Will It Blow?

[Bruce Day]

I had no concern that anything bad would happen, none at all. I loaded the 16ga with the same load that Parker used for patterning that gun at that time, a 7/8oz, 2 1/2 dram equivalent load. Certainly later Parker load tables and hang tags I have posted here show up to 1 oz 2 3/4 dre loads for patterning and service, and of course up to SAAMI proof standards for the time for proof loads. The intent was to show that the gun was shootable, in fact, fun and easy to shoot with the loads Parker intended.

Yes, if I felt that re-proofing was necessary, I could have loaded very heavy loads, but why do that and subject the gun to something that might crack an old stock when it is not needed. And I'm sure the owner didn't want that.

This is another Nebraska gun and the grandfather owned thousands of acres and the finest hotel in Minden, where eastern hunters would come by train and auto and stay for a week hunting the marshes and upland fields. Many brought fine Parkers with them and Nebraska came to have a culture of fine shotguns. The Mahoney 20ga hammer D that I have shown here came from close to this 16ga.

Many of these old guns were shot with very heavy loads, much higher than I would shoot. The owner told me of finding his grandfathers hand loads and shooting a few and how much they whacked his shoulder. I've heard many stories like that, and conclude that old timers experimented to see how much smokeless powder and shot they could cram in a shotshell for their own special recipes that were guaranteed to shoot down low flying aircraft. These had to be in excess of Parker proof loading and I suspect this was one manner in which some barrels were blown. I suspected that this gun had been proofed loaded a few times since original Parker proofing but its overall sound condition ( though dingy and grimy) is a testiment to lasting Parker design and construction. By the way, the wood was that gorgeous pattern Circassian walnut under a dingy oil and dirt finish. I'm like a kid on a treasure hunt when I can rub and wipe off some crud and see gorgeous figured walnut hidden away under there.