VH 22” Barrels
 

I have a friend that just acquired a 12 gauge VH with 22” barrels. According to the serial number there is no information for a letter. The barrels are choked RB IC, LB full. Based on the forend is it part of a two barrel set? Would that unstrucked weight be consistent with 22” barrels? Please share any thoughts. Thank you.

Let's see a picture of the matting on the rib at the front of the barrel. What's the bore diameter & choke restriction for each barrel?

I don’t currently have the gun but will get it and try and answer all questions when I do.

Off hand it looks like the barrels have been cut down. A picture of the end of the barrel as if looking into the bores.

Looks good to me, I see a line at the end of the rib

The lines too far forward & the matting doesn't look quite right. Need to see end of barrel & bore spec's

Barrel view from front
 

Barrel pic

I looked through a bunch of my pics of 30-inch 2-frame 12-gauge barrels and the weight stamp ranged from 4 to 4 subscript 9.

3lbs., 3 oz certainly would be consistent with 22” 2-frame barrels regardless of the termination of the rib.





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The presence of keels, tubes touching, barrel wall thickness, and termination of the matting is all correct for uncut barrels.
Keels would never have been that far back on even 26" barrels.

Rib stamping looks funny. Is it the photo?

Those are the oddest looking keels I have ever seen. However, under magnification, the matting at the end looks like a continuation of the rest of the matting.

Rib lifted and moved to the rear? keels look crude. Forend iron looks like it sustained some "fitting" as does the extension aka dolls head.

I agree the rib stamping looks 'messed with' and it's possible the rib was lifted, shortened and relayed.
Keels look a mess, barrel maker must have been watching the clock, and not the work.

Is it just me or does then end of the barrels not look square but at an angle?

I hope to get the gun in hand soon and post additional information and pictures that may help in validating this gun. Thank you for all the responses.

I normally don't chime in on originality based on pictures but those barrels look cut to me as they are too abrupt looking for lack of a better term. Keels look funky.

I’ve seen keels like that before and the termination of the rib matting looks perfectly normal for a VH to me. The rib legend looks like it has been severely messed with.





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I'm rethinking the comment I made regarding the possibility that the rib was shortened and relayed. The end of the blank inscription area on all my guns is just at the junction of the rib and rib extension, so had the rib been shortened, the inscription area would have been cut off, which, despite appearing messed with, is just where it should be.
The other thing that is making me lean towards being uncut, is the view of the muzzle. If it had been cut, the chokes would have been removed, and the walls would have more or less equal, which they clearly are not.
The keels are sloppy, for sure, but keels only served two purposes. The main reason for steel keels at the muzzle was to aid in keeping the weight down, lead solder being roughly .409 lbs/cubic inch, and steel being .283 lbs/cubic inch. The other purpose was to simply aid in the soldering of the barrels and keeping the solder from flowing out the muzzle end.
TPS does indicate there were a few 22" 12 ga barrels, and probably more, in that the book for this gun is missing.

Possibly the very first Parker Bros. Coach Gun??

A Wells Fargo Parker no doubt.:whistle:

Perhaps an original from the Wyatt Earp collection?

Just my 2 Cents ,I agree the keels look terrible but I think the length is original ,so I'm going with uncut ! I once owned a PH 16 gauge that lettered correctly with 22" Twist Barrels ! So they are out there !!!!!!

More pics
 

Got the gun today. It has seen some rough days but if it could only talk. I will do measurements later. Here are a few pictures. The chokes seem to be reversed ie right choke full left choke IC.

That’s a cool Parker.

Reverse chokes for sure. Interesting gun!
Made for decoying ducks maybe?





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Is there a 2 on the forearm loop on the barrels to match the 2 on the forearm iron?

I will check when I get back home. My son, grandson, and I are at a field trial and we will be back tomorrow afternoon.

It is not difficult to put a line at the muzzle end of the top rib. A 4oz hammer, a very small half-round file, a v shaped engraving tool, a 12" milled bastard file, a bottle of cold, and 15 minutes of your time and you have faked the length of set of Parker barrels. The muzzle does not look right to me as there is no rust and the soldier looks bright

Pic of forend loop
 

Dave, here is a picture of the forend loop. The 2 is the same as the 2 on the forearm.