12 gauge Parker shotguns

[William Woods]

I am passionate about hunting and the second ammendment. While we all know what is coming, I believe we are in a state of denial. It is not a matter of if but when. As we age out the letter designated youth that have been force fed through the publlic education system, to believe that guns and hunting are bad things, will be electing, and elected. I could stand on my soapbox and continue much longer but will cede the floor lest I be banned from further comments.

[David]

I try to take a hopeful view. CA did ban lead on public ground for hunting. Not private - i confirmed this with a large skeet/trap club today. No change on private land. UK did ban lead but lets not forget this phrase 'Exemptions: ... outdoor target shooting ranges with appropriate risk management, ' I tend to think outdoor shooting ranges will come up with long term risk management plans. Maybe we should all ask our clubs about future plans now. I am sorry about the impact to an old club shooting over a pond or on public land. I'm sure its frustrating to be forced to change. Every industry has to adapt over time. A race track i ran at for a long time got run out of business over noise and zoning. Didnt adapt fast enough. A golf course i used to frequent got zoned out and turned into commercial property. funny that now the hottest ticket in town is TopGolf -seems to always be crowded . I am hopeful for hunting and shooting to survive well into the future.

[Double Lab]

I've belonged to a public club for about 50 years and it is located on the shores of the water resevoir for the Baltimore City and County drinking water. You can see the water as you shoot. We have the lead mined every 5-6 years or so, just had it done a month or so ago, and the soil and water tested. Zero lead contamination and this club has been in existence almost 75 years. This banning lead shot for whatever purpose is just another back door way to ban hunting, shooting and eventually guns.

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by David Safris

I try to take a hopeful view. CA did ban lead on public ground for hunting. Not private - i confirmed this with a large skeet/trap club today. No change on private land. UK did ban lead but lets not forget this phrase 'Exemptions: ... outdoor target shooting ranges with appropriate risk management, ' I tend to think outdoor shooting ranges will come up with long term risk management plans. Maybe we should all ask our clubs about future plans now. I am sorry about the impact to an old club shooting over a pond or on public land. I'm sure its frustrating to be forced to change. Every industry has to adapt over time. A race track i ran at for a long time got run out of business over noise and zoning. Didnt adapt fast enough. A golf course i used to frequent got zoned out and turned into commercial property. funny that now the hottest ticket in town is TopGolf -seems to always be crowded . I am hopeful for hunting and shooting to survive well into the future.

Massachusetts covered this with a ‘caveat emptor’ clause that says if the shooting range was there before you were you have NO CASE.





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[Bill Murphy]

This started out as a "why 12 gauge" thread. Getting back to that, let me comment. Where would be be without Parker pigeon guns, Parker duck guns, Parker single trap guns, Parker 12 gauge skeet guns, high condition Trojans, high condition VH and VHE guns, average condition G, D, C, B, A and higher Parkers? That's a large number of 12 gauge guns on the double gun market. Of course, that's just Parkers. What about the Foxes, Smiths, Purdeys and Bosses? I don't think the 12 gauge market is quite dead yet. Please comment.

[William Woods]

Originally Posted by Bill Murphy

This started out as a "why 12 gauge" thread. Getting back to that, let me comment. Where would be be without Parker pigeon guns, Parker duck guns, Parker single trap guns, Parker 12 gauge skeet guns, high condition Trojans, high condition VH and VHE guns, average condition G, D, C, B, A and higher Parkers? That's a large number of 12 gauge guns on the double gun market. Of course, that's just Parkers. What about the Foxes, Smiths, Purdeys and Bosses? I don't think the 12 gauge market is quite dead yet. Please comment.

Mr. Bill, I have 12 gauge guns, and mentioned earlier that I have a Parker 12 gauge that is being redone, reurbished, restored, ruined at this time. I was advised by several people, including Steve Fjestad (a picture of myself and Mr. Fjestad looking at the gun while at the NRA show in Louisville, KY appears in the memorial Blue Book, later published in the DGJ) that the gun was not worth the money it would take to restore it. Being only the second Parker D grade that I had ever seen for sale locally, I ignored those wiser than myself and have had it as a project ever since. I have purchased one or two other 12's since. I do not object to the 12's, and have no disdain for the gauge, I just find the 16's and 28's preferable to the 12's. I miss just as many with the 12's as I do with the smaller gauges, and the smaller gauges are easier to blame due to having less powder and shot.

[Phil Yearout]

12 gauges certainly make sense, given the ease and expense of finding appropriate ammo. I shoot off-the-shelf stuff in my three 12ga SBT's. I have two other 12's, a Sterlingworth and an early Fox A grade but when I'm in the field it's still a 16 or occasionally a 20 for me.

[John Allen]

Bill, In response to your comment on 12 gauge guns, it is really a matter of how many 12 gauges are out there. I talk to a lot of the major dealers on a regular basis. They all are hesitant to buy 12s unless they are cheap because they tend to sit in inventory a long time. If you look at gunsinternational today they have 444 Parkers listed for sale. 80% of them are 12 gauge. No businessman wants to have inventory that is slow turning. The flip side to this is look how much small bores have gone up in price.

[Bill Murphy]

John, so the twelves are slow selling. I don't care because mine are being put to good use. They will be a hard sell when I am ready to liquidate but sixty percent of real value will usually be more than I paid for them.

[MrBojangles]

If you want a Purdey, the overwhelming majority of production is in 12 gauge.

I created this thread because I thought folks are simply “softer” than they were in the past. I’m not one to ask about that as I shoot a .375 Holland & Holland for pleasure at the range. Not everyday, but from time to time.