Did Parker make 3in waterfowl gun

[Jack Johnson]

I have always been curious about whether or not Parker made a 3in chambered waterfowl gun . LC Smith had their Wildfowl and Fox its Super Fox . Did Parker have an equivalent 3 in chambered waterfowl shotgun . I don't post often as most of my questions are usually discussed at some point but I have never seen the topic come up . Thanks

[Researcher]

Actually the bulk of the Parker Bros. or Parker 12-gauge guns for the 3-inch high velocity or "Maganum" loads were made on the 1 1/2 frame.

Parker Long Range -- In the 1929 "Flying Geese" catalogue the Brothers P had this to say -- "Magnum, Super, and variously named guns about which so much is now being written are not a new development in the gun makers' art.

For the past twenty years Parker Brothers have made guns to handle heavy charges of powder and shot, giving good patterns at long range. Recent improvements in powder and by shell manufacturers have served to make the Parker Long Range gun even more effective, so that today the Parker built and bored to secure the full power of modern loads with which one may confidently expect to bring down game at distances a few years ago considered impossible, is up to date but not new.

Parker Long Range guns are built to guard the user against abnormal recoil. The weight of the barrels is so distributed that the gun handles the heaviest loads with comfort. The purchaser of a Parker Long Range can rest assured that he will receive a gun, easy to handle, sufficiently heavy and properly bored to shoot the heaviest loads for the killing of wild fowl at extreme ranges."

The 1937 Remington era catalogue adds -- "Ordinarily Parker 12 gauge guns are chambered for shells up to and including 2 3/4 inches. These guns can be furnished with special long range choke boring to give more effective results at extreme ranges. 12 gauge double barrel guns, with the exception of the "Trojan" are also available with 3 inch chambers for use with maximum long range heavy loaded shells. So chambered, Parker guns are guaranteed to handle these shells properly."

"Parker 10 gauge guns are regularly chambered for 2 7/8 inch loads, but are also available with 3 1/2 inch chambers for use with maximum loads. No extra charge for a Parker Long Range Gun. Guns should never be used with shells longer than those for which they are chambered. See table of complete specifications on page 34."

[Fishtail]

My Parker long range waterfowl gun is made on a #6 frame.

[charlie cleveland]

is that 6 frame a ten or a eight... charlie

[Fishtail]

Eight. But that counts, doesn't it?

[Jeff K.]

My 6 frame is a ten. My 7 frame is an eight. Both are long range guns as long as you don't have to carry them too far!

[Jeff K.]

Some of Parker's thoughts on the subject.

[Bill Murphy]

Three inch chambers or 2 7/8" chambers for 3" shells were special ordered in #2 and #3 frame guns much earlier than the 1922 and 1923 folder that Jeff Kuss showed us, but not in any quantity. From personal observation, 1 1/2 frame guns were used for 12 gauge 3" guns after the time of this folder. Also from personal observation, I do not think many guns ordered with the "2 1/2 frame", which is the #3 frame to us, were also specified with unusually long chambers, at least not the orders I have hooked up with the guns. Chuck Bishop's experience may be different. The "2 1/2 frame" designation was only used in the order book entries and rarely. By the time the order for these guns was posted in the stock book, it became a "#3 frame". Odd, huh?

[Steve Kleist]

Many of the 12 Ga & 20 Ga Parker Reproductions are chambered for 2 3/4" or 3 " as well.
Steve Kleist Ely, MN