[jay shachter]

Hello Bruce, Are you measuring at muzzle's end, or 6-12" back. No doubt a gun with choke remaining can measure 20 thou 10" back in one small section and still be 30 thou at muzzle's end. I need to revise my above statement. I keep a spread sheet on all of the guns I have owned, even the sold ones, and just went back and reviewed the actual data on consigned guns, owned guns, and sold guns, about 120 Parkers on record. I stated "most 16 and 20's are in the 20-25 thou range". Not true, but close. Looks like about 30 percent are, majority between 25-30 thou, and a few over 30 thou. Lots of #1 frame 16's and 12ga. guns are over 30 thou.

In regard to John Dallas' comment on Holland and Holland honing, that process is mentioned in the Shooting Sportsman article that was actually at least a 2 issue series. There is no doubt that Holland and Holland claims to be one of the only gun makers on the planet that gets true concentricity. I do not know how the modern Continental stack up. The honing process John is describing is to eliminate almost imperceptible machining marks left by the process of finishing barrels, not to bring bores to finished dimensions. I no longer keep my magazines. My 15 year old special needs boy loves them and loves to shread them over time. Anyone out there still retaining their issues could clarify this for us. I am going by memory.....and I am officially a senior citizen at 55 years old!!

Bruce, let me know where you are measuring. I have handled a few of your fine Parkers, and they did not seem heavy to me. What do they weigh? To get a true lightweight Parker 20 or 16 they had to save weight somewhere. Why do some 20ga. guns with full length stocks, same length barrels, same size frame weigh 6 1/2lbs. and a visually similar gun weigh just 6lbs. They had to remove weight somewhere, and it involved striking the barrels down to thinner dimensions, among other things. How do they get a 30" barreled gun to be both light and balance on the hinge pin, with no lead or weight added to the butt? They struck the barrels thinner, and maybe chose a stock blank of the correct density. Lots of questions in the vintage gun world. Only speculative answers in many instances.

Interesting topic. The area of greatest pressure spike if you view a ballistic engineer's graphing of pressures is in the first 13" of barrel just forward of the breech. Things lighten up significantly from there and then build again slightly just before the choke constrictions. Thickness at muzzle end is less of a safety issue, more of a physical use issue. If you are 20 thou or so in that "low pressure zone" behind the chokes and at least 15" from the breech, the Brits say you are good to go for modern ammo commensurate with the gun's intended loadings.