First Parker (Trojan)

[David Champa]

Originally Posted by Dave Noreen

Here are the Remington era chamber specifications from the Specification sheets that were reproduced in The Parker Story.

Attachment 119661

No one can tell you over the internet what ammunition may or may not be safe in a given gun. But, a 12-gauge 2-frame Parker in solid condition should handle 1 1/4-ounce progressive burning smokeless powder, high velocity lead loads and has probably in its life digested plenty of Super-X or Remington Express.

Were there ever 12 gauge Parker’s chambered to 2 1/2”
? The gun shop that made the transfer for me measured it while I was filling out paper work and he swore they were 2 1/2” not the usual 2 5/8”… not sure of his skill with the gauge as it seemed to take him a while..

[Researcher]

A "made for stock" gun such as the Trojan would be very unlikely to have a special ordered chamber length. I have posted this many times as this is my favored method of measuring chamber depth --

Chamber depth is considered to be the distance between the breech end of the barrels and the joint between the chamber body itself and the forcing cone, which reduces down to bore diameter. This is loosely based on the length of the "Fired" shell. Today, theoretically when the crimp opens on the shell being fired the end would land at the junction of the chamber and cone. Prior to WW-II many companies had the practice of holding the chamber about 1/8 inch shorter than the shell for which it was intended. Fly in the ointment is nominal measurements often differ from actual ones in both chambers and shells. A very good method I have found of measuring chambers without much outlay of cash, and is quite accurate enough for virtually any situation, is a common 6" flexible machinist's scale which you likely have. Hold the barrels with muzzles toward a light source, not necessarily a concentrated one a window is great, while looking into the breech and the cone will be thrown in a shadow. May have to move the barrels around a little until it is distinct. While still looking into the chamber simply slide the scale in until you observe the end coming flush with the shadow line & mark position of breech end with your thumb. Remove and read the scale. I usually repeat this a few times to insure I am getting a consistent reading, but you will be amazed how accurate this can be done. While I own a Galazan chamber gauge, I use this more often than not. The chamber body itself has a taper of about .005" per inch. Sometimes chambers were cut with slightly worn reamers giving a slight undersize chamber. If the chamber is a bit undersize a gauge made to "industry" standards will not go in to the true depth of the chamber. A.H. Fox Gun Co. shotguns are known for having tight chambers. The machinist’s scale method can be more accurate.