$ 200 Box of Junk

[George "Scott" Davis]

Received a call from a family friend in the fall of 2004 saying he was standing in a store in Tucson, Arizona noticed a box in the corner with two side by side shotgun barrel protruding. The box was full of old shotgun parts plus the two barrels which were both marked “Parker Bros Meriden Conn.” He also was positive the barrels were two different gauges, however he was unsure if the parts matched the barrels and the buttstock sounded like it was filled with gravel. However the proprietor was firm on the $ 200 price for the “box of junk”, my brother and I suggested he buy the box if nothing else the barrels were worth the money.

The box contained the complete gun, the 16 gauge barrels showed limited use but the 12 gauge barrels had lots of pitting and abuse. The buttstock contained a hand full of gravel and was damaged beyond repair. Upon further examination by a local gunsmith the 12 gauge barrel were pitted to beyond safety.

The parts in the box when assembled contained 16 gauge GH hammerless Parker shotgun serial number 92980 (see enclosed letter) which was completed on November 10, 1899. According to Order Book No. 59 it was returned May 15, 1903 to fit a 12 gauge set of barrels.

My brother purchased the “Box of Junk” from our mutual friend and Parker 92980 started the process of being redone. First step was replacing the 12 gauge barrels, after several years of searching I found the appropriate barrels at the 2006 Las Vegas Antique Gun Show for $ 750. A Parker skeleton butt plate was later discovered at the same store in Tucson for $ 1 so we decided it would be only proper to use it on 92980.

The shotgun was shipped off to Paul Fuchs in Alton, Illinois to finish. Unfortunately Paul was only able to complete the fitting of the 12 gauge barrels before he became ill and his widow returned the gun back to Arizona. Paul over the years had done multiple guns for me and my brother so we had to locate another gunsmith.

In 2008 the gun was shipped to Dave Norin in Antioch, Illinois for completion. Dave stocked the gun to my brother’s dimensions and you can clearly see he has done an outstanding job with stock, rust bluing of the barrels, and the case hardening of the action.

In the fall of 2014 Parker 92980 will back in the field hunting Dove in Arizona and Montana for Huns and Sharptail Grouse.