New Member - Needs Help!

[Steve Sanford]

All~

My Dad gave me this Parker many years ago. I am trying to understand what it is - how to properly describe or name it.

By way of introduction, I imagine I am a bit off course from many of the members. I have hunted ducks since I was 12 (I'll be 60 this year). I was lucky to have a Dad who ignited the passion and I was lucky enough to take my Dad gunning into his last year; I watched him double on Brant at age 85. Although I chase Turkeys in the spring and may shoot a deer each fall, I am a waterfowler at heart. I carve and paint decoys, build and restore boats, and retired a couple of years back from a 35-year career as a Wildlife Ecologist (primarily with NYSDEC). Although I have shot a few ducks with this 12 gauge Parker - and even shot my first goose with its 28 gauge twin - I was long ago corrupted by a friend who got me hooked on the Winchester Model 12. My everyday shooter is a 12 gauge Model 12 built in 1925 (coincidentally, the year of my Dad's birth).

Here's what I think I know/have discovered about this gun:

SN 241387

Manufactured after 1934, by Remington in Ilion, NY

It is 12 gauge, for 2 3/4" shells.

It has ejectors (not just extractors).

Frame size is 1 / 2 - which I gather means between Size 1 and Size 2 (and not Size One-half)

Barrel weight is 3 10 (superscript) - which I gather means 3 lbs 10 ounces.

The barrel length is 28" - measured from breech to muzzle.

I am not certain of the chokes - is that stamped/engraved anywhere on the gun? I think I remember my Dad telling me it was Mod and Full but cannot verify that.

The grade is the confusing part. As you can see from the pictures (I hope I am attaching them correctly - is there a way to import them into the message? Should I use Photobucket?)

As per this site's instructions, the water table is stamped DH. But, on the lug, it says G Grade. On the action, GH is stamped.

My Dad had always referred to it as a DHE. (my understanding is that the E signifies ejectors). This designation seems to match well with any pictures I have seen in books and on the web.

Am I on the right path?

I will appreciate any help you can give to a pump-gun shooter.

All the best,

SJS

[Bruce Day]

GHE, not a D grade. Its says G right on the barrel lug and frame flats.

Parker did not mark chokes, you'll have to measure them.

Its a 1939, maybe 1938 gun, made in Ilion after the Remington purchase. It is one of the last made.

Nice and desireable gun. If you spend some time shooting it, you might find you prefer it over a pump gun. Treat it with respect, it will go for 150 years or more.

[Eldon Goddard]

Looks to me like you have a 1/2 frame 12 not a 1 1/2.

[Double Play]

Originally Posted by Steve Sanford

All~


Frame size is 1 / 2 - which I gather means between Size 1 and Size 2 (and not Size One-half)


SJS

Steve,
Your gun is a "Half Frame" not a 1 1/2 frame making it somewhat rare and to some more valuable. Very nice gun in excellent condition.

[Eldon Goddard]

Have you weighed her? It would be interesting to see how light they got these 1/2 frame 12s.

[Jim DiSpagno]

Congrats Steve. You sure came to the right place. Please post pics of the "twin" in 28 ga. and serial# Who knows could be consecutive #s. Jim D.

[ddp]

I agree with Jim, let's see the 28. nice looking GH. i don't believe i could leave that in the closet for the Mod 12. IMO
ddp

[Steve Sanford]

All~

Thanks so much for all of the great information. I'm stopping by a friend's tomorrow to measure the chokes. (He's a "double" guy who has done it before and has the right calipers.) Might as well weigh the gun, too.

The story on the 28 is...amusing. When I was 13 or 14 (1966, 67), a friend of my Dad's stopped by with the gun one evening after dinner. I do not remember his name, but he owned the bowling alley around the corner. (I grew up on Long Island, in East Islip. Oscar's on Carleton Avenue was the bowling alley.) He came by it when some guy came into the bar and offered to sell him the gun for $25. One can only speculate about the "provenance" of this fine fowling piece but I would imagine the deal was quickly closed. In any event, the new owner lent it to us for the duck season. It was returned to him afterward and I have no idea where it wound up.

As I mentioned, I did shoot my first goose with it. We were hunting on the shore of Nicoll's Cove (on Great South Bay) with a duck rig on the water and a goose rig on land behind us. My Dad had left to get some coffee when 3 Canadas stooled right in. I had to shoot my bird 3 times to bring him to bag. My Dad, when he returned, was very excited for me and proud - but did ask why I hadn't grabbed his 12 gauge (Winchester Model 50) right next to me in the blind....

Interesting coincidence: Just today, while sorting through a bunch of vintage shotshells (also from my Dad), I gave a friend what I thought were a bunch of loose 20 gauge shells. His sharp-eyed son could read that they were, in fact, 28 gauge.

All the best,

SJS

Pencil Brook Farm
South Cambridge, NY

[Harold Pickens]

Great gun. Maybe some one can tell us why it is clearly marked with a DH to the right of the serial number, but GH on the water table and elsewhere. What type of steel is marked on the rib? Perhaps that is why his father referred to it as a DHE( I agree its a GHE)

[ddp]

Good eye Harold, i missed it. interesting.
ddp