In theory, if a Parker was ordered "chambered for 2 7/8 inch shell" the actual chamber would be 2 3/4 inch. If it was ordered with a 2 7/8 inch chamber, that would be for a 3-inch shell. We probably agonize way too much over these chamber length differences, as the "finding out for myself" series in The Double Gun Journal suggests that as much as 1/4 inch doesn't mean much.
It sure seems to me that the old Pigeon shooters and waterfowlers who ordered these guns chambered for the long 12-gauge shells in the old days must have shot them all up, where as the sporty waterfowl hunters using long 20-gauge shells must have died with a good supply of shells on hand. My gun room is accumulating a good selection of early 2 7/8 inch and 3-inch 20s, but the boxes of long 12-gauge shells are eluding me.
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