Parker 13 gauge?

[Jack Hamner]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

By it's age, the gun was made for use with brass shells and if you intend to use a 12 ga. shell to determine if it is a 12 ga. gun you should try a 12 ga. brass shell.

Thanks Dean--excellent point! I just dug out an old Winchester brass 12 gauge and tried it. It's close, but it will NOT go into the chamber at all.

[Smoothebore]

Ok, first, on the faceof it, I was wrong about trying a modern 12ga shell in an early Parker gun, Dean is correct, but also, so is Robin. At the time of this early gun there was brass shells marked A & B. According to The Parker Story, at about 1870 the A & B shells appeared on the market. The "A" shell was for use in chambers sized for paper shells of the time. Paper had thicker walls so also a larger outside diameter. Then, shells for earlier guns that were chambered originally for brass shells, were marked with a "B". TPS also states in an undated chart that 12ga had tapered chambers from .811 to .797. FWIW, I believe this size corresponds to size of modern 12ga shells. This size would also be the "B" size shell, as the "12A" was a larger diameter matching the overall paper shell of the time. Confused yet? So, I still think you can try a modern unfired 12ga shell to help make a determination of what you have. If the gun is a 13ga, then the chamber will be smaller, and the 12ga shell won't fit.

[Jack Hamner]

Originally Posted by Dave Purnell

Ok, first, on the faceof it, I was wrong about trying a modern 12ga shell in an early Parker gun, Dean is correct, but also, so is Robin. At the time of this early gun there was brass shells marked A & B. According to The Parker Story, at about 1870 the A & B shells appeared on the market. The "A" shell was for use in chambers sized for paper shells of the time. Paper had thicker walls so also a larger outside diameter. Then, shells for earlier guns that were chambered originally for brass shells, were marked with a "B". TPS also states in an undated chart that 12ga had tapered chambers from .811 to .797. FWIW, I believe this size corresponds to size of modern 12ga shells. This size would also be the "B" size shell, as the "12A" was a larger diameter matching the overall paper shell of the time. Confused yet? So, I still think you can try a modern unfired 12ga shell to help make a determination of what you have. If the gun is a 13ga, then the chamber will be smaller, and the 12ga shell won't fit.

Thanks so much for sticking with me, Dave! As I was telling Dean, as impatient as I am, I think I'm just going to have to wait and find a gunsmith who can make a gauge determination for me, even if it means waiting a while!

[Jack Hamner]

One final try! I didn't make a mold, but I sanded down a plastic tube and then smoothed the surface. It now goes easily into the chamber where the shell fits and then slides very snugly through the entire length of the barrel. So snugly in fact, it takes a moderate amount of pressure on a dowel rod to push the tube through the barrel, although it loosens up at the very end (choke?). If I were to accurately measure the diameter of this snugly fitting tube,(I think the tube is pretty uniform in diameter) would this be pretty close to a true bore diameter? I don't have a caliper (that I can find!), but rough measurements with a ruler read +/- 18 cm. If anyone thinks this would be an accurate enough method, I will try and locate a good caliper and get a more accurate reading. Thanks for your patience and ALL your help!!!