3 inch Chambers

[Joe Graziano]

Did Parker make any 12 ga guns with 3 inch chambers? I have a gun on a #2 frame and the chambers measure exactly 3 inches.

[John Davis]

The answer is, yes they did. But that's one you're going to want a letter to verify or else there will always be a question.

[Dean Romig]

Did Parker actually cut them to 3” or were they cut to 2 7/8”??





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[John Davis]

I stand corrected. I thought I had a letter that specified 3 inch chambers but I don't. So, I change my initial response to "I don't know. But that's one you're going to want a letter to verify or else there will always be a question."

[Bill Murphy]

Remington made 3" Parkers were stamped 3" on the left side of the barrel lug.

[Joe Graziano]

I finally received the DH from the auction house. I will post pics in a bit. I’m going to order the letter on it. Dean mentioned the serialization book lists it as a DHE, 32 in, single trigger, straight grip. It is marked DH but is indeed an ejector gun. Odd. From the R L next to the triggers, it appears it was converted from a single trigger to double triggers. The auction listed it with 30 inch barrels but apparently couldn’t use a tape measure. They are 32 inches with 3 inch chambers. The straight grip is original. The stock and forend are not. The stock is a very stout piece of timber, to put it mildly. The wrist area is about twice the circumference of an English game gun. LOP is a little over 14 inches to the Pachmyer pad. The forend looks very nice but is the most bastardized thing I’ve seen. The old splinter forend was glued into a larger piece of wood. It functions fine but bizarre. Atop the barrels sits a Simmons rib with Bradley beads. The engraving is crisp and looks fantastic. You couldn’t see that at first because the #2 receiver was black, and I mean black, with crud. Barrels are tight on the face with or without the forened, but loose on the hinge. Chokes are M and IM. Overall, it is one big beast of a Parker. It should make a decent clays gun. I’m taking it out tomorrow for a round or two of trap.

[Joe Graziano]

Here are the pics

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Joe Graziano

Did Parker make any 12 ga guns with 3 inch chambers? I have a gun on a #2 frame and the chambers measure exactly 3 inches.

So it is about a 1922 gun, more than a decade before Remington ever came into the picture.

Looking at the pics Joe, and noting it has been restocked, front and rear, it wouldn’t surprise me if the chambers had also been lengthened at the same time.



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[Bruce Day]

Fajen or Bishops wood from Warsaw , Missouri, and Simmons rib. Simmons made up many of these in the 60’s and 70’s from their shop in Olathe , Kansas. It was also usual by Simmons to bore the chambers to 2 3/4 or 3” as part of general “modernization”. They did this to a lot of guns. Winchester Mod 12’s were fitted with a new stock , usually in black walnut but sometimes in maple or myrtle , a ventilated rib added , whiteline recoil pad and rebluing. Temperature control on the DuLite blue was a problem and many turned out purple hued .

Simmons also blued Parker barrels and frames. Sporterizing 1903 Springfields was also usual .

As of a couple years ago, they were still doing this type of work. Simmons also monobloc sleeved Parker barrels with straight taper tubes.

[John Davis]

Bruce, that's interesting information. I have a 12 ga. BHE on a three frame (the Vorhees gun). It was originally a 34 inch gun with splinter forend. It still has 34 inch barrels but they've been monoblocked and a ventilated rib added. Also sports a BTFE now and was re-case colored. I know that some of the work was performed by the Delgrego's. Now I'm wondering if Simmons had hold of the gun at one time.