Barrel ringing
 

Should a Parker vent rib barrel ring the same as a solid rib one? I tried to ring one and only got a thud.

I had a vent rib gun and got the same thing.

The vent rib acts as a dampener to the harmonic vibration that creates the ring sound.





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I would agree with Dean

that gun seemed to be solid to me

In my experience the vent rib does act as a dampener just as Dean suggested. However they do still ring, they do not ring with the same organ type quality that a solid rib gun has. If it is an ejector gun I would make sure that the ejectors are fully seated against the barrel and try again. I have heard that ejectors can have an effect on the ring of a barrel. If I only got a dull thud after that I would be extremely suspicious. I just rang the barrels of 3 vent rib Parkers to confirm that BTW. Good luck...

I never tried ringing a Parker Vent Rib barrel but will offer up that the vent rib Trap Grade A H Fox and several vent rib Ithaca NID's I've owned all sounded just like regular barrels do when ribs are tight. FWIW.

Most American doubles manufactured before 1950 had a floating rib to allow heat expansion. Many of the guns manufactured post 1950 have a solid rib and make no allowance for expansion. A Rizzini O/U I handled this AM is a good example of a solid ribbed gun.

I often run into the problem of a barrel not ringing clearly. Usually if I remove the extractor/ejector it rings like a bell. They often dampen the vibrations.

Yes. Some did, however A Parker Vent Rib is not floating. The entire thing is soldered together in separate pieces.