What mistakes have you made buying Parkers?

[Spin Drift]

My biggest Parker mistake was buying the first one. I've also got an RBL 28 and an Inverness 20. The Inverness is extremely well made. I think Tony lost money on the early sales. He did engrave "Valedictorian" on the top of the barrels as the gun was a graduation present for my Pretty Daughter.

[Bill Murphy]

The Lovely Linda's CSMC over under is an Inverness. Again, the best over under she ever owned.

[M Vollinger]

Bought a gun from Ed. What fun.

[Bruce Hering]

I have been reading this thread and ..... Well, I have made a few (yea right) mistakes. The earliest one was back in 1968 when I did not buy a Model 42 Skeet gun with all the bells and whistles for $500.00. Go figure. Still in college and money was to say the least tight.

Since then there have been others including buying a graded LC with 32" barrels that I guess were honed to damn near hitting air.... Finally got it sold to a guy that had extra barrels but lost my shirt and under ware on the deal.

Now, all I want are shooters but nice ones. I am careful to the 10th degree. If an add seems to be hiding something I call and ask all the questions. If the folks on the other end seem even a bit sketchy I am gone. Sure I guess I could lose some but what the hell... My money.

As to selling dealers on line. I have had good luck with phone calls and asking questions from several of them. Just today I questioned a gun and wanted MWT and weight on a gun. The gentlemen on the other end said he would call me back within the hour and he did. I will likely buy this gun. I will dicker with him but the gun is exactly what I am looking for so there will be some give and take I suspect.

Some are good and know their stuff while there are still a few not so good. What gripes me the most is on GI where some will make their picture just a bit out of focus or subdued light. That always makes me think they are trying to hide something.

JMHO

[Andy]

Bruce I loved your response. I just bought a Browning 20g Citori Skeet 28". Just enough "fuzz" in the photos to make it tough, but I wanted the gun. I paid $1400. I may have over paid by a few hundred but who knows. The gun was DIRTY and chambers corroded. I asked LOP, drops, and if the chokes could be removed with a key. His response was NOTHING to measurements and "I can't take the gun apart and touch the chokes, it's consignment, sold as is...I'm not allowed to even touch it." I won it, it will be fine when I'm done with it with new Carlson choke tubes and Timberluxe, but I gave him a mediocre review and also mentioned the repaired fore end crack repair he apparently "missed". He emailed me appalled that I posted that review and I told him why. He responded "I usually don't deal in shotguns.." To which I replied, "Then F*!^&^# don't deal in shotguns from now on...." I'm not the most knowledgeable but this was yet another lesson for me. BTW it's awesome to shoot : )

[PML]

I have followed this thread for a few weeks now wondering if there were others like me and waiting for their stories. I have now come to the conclusion that I am alone. So here is my story.

30 years ago I started buying Parkers as my father had let me shoot his Parkers in my youth. As I found the financial means later in life I wanted some Parkers of my own and started looking for my own guns. Looking back on it, I now realize that my first 10 years of Parker buying mistakes was that I followed the “William Murphy school of Parker acquisition”. This method proved fruitful and gave me varying degrees of gun volume, fun and satisfaction along with some later deep regret. After my first decade of following the “Murphy principle” I had 30 parkers in various states disrepair and 5 or 6 fully working guns that I could shoot when I was not pursuing more orphans or parts to fix the parts guns and pigs that I had already purchased knowing I could fix them with parts found later. This life long trek of buying, searching, and re-uniting actions, barrels, stocks, and forends with their missing parts to make a gun complete is THE MURPHY MISSION and I had subscribed hook, line, and Sinker. I figured that If Murphy could do then so could I.

Halfway through my second decade of gun buying joy I realized that I was being duped(It only took 10+ years). While my functioning guns had increased, I WAS STILL LOOKING AT THE WRONG GUNS TO COLLECT AND SHOOT. I finally discovered that the “Murphy school” was just a sham to get new gun buyers to dig the world for bottom feeders, parts, and parts guns and report to “father Bill” what they found (hopefully with a scan of the factory letter and some good clear photos so that he might use their parts to complete his own 900+ project guns.

That was my #1 mistake in gun buying. I still have the 30 project guns from the decade of my youth following the “Murphy rules”. I am confident that “Father Murphy” has the other half of each of these guns that I own so I refrain from posting any photos or serial # information until he can produce a photo of the other half.…….

PML

P.S. Some parts of this story are VERY accurate and some are just busting on Bill Murphy for NOT posting pictures of his guns (project or otherwise). All, are meant in jest! So, if you take offence at my funning on Murphy…… TFB ��
CHEERS

[Dean Romig]

Great story PML!!

But I fear you haven’t succeeded in shaming Bro Murphy into posting any of it.





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[Brush Buster]

The biggest Parker Mistake I ever made was not figuring out how to afford one and then not taking the sellers name and contact info. ! I was walking the aisles at the Pennsylvania Gun Collectors Gun Show years ago when it was still in Monroeville Pa. when I glance a few aisles across and see a Fellow carrying a Parker as if he's trying to peddle it ! So ,I yelled across to him and we met at the end of the aisle and to my shock he had a CHE 28 Gauge with 32" barrels !!!!!!! The first thing out of his mouth was something like this if you don't have 25 Grand , a 67 Corvette or an acre of property in the mountains don't even bother looking at it ! At that time ,I couldn't have come up with 25 G's without a second mortage on my Place , the 67 Vette was totally out but I did have some property but after listening to this guys BS for an hour I decided I didn't want him living anywhere near me ! Today , it would be quietly resting in my Safe !

[mobirdhunter]

Originally Posted by Russ Jackson

Today , it would be quietly resting in my Safe !

Russ, this is assuming you didn't use it to shoot your neighbor, yes?

Sometimes it's a big mistake just to start talking to a guy like you describe.

[Double Lab]

The biggest mistake I made is not buying all the smallbore (20 & 28) Parkers I ran into back in the 70's and 80's when I had the chance.