

Maybe fifteen years ago or so, I bought a couple of cases of ten gauge 3 1/2" steel shells in #2 and #BB. I decided to hunt my waterfowl with my 10 gauge AYA exclusively, because I bought that ammunition for less than $5.00 a box of 25. I did a lot of walking in woods and marshy areas, not much sitting in blinds. I guess the price of the ammo made carrying the big gun easier. After a short time, the big ten started to feel like a 20 gauge. I carried that gun until back injuries and surgeries kept me out of the marshes. I sold the gun and my chest waders so I wouldn't be tempted to shoot any more ducks over marsh or water. Milton, my #6 frame ten has factory 3 1/2" chambers and enough metal in the barrels to handle any 3 1/2" shell made today, including steel.

In my opinion that is probably one of the coolest Parker 10 gauges . Theres a few factory options now for 10 gayge 3.5" loaded with bismuth . I know last year 10 gauge steel shot was as cheap as $0.80 a round . I don't mind the weight so much as I love the history of these big old waterfowling pieces and like to see them preserved and still fielded .

[QUOTE=Dean Romig;331002]That makes perfect sense. Must have been for waterfowl shot from a blind or boat. Who would want to hunt any other way with a 12 1/2 lb. gun??

I'll tell you who. Stan Hoover lugging his big 8 (15lbs if I'm correct) chasing ringnecks in SD cornfields. Didn't slow him up one bit.

Yikes :shock: ..........He's a better man than I am!





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[QUOTE=Daryl Corona;331058]He shoots pheasants with a 8 gauge ? That has to be one of the most fantastic things I've read haha . I wish we had them down in South Georgia .

Stan is one heck of a shot regardless of gauge. I believe he won the 8 ga championship at the northern with a perfect 15/15.

that 15 lb parker has to be the heaviest parkers I ve heard of...I know of 2 parkers with barrels that weigh over 10 lbs this gun is one of them....I love these big old heavy guns...charlie

My three frame 12 weighs in at 10 lbs. and that’s just about more than I can handle.

I remember at least one member here has a 3 frame 16 gauge If I recall weighs in around 9lbs .

Yup, my #3 frame 16 is one of those XXL bird guns, nine pounds, 28" rather open choked barrels from the factory that way. Why? I have not a clue. However, it show signs of many happy days afield.

So now I'm wondering if anyone has a 2 frame 20 gauge which I think would be considered heavy for one .

#2 frame twenties are scarce, but they are out there. My old 32" VH #2 frame 20, #153,333 is a search I have been on for years. I want to buy it back after foolishly selling it decades ago.

I just love the idea of a gun being built on a larger than needed action for some reason . I have always thought a 28 gauge would be fun to own . I held a cz bobwhite at a shop about 2 years ago . I liked it but it felt way too petite in the hands for me . Plus I prefer the more of a push recoil you get from a heavier gun vs the sharper jab recoil of light weights .