Weight/Balance Conversation

[Reggie B]

Adam on some skeleton butt guns you can actually see two plugs in the stock. I think they used those holes to add weight and then plugged them. That was what I was told. I will check my Parkers and see if any have those visible plugs. I will post a pic if I find anything.

[mobirdhunter]

Originally Posted by Reggie Bishop

Adam on some skeleton butt guns you can actually see two plugs in the stock. I think they used those holes to add weight and then plugged them. That was what I was told. I will check my Parkers and see if any have those visible plugs. I will post a pic if I find anything.

Adam, Reggie is correct. Parker would drill out stocks to create balance a gun. The matching of pre-struck barrel weight barrels to desired weight characteristics is another method they used. In my experience, Parkers are generally on the heavier side and have what I'd call a "stable" balance. Even 24" 12s have great balance.

[Stan Hoover]

This is what I must be missing, no wonder some guns I tend to do better with than the other.

I can't honestly say that I've ever checked the balance of a gun, but then again there's not a bunch of money on the line and I'm just shooting for fun.

Interesting topic

[Double Lab]

I need a gun, whether it be a SxS, O/U or even a rifle, to balance pretty much evenly between my hands. I call it perfectly balanced when balancing at the hinge pin she stays horizontal.

[Bill Murphy]

In 63 years of buying and selling Parkers, way more than 100 of them, and shooting every one of them, I have reached a conclusion. Don't whine, and learn to shoot. Oh, that's two conclusions. Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing those who don't learn how to shoot well and those who find excuses for missing. I'm just explaining that there are many shooters who do just fine with poorly balanced guns, guns with too tight chokes, guns with ill fitting stocks. They just work harder at it and shoot a lot. I will be the first to admit that some Parkers feel better balanced in the hands than others, but there are a bunch of additional factors contributing to hitting the birds. I remember a thread a while back about learning to shoot well with a .410. I didn't recall much advice about the gun, the ammo, or the shooting procedures. It seemed to boil down to expending more rounds. I don't agree with that simple explanation, however. I believe learning good procedures goes along with shooting lots of shells to make a good shooter.

[John Davis]

IMO, You can learn to shoot just about any gun but that doesn’t mean you are going to shoot consistently good scores with it. That requires a gun that fits you. And lots of practice.