I know we obsess on here and other vintage sites about being extra careful with these old guns as well we should. In particular with regards to using 2-1/2” RST shells in the vintage Parker’s, Foxes and such. What did people do with these guns the 60-70 years before RST existed? I’m guessing they were hunted with regular 2-3/4” off the shelf shells with no issue.
My father in law did that all through the 50s- 70s hunting and shooting a lot of pheasants with his grandfather’s 1889 Parker GH 12 gauge. Even with Damascus barrels he never gave it a second thought and never had a problem.
Now with the low availability of shotgun shells, components and RST shells, I’m tempted to use 2-3/4” shells, and have to confess that I have this season, used them in my 1924 Parker VH. It has the original 2-5/8” chambers but with lengthened forcing cones. It has shot well with low recoil and probably killed 60-70 ducks and 20 pheasants.
Right now I’m looking at a 1928 16 gauge Sterlingworth with original chambers, but I’m worried about the availability of 2-1/2” 16 gauge shells. I have tons of 2-3/4” on hand.
