Parker 13 gauge?

[Jack Hamner]

Originally Posted by Richard B. Hoover

Jack,

I am sorry that your gun was not a 14-gauge as advertised. The seller may have honestly thought it was a 14 as well. In that case he may be willing to make an adjustment for you. I do not know where the misconception about Parker gauges came from. Many measurements on early Parkers clearly have shown that from the very beginning the bores and chambers of the Parker shotguns were finished with extreme precision. Your gun provides another important data point, showing that Parker was not over boring the early barrels out of the gauge size range as was suggested in early writings.

They did recommend using larger size wads, to achieve a better seal in order to produce the hardest shooting gun they could, but that did not alter the relationship between bore diameter, Gauge number and the proof loads they used to test the barrels before the gun was finishe
Thanks for your information about this early Parker.

Yours,


Richard B. Hoover

Thanks, Richard, but an adjustment is not necessary. I do believe the seller thought it was a 14 gauge, too. In fact, this very same gun was sold on a firearms website several years ago, and it was advertised as a 14 gauge at that time. Regardless of the gauge, I'm happy with the gun.