My First Parker SBT

[Bill Murphy]

J. Scott, Rudy may have been a Remington man, but his stockmaking enterprise didn't play any favorites. He made stocks for all guns. His some time headquarters in Sun Valley was a good deal for a stockmaker. I have no idea who the actual craftsman was, but I doubt it was Rudy. Rudy was in residence at the Remington plant at Ilion one time I was there, but we never crossed paths. Some of his guns and paraphernalia including his famous Remington 870 are on display at the National Firearms Museum. Rudy didn't just shoot Remingtons, however. I tried to purchase his Purdey pigeon gun some years ago, but was too late. His son was offering it for sale for a very attractive price.

[J. Scott Hanes]

Bill, all the stocks were made by Rudy's dad, Fred. Rudy had very large hands with thick fingers. When he had that 870 in his hand, you could not see the grip at all! He always claimed that the grip design helped control the gun. In all the trapshooting he did, he never used a release trigger. With that huge hand and the small, tight radius' grip, nothing moved except his trigger finger. If you ever read his father's book "Commensense Shotgun Shooting", there is a photo of Rudy on a skeet field, standing on one leg on the shell stand they used to have on skeet and trap fields, holding a Model 12 in his right hand only from station 8 and station 4 to show how one could control the gun with the Etchen grip.

Also pictured in that book are two Parkers (one 30" VR and one 32") with the Etchen grip, a Model 31 Rem (Fred's gun) and 2 model 12 Winchesters.

Was that Purdey the "Bar in Wood"?? That was a beautiful shotgun.

Scott

[Bill Murphy]

I have Fred's book in my collection. No, Rudy's Purdey was a standard late vintage (post WW1) pigeon gun, self opener, hammerless, 32" barrels as I recall. I have a picture of it around here somewhere.

[J. Scott Hanes]

That is a great observation, Dean! Thank you. I did note the welded piece added to the lug, but did not know about its originality. Appreciate that info.

Scott

[B. Dudley]

The method that the forend iron drawbolt is attached is similar to how some other makers did it, Winchester on the model 21 is one example. It just isn't how Parker did it.

It is anyones best guess as to who may have stocked the gun. Maybe it is marked under the pad or something? But likely not. I am by no way up on the trap shooting circles and the stock makers that frequent those groups. But unless the checkering pattern is super specific to a certain stocker/checkerer, I doubt they would have any idea either.
I dont have any specific ideas on the case coloring. It is overall very well done.
Ultimately none of that really matters too much. It is more what the gun is, what is correct and what isnt and that speaks for itself. If it goes bang and you break targets, then even better.

[Dean Romig]

I have never seen a stock or forend like that come out of the DelGrego shop.

Isn’t that grip referred to as a “Rudy Etchen grip”?





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[Bill Murphy]

An Etchen grip is much more radical than this one. Not suggesting that any or this wood ever saw the Parker factory, but there have been a few Parkers built with severely curved pistol grips. They are very rare. This is a wonderful gun and it should not be modified from its present form.

[J. Scott Hanes]

Dean,
I was close friends with Rudy from 1980 until his passing, having met him in Shreveport, LA on my first sales assignment with Remington. I have handled many of his shotguns with the "Etchen Grip" and this is not one of them. Wish it WAS! The Etchen grip had more radius to it and was not as thin (I know it is hard to tell from the photos). Mr. Murphy noted such.
Rudy had a Model 12 that fit me perfectly, but how was a Remington man supposed to get away with that?

Scott Hanes