Gun Weight
 

Just curious if anyone has compared their gun's actual weight with the weight of the gun stated in the Parker letter. All of my original guns weigh between 1 to 2 ounces lighter than the weight listed in the letter.

Are you feeding them "light" ammo? Seriously, 2 of my guns that letter at 6 lbs weigh just that.

I always compare the weights between actual and the letter and they have pretty much all been right one or within an ounce.

Wood shrinks over 100 years or more, which means the wood has lost moisture and thus weight. The calibration of Parkers scales may not have been exact or current.

Craig, evidently your guns too weigh less than the letter states. Back to the question that I asked, what is the difference between your gun's actual weight and the weight stated in the Parker letter?

Wayne I have weighed 1 Parker in nearly 50 years involved in this hobby. I see no value in the time spent doing it. So many alterations have changed guns weights. I have 2 rebarreled by Parker, 1 restocked, 3 or 4 with wood removed and recoil pads added, and another 3 or 4 that have complete restorations. Other members have guns with the single triggers and ejectors added. I hope you receive feedback from a person who has your same interest, however I am not that person.

Sometimes it's not fun being the anal person that I am but other times it does pays off.

I'm more inclined to attribute any significant weight differences to scale accuracy, rather than moisture content. A piece of stable, dry wood can go from 3% moisture to over 6% seasonally. (Before you say it, yes, it changes regardless of finish and coats of Timberlux)
If you really wanted to get anal about it, weigh your guns cold, then hot. Go another step, and measure the LOP, because wood shrinkage ( and swelling is greater in the linear dimension than the radial, or tangential direction).

I like Russ Jackson's egg scale more than my fancyassed digital postal scale.

Here's some info for you Wayne:

Gun Letter Actual
BHE 12-32" VR 8-6 8-2.4
BHE 12-34" VR 8-5 8-5.6
CHE 12-34" 7-13 7-11.2
VHE 20-32" 6-12 6-11.0
DHE 16-32 7-5 7-4.0

4 are original, the 34" BHE has original wood but was refurbed by DTM back in 2003 if my memory is correct and this is the one that has gained weight. I shoot it a fair amount so maybe I just need to clean the lead out of the bores and the numbers would align. Take care....

Here is some more info:
7 the same weight, 2 heavier, 2 lighter. All these guns appear to be in original configuration to me. The heavier and lighter deviate by 2oz or less.
I also have wondered about the guns that deviate from the records, I guess it is quite common but why???