Waste of time, or....?

[Hammer Gun]

Mills is so right on! You can be proud to carry that gun Just remember the times you played with it and then your kids also The gun has a soul I t was just waiting for the right person to put it all together. I know from experience about these old hammer guns they grow on you, congrats Gary

[Mike Franzen]

Seeing that gun looking that good almost makes me want to go break the stock on one of mine. ALMOST! Did you get the barrel wall thickness measured? There are low pressure option besides RST.

[Mike of the Mountain]

John, if you reload for your shotguns you can remedy the lack of 2 1/2" shells. You can cut down 2 3/4" hulls, get some Ballistic Products (or another wad) in 12g short wad configuration. Get an "Advantages" manual from BP and get to reloading. Just remember the 2 3/4" and 2 1/2" lengths are for the fired hull, not the loaded hull. Takes a little time cutting down the hulls but once you have a stockpile of short hulls you'll be good to go.

[Richard Flanders]

And it's a 1-frame 12ga???? Oh my! Makes it all that much more worth the expense. The bbls and the wood are gorgeous. What a beauty!!

[John Cleveland]

Originally Posted by Richard Flanders

Someone needs to get a few boxes of shells to John. We need a followup report on this gun, to include pics of it in the field taking birds!!

Richard, I have been off the forum for a time between the holidays and traveling, and while searching for low pressure shells and/or appropriate reloading components.

Hodgdon sent me a reloading table for 2 1/2" shells with low pressures. I think I can source all the components, EXCEPT the powder, which is their Universal. Seems simply unavailable, although I am on a waiting list at one vendor.

HOWEVER, through the hunting preserve's connection with a fine gun dealer, I managed to score a couple of boxes of RST 2 1/2 light loads.

So, yesterday I took "Lazarus" on a training quail hunt with my dog, "Buck". It was a great day all around. The dog hunted great. So did the Parker. I did not realize how much better it seems I would shoot with a gun that fits so well.

Remember that 3", of 30", were cut off because of a crack at the muzzle, and it is virtually a no choke gun. This worked great at most quail flush shots, and I took down one bird with one pellet in a shot that I knew was just under the bird. The apparent wide spread was just enough. However, it did quite well at several long shots. It cleanly hit a bird that my companions, both of whom are guides, estimated to be 40-45 yards away. When I have a better supply of shells I need to pattern the barrels.

Anyway, Richard, you asked for pictures from the field. Nobody took the time to take action shots, but I am attaching an after hunt picture with the Parker in hand.

[John Cleveland]

Originally Posted by Mike Franzen

Seeing that gun looking that good almost makes me want to go break the stock on one of mine. ALMOST! Did you get the barrel wall thickness measured? There are low pressure option besides RST.

Yes, the gunsmith measured and approved them before we decided whether to proceed with the restoration. Then he proofed them with RST's afterward.

I would appreciate leads on other low pressure vendors. I also tried Polywad, but they are in a similar situation to RST.

[John Cleveland]

Originally Posted by Mike Koneski

John, if you reload for your shotguns you can remedy the lack of 2 1/2" shells. You can cut down 2 3/4" hulls, get some Ballistic Products (or another wad) in 12g short wad configuration. Get an "Advantages" manual from BP and get to reloading. Just remember the 2 3/4" and 2 1/2" lengths are for the fired hull, not the loaded hull. Takes a little time cutting down the hulls but once you have a stockpile of short hulls you'll be good to go.

Thanks. I have purchased the Trim Doctor 2 from BP, and am shooting regular 12 GA 2 3/4's in my Red Label to repurpose the hulls. The manual didn't have options for around or below 7,000 PSI pressure 2 1/2's with components I have been able to source yet, but I will keep trying. As I posted to Richard, Hodgdon sent me a table for 2 1/2' in that range, several 6,700's, but I have not been able to find any of their Universal powder, which all the loads specify.

[John Cleveland]

Originally Posted by Gary Carmichael Sr

Mills is so right on! You can be proud to carry that gun Just remember the times you played with it and then your kids also The gun has a soul I t was just waiting for the right person to put it all together. I know from experience about these old hammer guns they grow on you, congrats Gary

Well, my dog trainer said that he bet it became my favorite quail gun, and after only 1 hunt I am tending to agree! Especially after I quickly learned to re-cock the hammer after a shot. I am too used to the auto-cocking O/U!

[John Cleveland]

Originally Posted by Richard Flanders

And it's a 1-frame 12ga???? Oh my! Makes it all that much more worth the expense. The bbls and the wood are gorgeous. What a beauty!!

Thanks! The 1-frame's light weight makes it a pleasure to carry, and with the low pressure shells the kick is less than my heavier 12ga Red Label--or maybe the better fit reduces the FELT recoil.