Rainy day guns?

[Dean Romig]

Thanks Todd! He's better than just "pretty good" We've all seen some fine examples of Brian's work.





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[todd allen]

But the shoemaker's shoes always need work, . . .

[James L. Martin]

Dean,sorry to hear about your new 28ga, a few years ago my hunting buddy also stepped into a yellow jacket nest ,guess he was lucky to get away with only a few stings. Brain is very good I am sure he will make the break disappear.

[Eric Johanen]

My foul weather gun is a 12 gauge Gaspar Arizaga sidelock ejector with heavy frame and side clips. Beautiful wood and engraving 2 barrel set. Price was just too good to pass on and it has given me great service for years. Probably made in the 1970's before the Diarm disaster. I use the 2'nd set of barrels made after the gun was built not made by the maker. These are unmarked after market just slightly tighter chocks. At last years Great Northern, Friday was a all day real soaker and 3/4 way through the course the left lock stopped working. Finished up with a friends WC Scott. Dried it off real good and wiped it down. When I got to the hotel I pulled the locks and let it dry overnight. When I go home I pulled the locks again and the trigger plate and let it dry out for several days. Worked perfectly and applied some sealer to the lock inlets to prevent this from happening again. Wood had swollen and prevented the left lock hammer from moving freely. Side locks are really great for wet weather guns.

[B. Dudley]

That is a hell of a break Dean. Looks like it goes clear up into the comb. I agree that it looks like it would repair nicely. I hope it turns out well for such a nice little gun.

[Dean Romig]

It’s a very clean split.





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[Craig Larter]

So as Dean's experience has shown there is a risk taking Parker's afield. It is a downer when a gun gets damaged but sooner or later it will happen. A friend fell out of the golf cart at the recent Vintagers (hit a bump in the road) and his very high condition AAHE hit the gravel roadway and scratched it noticeably. I real bad situation that my friend took as well as could be expected.
So my rule is if you want to preserve a high condition Parker in its original condition don't expose it t the field or marsh. I have a few "caretaker guns" that reside safely in my man cave. What say you??

[Phil Yearout]

Nope. If I ain't gonna shoot it I don't own it.

[6pt-Sika]

Originally Posted by Phil Yearout

Nope. If I ain't gonna shoot it I don't own it.

Hence the reason thirty to forty civil war and earlier guns will be liquidated from my accumulation soon .

[stumpstalker]

I have made no formal resolutions on what guns to use in wet weather, or to take into the mishap-prone “grouse woods”. Circumstances do change.

But as for now, I do not feel comfortable using very far from the shooting range two of the higher-condition Parker guns of the four I inherited. The two in “shooter”- grade and condition, being #2-framed and long-barreled, are so not ideal for the hunting I have been doing.

Thus, I bought two restored guns for where I regularly go afield. They have already been professionally dealt with; and if need-be, I can have it done again.

This keeps the hallowed legacy guns of higher grade or condition out of harm’s way. I just feel better about it, given the tiny sphere I occupy in the Parker universe, even though I can imagine my father saying, “go ahead; hunt with them” (he certainly did).

Here is a photo of one of the two I bought: a GH 12; with 28-inch barrels honed and re-blacked and the stock refinished; on a 1 ½-frame. Respectable and shootable.