This must be an interesting Parker...No.45973

[Don Kaas]

I was looking at Larry Baer's book recently. It pictures an original hang tag from 45973. The gun was a 12 gauge with 30" barrels weighing 10lb 7oz and targeted with 3" shells with 1 1/8 oz of Tathams #8 with 3 3/4oz of Dupont's No.5 Grain Choke Bore (black) powder. It shot 175 pellets in a 24" circle at 45yds. Cross referencing "the book" tells us the gun was made in 1885 and was a 12 gauge 30" B4 toplever (a C grade with Bernard steel barrels). A duck gun? A trap gun? Both? Perhaps the latter due to the patterning with #8 shot and a heavy load and 3" chamber but then why not 1 1/4oz of them? And the patterns were not especially tight for pigeons...Clearly the weight, the load and the chambering and the higher grade gun itself were special order. If it were a duck gun why not specific larger shot? Maybe someone has this gun, if so your hang tags out there too!

Next to the photo of this tag is one of a wonderful Spanish language label "La Escopeta Parker -Siempre Digna De Confianza" (The Parker Shotgun -Always worthy of confidence). I guess "Old Reliable" didn't translate well...