Kirby,
I also have an 1875 10 ga. lifter with the abrupt shoulder at the forcing cone and a 2 5/8 inch chamber. When I first started shooting it I was a little concerned about a 2 7/8 in. case opening up into the barrel, but then I measured the bore and found that, like most Parker's of that vintage, the barrels were over bored to .805 inches. Unless you start reloading, which by the way is a lot of fun, I agree with our fellow members about using RST shells. Your gun, like mine, should have a 90 degree angle where the water table meets the standing breech instead of the radius like the later hammerguns. It is for that reason, and assuming your barrel walls are not to thin, that you might like to keep your loads on the light side if you do start reloading.
Have fun, shoot often, and you will learn to love the 10 gauge.
|