Parker Gun Collectors Association Forums  

Go Back   Parker Gun Collectors Association Forums Parker Forums General Parker Discussions

Notices

Reply
Thread Tools Display Modes
Unread 09-19-2022, 12:27 PM   #21
Member
Bill Murphy
PGCA Lifetime
Member Since
Second Grade

Member Info
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 15,524
Thanks: 6,119
Thanked 8,785 Times in 4,718 Posts

Default

My 682X Trap 32" gun was a strange sporting clays gun when I started shooting it in about 1985, but today it is the "gun of the day". I am still shooting it in 2022 and there is no other gun that will do the job better. Some of our posters are asking "When did the 32" gun become popular for sporting clays?" Although I built the my 32" heavy sporting clays gun in about 1985, long before any registered SC organizations like USSCA and NSCA got a start, they didn't become popular for a few years after that. Dallas Berry and his friends at the Wardensville West Virginia range were all ATA trapshooters and probably used their trap guns initially. At that range, full chokes were necessary for a good portion of the shots and screw chokes were banned. In today's world, 50 and 55 yard sporting targets are addressed with less than full chokes, but not in 1985.
Bill Murphy is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09-19-2022, 09:02 PM   #22
Member
todd allen
PGCA Member

Member Info
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 2,136
Thanks: 1,890
Thanked 3,249 Times in 1,125 Posts

Default

I started shooting sporting clays about that same time period, and with a 30" Beretta 682 International Trap, that I ordered as a pigeon gun.
When I went to a 32" Perazzi Comp 1, I was shooting long barrels pretty well. Then there was a Step Ribbed MX 8, and then a 30" SC 3.
The last 15 years or so, I've been using a custom built AL 391 Trap Gun with a 30" bbl on sporting clays, and have shot that gun very very well.
My Parker's that get the most play are 30 and 32" guns, btw.
todd allen is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to todd allen For Your Post:
Unread 09-20-2022, 09:38 AM   #23
Member
John Allen
PGCA Lifetime
Member
 
John Allen's Avatar

Member Info
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 582
Thanks: 2
Thanked 1,600 Times in 342 Posts

Default

When I started in the gun business in the early 70s a 26" gun would bring a 25% or more premium over 30" guns. You could not give a 32"away. The only people who bought long barreled guns were a few hard core duck hunters. It all began to change in the 90s when sporting clays really took off. I think the decline of quail and grouse hunting have contributed to lower demand for 26" guns as well.
John Allen is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to John Allen For Your Post:
Unread 09-20-2022, 10:58 AM   #24
Member
ED J, MORGAN
PGCA Lifetime
Member

Member Info
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 447
Thanks: 1,550
Thanked 529 Times in 171 Posts

Default

I shoot 28 and 30 inches better than 26. Prob longer barrel helps with follow through.
ED J, MORGAN is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09-20-2022, 11:18 AM   #25
Member
Mills
PGCA Lifetime Member
Since 3rd Grade
 
Mills Morrison's Avatar

Member Info
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 10,303
Thanks: 14,183
Thanked 12,307 Times in 4,412 Posts

Default

I prefer 26" for quail hunting although I have my fair share of 28" guns that do just fine too. 30" is all I need for duck hunting. I am sure I am one of the few
__________________
Whoever said you can't buy happiness forgot little puppies. Gene Hill
Mills Morrison is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to Mills Morrison For Your Post:
Unread 09-20-2022, 07:33 PM   #26
Member
mobirdhunter
PGCA Lifetime
Member
 
Garry L Gordon's Avatar

Member Info
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 4,650
Thanks: 13,085
Thanked 9,471 Times in 3,042 Posts

Default

Short barreled guns are an abomination and no one should own one. You can send them all to me and I'll keep them out of circulation. I will especially keep the higher grade, well balanced, straight/splinter, two trigger guns out of circulation. You're all welcome!
__________________
“Every day I wonder how many things I am dead wrong about.”
― Jim Harrison
"'I promise you,' he said, 'on my word of honor, I won't die on the opening of the bird season.'" -- Robert Ruark (from The Old Man and the Boy)
Garry L Gordon is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to Garry L Gordon For Your Post:
Unread 09-20-2022, 10:10 PM   #27
Member
Gary Laudermilch
PGCA Member

Member Info
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,327
Thanks: 3,037
Thanked 2,100 Times in 673 Posts

Default

Hey Garry, you can send me your excess. I'm not fussy - lower grades with pistol grips are fine with me. I don't seem to have a need for long barrels on a clays gun. For me 28 inches is long.
Gary Laudermilch is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Gary Laudermilch For Your Post:
Unread 09-21-2022, 07:16 AM   #28
Member
mobirdhunter
PGCA Lifetime
Member
 
Garry L Gordon's Avatar

Member Info
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 4,650
Thanks: 13,085
Thanked 9,471 Times in 3,042 Posts

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Gary Laudermilch View Post
Hey Garry, you can send me your excess. I'm not fussy - lower grades with pistol grips are fine with me. I don't seem to have a need for long barrels on a clays gun. For me 28 inches is long.
Sounds quite fair to me!
__________________
“Every day I wonder how many things I am dead wrong about.”
― Jim Harrison
"'I promise you,' he said, 'on my word of honor, I won't die on the opening of the bird season.'" -- Robert Ruark (from The Old Man and the Boy)
Garry L Gordon is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09-21-2022, 07:37 AM   #29
Member
Dean Romig
PGCA Invincible
Life Member
 
Dean Romig's Avatar

Member Info
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 31,562
Thanks: 35,442
Thanked 33,041 Times in 12,322 Posts

Default

These days about all of my grouse, woodcock and Skeet shooting I do with 26” Parkers because I just prefer that length… But not so long ago, maybe 15 years or so, I had that two-barrel set twenty-gauge Repro, both choked Q1 and Q2 but one set was 26” and the other was 28” and I much preferred the 28” set for Skeet, and I just don’t know why. The development of my preferences of barrel length was still in its infancy though.





.
__________________
"I'm a Setter man.
Not because I think they're better than the other breeds,
but because I'm a romantic - stuck on tradition - and to me, a Setter just "belongs" in the grouse picture."

George King, "That's Ruff", 2010 - a timeless classic.
Dean Romig is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to Dean Romig For Your Post:
Unread 09-21-2022, 08:43 AM   #30
Member
Stan Hillis
PGCA Member

Member Info
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 1,694
Thanks: 3,143
Thanked 3,898 Times in 1,112 Posts

Default

It means little to say that there is a lot of difference in handling with longer vs shorter barrels. How the barrels are built/struck means just as much, or more, than length. There are 32" barreled guns that handle like a dream ........... quick and lively as any person could need. My 31 1/2" Perazzi MX 8 is such a gun. There is no target too fast for it, regardless how close in it is. Where the weight is concentrated on the gun determines how lively, or how sluggish, it will be. Not all 32" guns are created equal, and not all 26" ones are, either.

I shoot longer barreled guns better. Period. A 28" barrel is short, in my realm of thinking. My main quail/woodcock gun is a 28" barreled Philly Fox 20 ga., but I have done some good work in the quail fields and woodcock tangles with a 30" Verona 28 ga., properly choked. Personally, I think too much is made over speed in gun handling, for fast flushing birds. Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.
Stan Hillis is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to Stan Hillis For Your Post:
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 06:51 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright © 1998 - 2023, Parkerguns.org
Copyright © 2004 Design par Megatekno
- 2008 style update 3.7 avec l'autorisation de son auteur par Stradfred.