Parker factory Kautzky Triggers

[Kevin McCormack]

Jim; I had a chance to inspect the K-gun while it was on display at the Northeast Fine Arms Collectors Show the first week in January 2013 at the AH Fox Collectors Association booth. You are right; it is a beautiful gun and a wonderfully handling gun as well.

As an aside, I think the Kautzkys may have entered their store a time or two in the Remington Arms storefront contests that were held up through the 1950s and early '60s (not sure of the exact dates). The idea was to decorate the storefront windows for a full week with Remington products (guns & ammo etc.) to celebrate the kickoff of hunting seasons in early October every year. The stores would arrange their displays, take photos of them, and send them in to Remington to be judged for competition.

Some of them were really amazing; entire display windows turned into hunting camps, duck blinds, etc. Gordon Fosburg of the Remington Society of America (RSA) put together a wonderful article published in the RSA Journal a year or so ago showing a selection of photographs from various years of the competition, and later gave a presentation on same that was really wonderful. Thousands of stores competed over the years, from 'Mom and Pop' cubbyhole-sized shops to the large inner-city giants like A&F. Unthinkable today, how neat it must have been to wander through them!

[Pa SxS]

A quick search for the name Kautzky in the archived research letter database didn't turn up any hits.

If anyone has S/N's of guns they think have a Kautzky single trigger, let me know and I'll see if we have an order for the gun. Also, if you could give me a date range of when a gun may have been sent to Kautzky, I can look at the index at the beginning of the order books. Would the correct name be: Kautzky's Sporting Goods, Ft. Dodge IA?

[Autumn Daze]

Jim, The owner of the Kautzky gun is a good friend of mine. I have fondled this great gun at length and yes as Kevin states it was at the Stamford Show this year. Thank You so very much on this important link to the history of these fine old guns. It's great to hear from you and I hope "retirement" is going well.

[Bruce Day]

Originally Posted by Chuck Bishop

A quick search for the name Kautzky in the archived research letter database didn't turn up any hits.

If anyone has S/N's of guns they think have a Kautzky single trigger, let me know and I'll see if we have an order for the gun. Also, if you could give me a date range of when a gun may have been sent to Kautzky, I can look at the index at the beginning of the order books. Would the correct name be: Kautzky's Sporting Goods, Ft. Dodge IA?

Chuck, that is the correct name. They were in business from around 1910 to the 1970's. My grandfather's P 16 was bought used from them.....of course to me they were old fashioned guns at the time and those Auto 5's were the desired thing to have.

Kevin, Kautzky's front windows were southern exposure and I don't remember them having much for window displays, but inside the store were fascinating displays from the various manufacturers with all the advertising incidentals and racks that are so sought after today. But the store went the way of many downtowns....when the new Crossroads shopping center was built, stores started moving out and the big box stores came in, and all these neat little shops with oak counters and ladders to get to the high goods were gone. At Kautzky's you could still buy new near Parkers in the 50's and I don't doubt that Rudy had some still tucked away in boxes.

Jim, Sac City ( named after the Sac indians) was a RAGBRAI town in 2012. This year its a southern route and I'm riding on the USAF team again. Want to bike across Iowa sometime ?

[Bill Murphy]

I have seen Kautsky orders for Parkers, but I assume they were just store stock. Marie's single barrel Parker is apparently not known by serial number.

[Researcher]

There is an aricle on the Kautzky family in the Winter 1963 issue of The Iowan by John Kautzky. It includes a picture of Joe Sr. holding a vent ribbed Parker Bros. double and a couple of Marie with her Parker single. From Dick Baldwin's wonderful book The Road to Yesterday, Marie never "won the GAH", she was High Lady in 1928, Third High Lady in 1929, Ladies' Clay Target Champion 1941. In 1928 the GAH was won by Ike Andrews, 1929 by Mose Newman with an Ithaca, and 1940 by E.H. Wolfe.

Joseph Kautzky's first single trigger patent drawing, Patent No. 827,242 granted July 31, 1906, shows it on a Parker Bros. Joe's Patent No. 990,562 granted April, 25, 1911, and Patent No.1,109,632 granted September 1, 1914, show his single trigger on an Ansley H. Fox action.

[Jim Thynne]

Dave,
As I said she won the ladies HOA there was and I think still is a ladies HOA.

[Jim Thynne]

I found it under Marie Kautzky. It was her maiden name.

[Twice Shooter]

Hi Jim, Good to hear from you.

Tom

[Jim Thynne]

Hello Tom,
I am really enjoying "retirement." it keeps me busy. My wife thinks its just about right.