1st SBT
 

Here's a couple pics of my first SBT. I love to shoot this gun and it always attracts attention. The old timers love to handle it and start telling stories from the past. It will do anything for me that a modern gun costing many times more could do. The SBT was always one of my dream guns.

It's beautiful. It looks like a very early gun restored by Larry DelGrego. Tell us more about it. By the way, Mike, thanks for the new forum.

Thanks Mike. Looks like an SC without the Pigeon on the bottom. Is that indicitive of the early ones ?? I don't recall reading about that in TPS. Only thing I recall about the early ones is the plug for the fireing pin removal.

what a beauty !!

Kurt

Kurt, You are right.It was mostly early guns. I had 180115 that didn't have the pigeon on the floor plate but I have seen earlier guns that did. Go figure..

This is gun #178956 built in 1917. It was probably restored by DelGrego but before I acquired it. It is an SC with 32" bbl. I believe the 1st year SBT's did not have the pigeon engraved on the floor plate. After the first year the pigeons were included. I'm sure there are plenty of truly knowledgeable Parker guys on this board that can add a wealth of knowledge about these great guns. I'm looking forward to seeing some pics of other SBT's and learning about them.

Yup, early guns were all scroll, no pigeons. As for the "plug" in the receiver, that is either very early or hit or miss. My 177,741 has the plug.

I looked at a 34" gun the other day without the pigeon on the bottom. Those old SBTs were more than just the tool modern guns are now. Unsingle with hi-rib. Expensive and ugly.

You're right Ed about the old guns being more than just tools. These guns are true works of art that have stood the test of time. Each one is an individual creation as opposed to those that are mass produced. I like the new guns and if I was going to be shooting competitively I would probably use one and save the Parker for the championship round. :rotf:

That is absolutely gorgeous!

Mike great looking SBT. Mike does your gun also have the barrel markings engraved on the top rib? Seems this is another feature of the early guns. Later guns are roll stamped on the side of the barrel above the action. We may have to start another thread looking for a Serial number range when these practices were changed. I am including a couple pics here to give you an idea of the pigeon engraving found on some SC traps. Picture 1 is a late 20's vintage gun with the typical style pigeon found from guns ranging from 1920? to 1933?. Some time after the Remington take-over guns start to appear with the pigeon like is found in Picture 2. I look forward to discussions on these features with all you SBT fans out there to try and narrow down the changes in the SBT's over the years. These SBT's remain somewhat of a mystery with most collectors and I am glad to see this addition to the PGCA website. Great Idea for an additional forum . Kudos to all involved. Paul :)
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