My Parker CHE, looking for input

[Mike Ide]

I inherited my dad's parker CHE 12 gauge with two sets of barrels in a luggage case. I'm seeking opinions. I am attaching pics. Thanks for any input.
Mike

[Patrick Lien]

Nice gun Mike. The serial book states your gun is a CHE with single trigger and 32" Acme steel barrels. How long is each barrel set? Can you post some pictures of the barrel flats of each set of barrels. Does the nose of the beavertail forend have a through bolt in it? You should get a letter on this gun.

Patrick

[Mike Ide]

A few more pics,
Thanks,
Mike

[Mike Ide]

The beavertail (short barrels) are 26" IC & M. The others are 30" full and modified. And yes, just checked, there is a bolt at the end of the beavertail.

[Patrick Lien]

Mike,
It appears to have been restocked at some time. Are both sets of barrels numbered to the gun? Are the forends marked 1 and 2? I would certainly get a letter to see what additional information you can get from the records.

Patrick

[Mike Ide]

Barrel flats pics + a couple others. Dad had the recoil pad put on.
He used the gun.

[Mike Ide]

Missed the pics, trying again...

[Mike Ide]

Barrel flats, trying again

[Patrick Lien]

Mike,
It appears your 30" barrels are Vulcan steel and the 26" barrels are Acme steel. I would assume the Acme barrels are original to the gun and the Vulcan barrels were added at a later date. Maybe by Parker or maybe by your father. I wonder if the Acme barrels have been shortened. Can you post clear pics of the top ribs of the barrels at the muzzle.

Patrick

[Kevin McCormack]

Hallelujah and thank God! - FINALLY, a CHE that has something flying on the floorplate, instead of an elk, moose, or other member of the Cervidae galloping through the woods! SCORE!!!

[Bruce Day]

You missed the photos of the wood duck, ruffed grouse , woodcock , pheasant , brace of setters and the like ?

Deer and elk were standard fare on C s only until about 1900. After that birds became the norm. Even before 1900 a significant number of C s had birds.


Coming back from bicycling across Iowa. I'll post photos again sometime.

[Brian Dudley]

The buttstock on your CHE is surely a replacement. As the checkering, cheek panels and form are not correct. The Beavertail forend is also suspect. Does it have a draw bolt or 1pc forend loop?

[Bob Hayes]

Here's a CHE with birds I posted a few weeks ago.Gun recently acquired also.

[Kevin McCormack]

You missed the photos of the wood duck, ruffed grouse , woodcock , pheasant , brace of setters and the like ?

Deer and elk were standard fare on C s only until about 1900. After that birds became the norm. Even before 1900 a significant number of C s had birds.


Coming back from bicycling across Iowa. I'll post photos again sometime.

I missed nothing;

Deer, elk and other mammalia were common fare on C- and higher grade guns well up into the 19-teens (consider the iconic McCarty BHE 1919 pigeon/trap gun with running elk on the floorplate, and the c. 1913 AHE built for a Maine lumber baron with the sea otter floating on its back on a bed of kelp, cracking open a clam with a small rock).

If you're cycling across Iowa, better pedal fast - the national weather map shows lots of cyclonic cellular activity thereabouts! Safe home!

[Mike Ide]

LOL, Kevin, I didn't know the floorplate etching was an issue. It's the only CHE I've ever seen. Why you would put an elk on a shotgun?

Patrick, thank you for the info. The boxed set included both sets of barrels when my dad bought it over forty years ago.

I will get pics of the barrel shortly.

[Mike Ide]

The buttstock on your CHE is surely a replacement. As the checkering, cheek panels and form are not correct. The Beavertail forend is also suspect. Does it have a draw bolt or 1pc forend loop?

You'll have to tell me what to look for, especially a draw bolt, I grew up in the era of impressed checkering....

:)

[Patrick Lien]

Mike,
I think your gun is a bit of a "frankenmonster". By that I mean it is a desirable CHE that has been restocked and has had the original Acme barrels cut short from 32" to 26" and then had some 30" VHE barrels fit to the gun. I am making my assumptions based on the pictures and information that you have provided so far. Some additional pictures of the muzzle end of the barrels would help confirm this. Having said that your gun is a shooter and it is a very nice setup for ANY shooting you could think of. If you are a hunter then you have a excellent gun to go do any type of bird hunting that you could imagine. If you are a clays shooter then the 30" / 26" set will work for trap, skeet, or sporting clays. You inherited a good shooter grade Parker worth several thousand dollars. I would say your father had good taste in shotguns and if you are a bird hunter or clay shooter you should keep this gun and enjoy it just like he did.

Patrick

[Bruce Day]

Here are two photos. The first is of a Quality GH gun with clearly chopped barrel ending, note the rib matting ends.

The next photo is of an original 1910 CHE. Note the case colors. The floor plate engraving is the most prevalent for the time, several flying birds, ducks in this instance. Other engraving themes could be dogs, various single birds, flying pheasants or even deer or elk. Deer and elk were most common to about 1900, less so after, and were carry over themes from European engravers. In the background you will see a barrel ending with uncut ends, note the unmatted ending space.

Some may feel that deer and elk scenes are incongruous for a shot gun. However, shot guns were often used with buck shot ( hence the term) for large animal hunting. My suggestion is to look at each gun individually for engraving quality. Some of the best Parker engraving can be deer scenes from the 1890's.

Enjoy your father's gun. Its value to Parker enthusiasts is diminished because of the incorrect replacement stock and other modifications, however it should be a fine use gun, as others have said. The frame size indicates a heavy barreled gun capable of heavy loads in distinction to a light upland game gun.

PS, I had taken the C apart for cleaning and have since properly oriented the screw slots. I know they were out of alignment.