How old was you when you bought your first Parkers ?

[George "Scott" Davis]

Sorry, everyone for my miss spelling!!! His name was Paul Fuchs and some of you may remember him from his days at the Browning Customer Shop. Sorry for my inappropriate spelling and I apologize if I offended anyone.

[Scott Barter]

Hello everyone!
New Parker owner and new member too! Thought I would go all in. I’m 56 and just bought my first Parker. I’m cross eyed dominant so shotgunning has been a challenge for me but I am learning lots of ways to adapt and know what I need to shoot well. Honestly I always thought Parker’s were a bit clunky but i’ve Learned now that there are some s great handling ones to. I just bought a 12 ga VH. Yes common except this one is built on a 1 frame and fits me well with 141/2 LOP and only 2 1/4 DAH! Has very nice wood and a lot of CC left as well. I couldn’t pass it up for a late season pheasant gun. I have a lot of shotguns and lately I’ve been buying and selling several to refine my collection to classic guns with great dimensions. I just bought a 20 superposed with 28 inch tubs and it only has 2 1/4 drop too!
Really great forum. I think I would like a Parker 16 to round things out! Has to have little drop which is the challenge, but I am patient!

[charlie cleveland]

welcome if you buy one parker you will have to buy another one thats just the way it is....charlie

[Milton C Starr]

Originally Posted by charlie cleveland

welcome if you buy one parker you will have to buy another one thats just the way it is....charlie

I can see that being the case ! , I have been looking at a few that I wouldnt mind getting . The 16 ga and 20 ga PH twist barreled Parkers I have seen are a bit expensive but eventually I would like to get those to go with the 10 ga .

Theres a multitude of doubles I would like to get as I start my collection .
For some reason I always wanted a Beretta 410 10 ga . I have a hard time focusing on what I want next haha .

[6pt-Sika]

Originally Posted by Milton C Starr

Theres a multitude of doubles I would like to get as I start my collection .
I have a hard time focusing on what I want next haha .

I’ve found it’s okay to want something specific . BUT you need to keep your eyes open and an open mind . Sometimes other things at really exceptional buyers prices crop up and even if you don’t really want them for the right price you add them and maybe not to long there after turn them over for profit then you have more equity towards something you really desire .

[J.B. Books]

Originally Posted by Russell E. Cleary

Milton:

Four of the six Parker guns I own were legacies from my father -- Trojan 12; VH 12; VH 16 and DHE 12. In recent years I have added a GH 12 and a VH 16.

A WW II veteran, he departed from the usual path of his contemporaries by acquiring in the 1950s-1960s the Parker side-by-sides, and not repeaters, as were his buddies’ choices. Together they shot skeet and hunted Pheasant and waterfowl.

His preference for them was not because he was an antique guy, but because he was a quality guy.

Regrettably, despite my having a plethora of family photos of him, power-boating; sailing; fishing and standing near the classic airplane he restored and won prizes for, I don’t have a single one of him hunting or with a gun.

I live in a house surrounded by objects that were his and evoke his memory: furniture; photos; implements for hobbies and tools of trade; fishing gear; documents and various personal miscellany. But it is the guns that transmit the most meaningful connection to him.

As physical objects go, guns have a way of conveying in concentration a sense of its owner -- his (or her) character, experiences, relationships, and achievements, and do so inter-generationally, as best as anything I know.

I envy your early start in this and your mindful grasp of detail. Just keep it all in proportion and your rewards will be manifold.

You are a very fortunate man.

[Twoatlow8]

Originally Posted by Dave Tercek

First Parker about 1990,I was 30 years old. Up until then I new little about Parkers. They always seemed to be something that were out of my reach.
Back then, pre-internet, gunshows were numerous and very active places. It wasn't uncommon to buy or trade a gun then flip it at the same show.
I was at a show in Greensburg PA. I had just traded up to a little Browning Citori, English grip gun. Walking past a table back in the corner an older gentleman, Bill Ault, had a table full of Parkers.
I walked out of the show without the Browning, but with a little 20g Trojan. That was the start. A few weekends later at a show in Harrisburg PA I thought I was trading up to a nice 16ga VH from the Hartman Bros. ,Elmira Arms, well it was my first learning experience with Parker condition. I wish I new were my first Parker is now.

The Hartman boys taught many people lessons.

[Phil Yearout]

I don't remember how old I was; 55-60, somewhere in there. With several Stevens and Fox shotguns in the cabinet I thought I'd see how the other half lives so I made an offer on a little 16ga Trojan with an issue or two that I was sure would be declined and suddenly found myself owning it. We've gotten along just fine and it got me in the Doubles Club ...

[Milton C Starr]

I really those paper 16 gauge hulls .
Ive have enjoyed all the stories I have read in this thread .

Another interesting topic would be how to introduce or get other people my age interested in vintage doubles .

[BRDHNTR]

Our family, father, uncles all shot Parkers. My dad inherited his dad's 16 ga vh and shot that for years. Before i was old enough to hunt with a gun i would walk alongside my dad while he hunted grouse and woodcock. He talked alot about how fine parker shotguns were. I guess i just grew up not knowing there was any other shotgun worth hunting with except a Parker. And growing up in New England back in the day you hunted with a 16. When i reached 13 yrs if age dad let me hunt with the 16 and i killed a lot of birds, rabbits etc with that gun. After my dad died of Lou Gherigs disease I inherited the 16 and have kept it ever since. I finally had to get it fully restored as the stock at the head was pretty punky, there were no colors left. It needed a good restoration so i drove out to Del Grego's shop one day and sat down with Lawrence and Babe and figured out what we wanted to do. All new wood, colors, rust blue appropriately etc. A yr later they called and said it was done. After i got back from viet nam, i knew i had to have more parkers. It's a disease but one that won't kill you. You may go broke, but it won't kill you.