[Richard B. Hoover]

Jeff,

Nope, those are the wonderful brass 11B shells. They were made by UMC and stamped with a Parker Bros. headstamp. I have yet to find an 11-bore Parker chambered for these shells. I previously neasured a perfect 12-bore Parker that was chambered for 11-B shells (and in a case with them). These shells are not right for an 11-ga Parker -- they are much too small. The Parker 11-B shells are typically 2.39" long; have rim diameter of .845" and taper from .792" at head to .788" at mouth. They are even smaller than a Parker 12A brass or modern unfired 12-ga AA shell which taper from .808" head to .790" mouth.

On the other hand, the Berdan primed UMC 11-Ga goes from .820" head to .814" mouth, which is suitable for the 0.825" diameter chambers of the 11-ga Parkers. Although the Bore Size is the crucial determining feature (0.751" 9 inch from the breech) the chambers too big for a modern 12-ga shell often give a good first clue to the 11-Ga.

I urge anyone with an early Parker lifter gun to slip a modern 12-ga shell into the chamber and see if it fits correctly or just rattles around.

If the chambers are too big, you may well have an 11-ga, even though the Parker record books may indicate it to be a 12- or a 10-bore gun. Years ago, Bill Furnish and I discovered that for some reason (as yet not understood) several Parker 11-bore guns were listed as either 10-ga or 12-ga guns in the Parker stock books and thus in the Parker Story and the Serialization as well. Very strange, indeed.

Any ideas or suggestions would be appeciated.

Richard