Buying ?
 

If someone wanted to buy a reproduction what should they not buy or stay away from ? Thanks

In my opinion, the 20 gauge Reproductions are uncomfortably heavy for the kind of upland hunting I do. They're fine for skeet and SC but not for several hours of brush-busting.





.

I agree with Dean. I once owned a 20/16 two barrel set. With the 28”, 16 barrels the gun was well balanced and handled well but with the 26”, 20 ga barrels it was a completely different firearm and had none of the magic of an original 20ga Parker of any grade.

Respectfully I disagree on the 20/26" or the 20/28" for that matter. I've fired a two barrel set owned by a friend quite a bit both on SC courses and a few outings for grouse. I can shoot either one very well, as compared with sub-6 pound guns that tend to swing like a buggy whip and are hard to control on a fast target or bird. Weight too heavy by a 1/2 pound or so? Time to pump iron, split some wood or something similar. Again these are personal opinions.

I split and stack a lot of firewood so my upper body strength is fine. We all have different preferences in guns and enjoy them in different shooting and hunting activities. Some guys shoot a lot of trap, SC, hunt waterfowl from a blind or some sort of boat... but I don't. But I know the kind of gun I'm comfortable with and the balance and feel of the kind of gun I like to hunt grouse and woodcock with and I wouldn't choose a 20 gauge Reproduction. In fact, I'd probably choose a light twelve or a 0-frame 16 over one. And I know a 28 gauge in either a Reproduction or my VHE or my Damascus 20 gauge DH aren't whippy at all for the kind of shooting and hunting I do. But this is just my opinion... YMMV :)

But everybody's different and what's good for one man may not be good for another. That's why there are sooo many side-by-side shotguns to choose from. :cheers:





.

Steve,

How do you intend to use the repro? Today's shooters avoid shorter barrels so you may want to pass on 26" barrels. Also, I'm not a fan of single triggers on a side-by-side however, I don't wear heavy gloves for hunting.

Ken

I like to shoot about anything with my sxs and I shoot more 12 gauge then any . How about the single trigger vs double I would think single would have more troubles . Im what you call a basic field grade guy . Not much bird hunting around here but goose so Im leaning towards the 12 gauge . Thanks for everyones input so far .

My go to grouse gun is a 20 repro at 6.75#. It moves like lightning and smooth as silk. Yes, I'm an old duffer but can easily carry it all day. I've had all sorts of light guns when I thought light was the answer. Not for me. To each his own though.

I personally added some weight to the butt of my 20g repro. As I felt it was too light.

Some things to watch for...

The stock dimensions are on the high side with the repros. Just make sure you like them that way.

Pay very close attention to grain layout in the wrist on the stock. A number of them had very poor layout and that combined with soft wood meant easy breakage.

First let me say...All Parker Reproductions are good guns in general. The price will reflect availability, use and demand. Just check the auctions and keep track of what is always available, they will have the lower asking prices. You must first narrow your wish list then I could give you a better answer. A waterfowl hunter may want a 12 gauge steel shot special, they were limited production made to shoot steel shot and had 3" chambers. Can be hard to find and demand a premium. SXS Ohio

Repro's are great guns overall, but there's a few things I look for especially in the wood on them. One of the best things about repro's is the nicely figured wood on them. With that said; you really need to know what your looking at and not fall in love with wood right off.

The wood used on the repro's for the most part came from fruit orchard tree's in California. These tree's have a lot of grafting done to them to help with fruit production and because of this can have branch graft lines in places you don't want any weaknesses like the wrist layout or figure changes. The other thing you see quite often is white/sap wood patches that stand out like a sore thumb if they are in the wrong area. Do your home work & know what your looking at when inspecting the wood.

Inspect each gun for it's own merits and know what you want for a gun. Know before you start looking what gauge, triggers, grip, forearm, barrel length, chokes, etc. & keep in mind that they came in two different length's of pull 14 1/4" & 14 3/4". They can be rather high dimensioned, but if you look hard enough you can find one with more drop at heel & comb.

One of the biggie's for me is a repro must still be wearing it's skeleton butt plate, if someone cut the plate off & installed a recoil pad, I have no interest in it. IMO the removal of the SKBP devalues the gun by around a grand.


Good luck with the hunt for one!!

A brand spanking new 20/16 Parker side x side shotgun..20 for the upland east, and 16 for the upland west all designed specifically for time in the field with a bird dog? And, it comes in a case?? And it's within reach of a schmuck like me???

Pffft...sign me up, I'm in.

Did someone say "split some firewood"??? Do I have a deal for you! C'mon up!!

Is that a Holz Hausen, or some variant of, Richard?

It's a solid pile of split birch, stacked so that it will shed the rain better. This was half what I had to deal with; the other half is in the background. This was in 2012 and I'm just now burning up the last few pcs of it.

To summarize: what to lookout for? Basically the same as any firearm: stay away from Repeos that have been altered (stock cut or screws buggered). Find one that floats your boat and enjoy it.

Nice, Richard.

After moving into our house, I gathered about 4/5 cords of fresh cut & split white oak that I mined from our woods and built "Holz Hausens", which apparently, are popular throughout Europe, obviously. I stacked it all on a hill-top in an area that would maximize exposure to our predominant winds so they'd blow through the stacks while also maximizing sunlight. Assembled the stacks in August/Sept and by Oct/Nov the next year, it was dry and burned great. (actually burned some the same Dec I stacked and it burned pretty good, but not quite there). That's fast for white oak. Next year, one full yr later, it was prime firewood and about fully seasoned. It's a pretty good and effective technique of stacking firewood but a bit slow building until you get the hang of it. Dry's out firewood quick though and if you build the "roofs" (which I didn't do) will shed water. I've included a link to a quick overview.

(sorry for the hijack)

You people are nuts :bigbye:

Any Repro is a great buy in todays market - they're all great guns, even the heavy 20's.

https://www.trybackyardfarming.com/b...irewood-stack/

Here’s a quick shot of my first go-around and what ultimately became an ambitious 18/20’ diameter stack about 7’ high, that failed miserably. Failed b/c it was just too big & b/c of the volume of wood that was moving and shifting around as it dried. Lesson learned.

Stacks at about 10/12’ diameter work pretty well if you build them up to about 4’ tall, give it time to shift a little, and then pile the stack up to about 7’ tall for the season. Multiple stacks put a lot of firewood in a relatively small area.

I can really appreciate those stacks of firewood ! We heat our home 98% with wood and dry hardwood is a precious commodity and a beautiful site ! I hope you had a log splitter ! Best,Paul