The Parker Reproduction Story

[Wild Skies]

. . . and if you take that $10,000.00 that a Parker Reproduction DHE would have to have retailed for back in 1989 and plug that number into an inflation calculator, a Parker Reproduction DHE would retail for $20,393.95 today! This makes the currently available Repros in today's marketplace look like screaming bargains, eh?

[B. Dudley]

What was done with the making of the Parker Reproductions is truely amazing. They do remain as one of the best guns you can buy for the money.

Many would not know that the guns were actually manufactured for such a short time period. Even though they were available for purchase for longer than that.

One example of mis-information is that I had heard that the manufacturing facility stopped production because they decided they could make more money in manufacturing car parts. But the article states the facility was simply demolished to build a golf driving range. I trust the article as truth.

[Dean Romig]

And this is all the more reason to say "The Parker Reproduction by Winchester is a grossly undervalued 'remanufacture' of a classic American SXS shotgun."






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[B. Dudley]

And now is a great time to buy. With the lowering prices in the market, I am seeing many Reproductions at lower prices than I have ever seen them at.

[Tom Flanigan]

In some ways I guess the reproduction was better than the original. Modern steel and much better wood generally. But it is in the fit and finish area that I think they fall short of the original, at least the DHE. I bought one when they came out but have sold it. My gun and others I have seen did not generally have as nice a wood to metal fit. Also, the checkering on my gun had run overs and crossed lines. I have seen the same mistakes on other reproductions. The stock finish was some type of poly that was a bear to remove. I re-did the barrels, removing the made in Japan and Winchester logo, took the checkering down and did it right including mullered borders and put an oil finish on the stocks. The engraving might have been finished up by hand but it was clearly done in an automated fashion.

But the real benefit of those guns was that it got a graded “Parker” in the hands of many who could not afford the originals in small bore. All in all a good venture, but for me personally, I’ll stick to the originals.

[C.O.B.]

My first "Parker" was a repo 28ga with a straight grip and sst. I was in my early 20's at the time and couldn't have been happier with my "Parker". The 28 led to adding a 20 and a couple that had such nice wood I never fired them. To me the 20 is a heavy gun but the 28 is fast and lively. If you want a small bore the 28 Parker repo is unbeatable.........unless it's an original Parker

[Bill Mullins]

A good friend of mine that I have hunted with for many years purchased Reproductions in 20, 28, and 12 gauges in the 1980’s as they were first offered. He has pretty much used them exclusively since first acquing each one. He has literally shot several hundreds of rounds through each of them with only one malfunction and that was in the 12 gauge when it doubled on him during a hunt in the rain. Upon returning home he dissasimbaled, dried it out, cleaned, oiled it and put back together. It has never doubled on him since. It has a single trigger as does the 20 and 28 gauges. They have each performed flawlessly. A darn good testament for the durability of the Parker Reproductions. Tom Skeuse delivered on his objective to manufacture an original Parker clone at an affordable price to those sportsmen that could not afford the original “Old Reliable”! 🤗😊

[Wild Skies]

Originally Posted by Tom Flanigan

In some ways I guess the reproduction was better than the original. Modern steel and much better wood generally. But it is in the fit and finish area that I think they fall short of the original, at least the DHE. I bought one when they came out but have sold it. My gun and others I have seen did not generally have as nice a wood to metal fit. Also, the checkering on my gun had run overs and crossed lines. I have seen the same mistakes on other reproductions.

~~~snip~~~

I don't doubt you happened to buy a Parker Reproduction in which the checkering had overruns or crossed lines, but I believe that to be the exception rather than the rule.

I just examined very closely the several Repros that I own and could not find a single overrun or any crossed lines in the checkering, nor do I recall any other Repros I have owned or have examined that have shown these issues. I've also gone through the twenty pages of the "Let's See Some Wood" thread and could not find a single example of a Repro that has overruns or crossed lines.

I wish someone would post a pic of what I've been missing.

[Tom Flanigan]

Originally Posted by Greg Baehman

I don't doubt you happened to buy a Parker Reproduction in which the checkering had overruns or crossed lines, but I believe that to be the exception rather than the rule.

I just examined very closely the several Repros that I own and could not find a single overrun or any crossed lines in the checkering, nor do I recall any other Repros I have owned or have examined that have shown these issues. I've also gone through the twenty pages of the "Let's See Some Wood" thread and could not find a single example of a Repro that has overruns or crossed lines.

I wish someone would post a pic of what I've been missing.

My comments were not meant to be derogatory of the repro’s, just my personal take on the gun being better than the originals. They were an awful lot of gun for the money when they came out and still are. But the fit and finish of the DHE’s is not the equal of original guns. I don’t see how it could be and keep the price at a point where the gun would be marketable, even being built in Japan. The checkering was not a true point pattern as Brian pointed out and the checkered area of the skeleton butt was glued on. And, of course, the case hardening was not bone charcoal. None of this detracts from a gun at the repro’s price point. If the gun was finished the way Parker did it, it couldn’t be brought to market at a price that put it in reach of the average person.

My gun and the few I have examined were early guns. Perhaps the later repro’s had better checkering. Sometimes I can correct mistakes in checkering if they are not too bad. But on this gun I had to take the checkering down to the wood and do it properly. The checkering on my repro was very poorly done, especially on the forend. Cross overs, depressed areas where a mistake was made and then checkered deeper to cover it up and other imperfections. I’m not saying this was typical. But I did see mistakes on a few other repro’s I examined back when I had an interest in them.

All in all it was a great effort to bring these guns to market and price them within the reach of the average person. They were fine firearms and will last as long or longer than the originals. My hat is off to the folks who made this happen.

[Bill Murphy]

The unengraved A-1s in the recent auction were a screaming buy. Brian picked up some and yesterday, I talked to a neighbor who also bought one in the same auction.