Thank you Garth

I have a photo of my father with this gun in one hand while retrieving a quail with his other hand from Ginger his Brittany Spaniel. I believe the photo was taken somewhere near Brewster, FL in the 40's as this is where my grandfather lived at the time. As some of you may know, the town of Brewster no longer exists and is listed in the register of Florida ghost towns. Just curious if anyone is interested in viewing the photo, and if so which forum thread should it be placed in?

By all means post it here John. This is your thread and we love pictures.
Cheers

Ok, as soon as I figure out how.

Photo of my dad with his Parker
 

Attachment 76835

This is my dad with the Parker Brothers 12ga that my grandfather purchased around 1895 (so I was told). My dad is retrieving a quail from Ginger's mouth. Ginger is my grandfather's Brittany Spaniel. The photo was taken near Brewster, FL sometime in the 40's.


John

I have just come to the realization that my grandfather could not have purchased his Parker in 1895 as he would have been only 5 years old. So I now believe it was probably purchased more likely after 1925 which is when he moved his family from Alabama to Florida. What I don't know is whether or not the gun was new when he purchased it. As soon as I get it from my son I'll know the serial number and I can find out more about it.

I appreciate the snake boots your father is sporting. When my father and I hunted quail around Naples, Florida (all houses now) we started at 6 AM and quit at 9 AM. That was time the rattle snakes started to wake up. There were a few "almost shot my foot" killing snakes. You couldn't see the dog for the palmetto bushes, but he had a bell and when it quit ringing the dog was on point. Then you would run as best you could in that direction as the birds wouldn't hold and flush. Great fun.

Harry, I don't know where my grandfather and father hunted during their early days in Florida. They lived in Boca Grande from the mid 20's until around 1940. My father left Boca Grande for Miami and a career with the railroad, and my grandfather left for Brewster, FL due to being transferred by the railroad. My grandfather hunted around Brewster until his death in the early 50's. My father was transferred to Tampa in 1954, and he and I hunted birds on the property where Busch Gardens now stands. I started shooting at age 7 with a old Iver Johnson single shot 410 which was my father's gun when he was about 6. I still have it. Definitely fun days. I never got to hunt with my grandfather as I was only 5 or 6 when he died.

Grandfather's Gun
 

Ok, I finally got the gun back from my son and took some photos. I found that according to the serial number the gun was manufactured in 1905 and it does have a damascus barrel.
Serial Number 131973

***Sorry, I missed the photo when I posted this -- great photo!!!***

John, Welcome! I would love to see the photo you reference, and I'd bet there are more here that would also. It might be best posted in the "hunting with Parkers" section, but I'm sure it might fit in other places also. I can't wait to see the gun. I think it would be interesting and informative to see what someone would order for quail during that time period (and in the deep South). If you get a letter, how nice would it be to have it with your grandfather's name attached to the order?! For a Parker owner, it does not get much better.