11 Gauge

[ArtS]

I am really amazed by the confusion that is so widespread concerning 11 gauge barrels. The same situation exists with 9 gauge barrels, but since Parker never, to my knowledge, cataloged a 9 ga it isn't a real point of conflict. I ran into that when I bought a 10 gauge Parker with barrels that measured 0.794 - 0.795 inches. I spent an entire evening going through The Parker Story, taking notes, and eventually coming to understand that in the 1870's and early1880's, the majority of the 10 gauges were fitted with 9 gauge barrels and the majority of the 12 gauges were fitted with actual 11 bore barrels. This, coupled with the stepped chamber mouth (essentially no forcing cone) and the brass shells made to match these chambers and barrels inproved perormance. The chambers had to actually be enlarged to current dimensions when paper shells became more universally accepted. This situation was so widespread that in March 1892, the company annotated the order books to set a policy that the standard from that point forward for 12 gauge would be to use true bore gauge barrels. If these were not used, the gun ws to be stamped with an "O" to signify the "old" or "original" size. The stock books soon after carried a similar notice for the 10 gauge.

THe impact on 10 ga is that people often think their barrels have been bored out to extreme dimensions. Since the 11 gauge was sold but extremely rare, people seem to be constantly celebrating the find of a very rare Parker. The Parker Story shows a Parker tag provided that outlined the best loading practice for these guns and they recommended 9ga over powder and over shot wads.

In the previous Parker Pages there was an article that featured one such gun. It was supposedly an 11 ga in grade L2. The serial number was not listed, but it was quoted as being made in, I believe, 1874. I looked entirely through the 1874 serial number listings and could find no 11 ga gun with those specs. The article went on to say that a short 10 gauge shell fit the gun perfectly. Since the 11 ga barrels were used for 10, 11 and 12 ga guns, I have to presume this was a pretty standard 10 ga.

One large Gunbroker seller who lists scores and scores of overpriced Parkers has been listing an Ultra rare 11 Gauge Parker for many, many thousands of dollars. It is listed as having .75 inch bores and .810 chambers, both right between 12 and 10 gauge. It states that it is listed in the serialization book as a 12 gauge, which he states is what usually happened with 11 gauge guns for some unknown reason.

I sent him a note that the .750 bore is an 11 bore and the .810 chamber is exactly the correct spec for a modern 12 ga shell, and if it was listed in the records as a 12 gauge then what he was selling was a very well worn 12 gauge grade 2 gun. No response has been recieved.

The rarity of 11 gauge Parkers and the commonality of the 11 ga barrel itself seems to drive everyone who measures a bore to try and cash in on his rare find.

It's a shame that Parker never stamped their gauge size on the guns. This is an area that really set the early guns apart from the rest of the inustry but seems to just generate a lot of confusion now to a lot of buyers.