West Coast Parkers

[Elk Hunter]

In Central Oregon where I live you seldom see Parkers as this was logging country most people just did make a living with little to spare for something as expensive as a Parker. On the other hand Ithaca's are fairly common and Remington's show up now and then. That said I've had eight Parker's but gave two of them to my oldest daughter so I guess I still have six on hand. Since I started buying double rifles the purchase of smooth bores has languished but I still love them.

[Jean Swanson]

While copying the Parker records some years ago in Ilion, it was noted that there were many, many orders from Simmons Hardware in Saint Louis , MO---gate way to the west-- that covered several pages per order or hundreds of guns per order during the 1880,s and forward. I am sure that many were used as utility guns, but for sure there were those that survived in good shape and are still in collections/ownership in the west.