I made the short drive up to see Bill Schwarz today and let him look over my 2 new Parkers. It's great to have such a talented and helpful gunsmith so close.

In general, he gave both guns a clean bill of health, with the exception the 20ga has a split in the headstock. It has no visible cracks, but if you flex the butt stock you can see the right ear move slightly away from the action. You can also hear the difference if you tap on the right ear as compared to the left. His prognosis was common split that he could easily repair. I told him I planned to hunt with gun and asked it was OK to shoot low pressure 2 3/4" shells. His reply was it would be much better to lengthen the chambers to 2 3/4" and then I could shoot it with no worries going forward. He's going to do that work as well as open the right choke to IC.

The 12ga GHE is good to go. He confirmed that the action had been tightened up and after inspection he said whoever did the work knew what they were doing. Barrels have been rust blued and the wood refinished. Again he commented that it was very nice work. He measure the chambers and said they had been lengthened to 2 3/4. He didn't find anything out of place or mismatched. No mechanical issues were found.

I inquired about the gap where the dog's head fits the action and he said it was a result of hook being re-built to tighten the action, but said it's nothing to worry about so I won't.

I left the 20ga with him and brought the 12ga home. I'll be shooting a round of sporting clays with it this Wednesday.

Don, what year is the 20 ga? I have a 1924 vh 20ga that has 2 3/4 chamber.

Gerald.

1904 manufacture. Bill checked the chamber with his gauge to confirm they are 2 1/2"

Also, he checked the chokes and confirmed my measurements of -.025 in both barrels.

Don, Bill is a great guy and a great gun smith. And honestly, I’d leave the chokes alone.

The 20 ga will be a mainly a quail / dove / rabbit gun and the tight chokes are just overkill. IC and Mod will be more useful. Bill was surprised both chokes were mod. Having a choice between IC and Mod is more practical for me.

If the entire gun has been worked over, it won't hurt my feelings as I purchased both guns at a local shop for less than I see some tired old 12ga Trojans selling for.

Just curious about where the gun shop is and the price paid if you got both guns for the price of a 12-gauge Trojan. You SCORED!!!!!!

Dave, Since buying these guns and joining this group, I've learned I overestimated what a tired 12ga Trojan sells for.

On the other hand, I think both of the Parkers I bought are worth a little more than I initially estimated. I paid $1100 each out the door. It's a rather large gun store that sells a good many used guns, but they specialize in black rifles, police trade in's, optics, silencers etc. I've gotten some really good deals there over the years when they buy out an estate, since vintage guns are not their thing.

Does it letter as being ordered chambered for 2 3/4-inch shells? My 1930 vintage VH 20-gauge still sports the 2 3/8-inch chambers intended for 2 1/2-inch shells.

Dave, No letter available for the VH 20ga.

Don, I've never seen a Vh 20 gauge offered for $1100. A rough one will average $2200. The GHE you have will fetch $3300+ in my opinion.

Of course, you probably know this.

Thanks Gerald. That's in line with what I'm thinking. The 30" Vent rib 12 might fetch a little more from someone with a case of the wants for a VR gun, but these have probably found their home as long as I'm able to hunt and shoot. A couple of my sporting clays buddies that own multiple P and K guns have been drooling over it.

Other than the silver inlay on the right hand side of the butt stock, Bill didn't detect any modifications to the 20ga. "Just good honest wear" as he put it. Well cared for with no functional issues.

I've got a pretty bad case of Parker fever right now and it seems to be getting worse. My conversation with Bill certainly added fuel to the flame.