DHE .410 Repro on 00-frame - do they exist?
 

Has anyone here seen, or anyone here own, a Parker Reproduction DHE .410 built on a 00-frame? I'm asking about a single gun, not a .410 that's part of a 28/.410 set.

Skeuse marking on barrel or Galazan or other?

I'd be happy to learn of any Skeuse, Galazan or other you have seen or own.

They did not make a production stand alone 410 OO frame gun, only 410/28 sets. It is thought that only one run of 25 barrels were made in OO frame 410. The final count is not known this project was cut short by the sudden factory close. Maybe a second run was in progress??? Side note...all the DHE grade guns I have ever seen available had 26" barrels choked Q1/Q2 or IC/Mod Some of the A1 special sets had 28" 410 barrels and I would love to have a set of them! The last ones I saw listed 3 barrel sets A1 had a price of 50K or close to that.....At those numbers I will most probably never own one of them! )-; SXS Ohio

Kenny, I agree with much of what you've written here and I do recall that A-1 Special 28/28/.410 set listed by G & H for $50K. Where did that "It is thought that only one run of 25 barrels were made in OO frame 410. The final count is not known this project was cut short by the sudden factory close." come from? Is that documented or speculated? And how do we explain the 33 DHE .410s in the Production Chart, are they just the barrels, stand alone guns or are they all 28/.410 DHE sets? Or, another possibility is that the quantity of 33 was mistakenly extrapolated from the Sisley article where he wrote "Finally, the factory started 133 .410s on the tiny 4/0 frame. They completed 33 of these, and that's when production ceased." But, the problem with this possibility is that the 0000-frame guns were intended to be finished out as BHEs or A-1 Specials, or weren't they???

Hi Greg....We are talking PARKER Repro X-files. Lots of smoke but no real proof....all here say, but that's all we got! Maybe there is a big stash of 410 reproductions in some vault....maybe Bill Gates hid them away? Or maybe California gun haters destroyed them. If there was a bigger run made we should be seeing them come out of the big money collections from time to time. How about all the BHE grade guns we seldom see?? Truth is they did not make all that many....They really are scarce is the best answer I have. I think the stated estimates we have are real close. In the last few years I have seen the hard to find guns come available less and less with bigger and bigger price tags! Maybe the serialized production info will surface one day but I will not hold my breath waiting? I will keep my eyes open for a 5lb oooo frame 410 DT-SG-BTF with 26" and 28" barrels or a 28 gauge BHE ....Sweet! (-: SXS Ohio

SHOOTING SPORTSMAN magazine, October/November, 1988,
"The Parker Reproduction, An Interview with Jack Skeuse by
Stuart M. Williams...
Quotes....
Question: Williams:
"Tell me about your .410. In what grade or grades is it made?
Are you going to limit it strictly to a run of 100 guns? On what frame
is it made? How much does it weigh?"

Answer: Skeuse: "The .410 is on two frame sizes. The 00 frame is a 28 gauge
that can be ordered with the .410 barrel as a second or third barrel and
is comparable in weight to the original Parker on a 000 frame.
The new .410 is available on a 0000 frame. It is the frame Charles Parker
would have built it on if he were alive today. It weighs about five and a half
pounds, a weight we feel is ideal for this bore, light but not whippy.
We expect them to sell for the same price as our 12, 20, and 28 gauge guns of
the same grade. At present we have just 100 on order."

Take away from this interview....
Late 1988 interview
PR plant closed at end of December 1988
100 of the 0000 frame .410's ordered
Ordered late but production ended in 1988
Just how many of the 0000 frame guns were actually produced and assembled?
As it is said " the thrill is in the hunt"!!

Bill, I ordered a BHE .410 when only a prototype had been built. My BHE and a BHE ordered at the same time by a friend were never delivered. I doubt that 100 were built, 33 being a more realistic total. The prototype was a really nice gun and I offered to buy it at the time it was being shown. The Skeuse representative would not sell it to me.

As hard as I've tried, I find it impossible to believe that 33 is a realistic number of 0000-frame .410 Repros built when we have this:

We, or I, would like to hear more about this gun.