What Imbues a Gun With "Soul"?

[John Campbell]

Gentlemen:
The thread on the recent Fall Southern raised an intriguing question about certain guns having "soul."

So... rather than divert that thread onto a side road, I thought I'd post a new topic focused on a gun's soul.

As we can all agree, many Parkers have it. But a K-80 apparently does not. Neither would some plastic stocked Bennelli semi auto or Turkish box lock. Maybe even a thoroughly flogged and varnish slathered Trojan or Fox Sterlingworth would lack soul.

So... if we limit the issue to double guns for the sake of brevity, the question is:

Exactly what IS "soul" as applied to a Parker or other double gun?

And... which guns have it? And what guns don't?

[John Dallas]

Well, this will get me lit up, but here goes.

Reproductions don't have soul. IMHO, Almost nothing Japanese has soul.

[Bobby Cash]

I believe the first link in the "Soul Chain"
is the environment in which the gun is forged.
Organizational culture imbues soul.

[greg conomos]

It's a quality that is all but impossible to define in quantitative terms.

It's like asking what makes one woman attractive and another not.

It's like trying to explain why someone would restore an old tractor with a flathead four cylinder engine when he could buy a 4 year old Mahindra diesel for less money.

And it's possible a plastic stocked gun could have soul....let's suppose you carried it for 10 years in Alaska then through an Arctic nightmare that you barely lived through where it was your only means of survival. Plastic or not, by the time that was over it would have soul.

[Phil Yearout]

Maybe even a thoroughly flogged and varnish slathered Trojan or Fox Sterlingworth would lack soul.

I don't know; in the world of vintage guitars the ones with the wine stains, wear holes in the top, and that look like they have been dragged behind a pickup truck for several miles are often referred to as having soul, so ...

[Dean Romig]

And yes, even an abused Trojan or Sterlingworth can have soul. It depends on how well it served its master and how that master reciprocated. But that's just a small fraction of what imbues soul to something inanimate.





.

[Daryl Corona]

To me "soul" is defined by a gun that has been through decades of use, has been crafted by hands that had attention to detail and by methods deemed crude by our modern manufacturing techniques. Provenance also adds something special to that "soul" in my opinion, whether the previous owner was a farmer from Kansas or a professional shooter back in the day when shooting was a spectator sport. The little dings and scratches add to that. Patina, if you will.

[Dave Suponski]

Thanks Daryl. My thoughts exactly.....

[charlie cleveland]

to me any gun could have soul just like a beautiful or plain jane person has a soul...i m sure no one will admit it but that first gun for most of us was a stevens or westernfield or mongeromy wards or...i have several guns that are not parkers and everone of them has soul...its in the eye of the beholder...remember that first bb gun did it have soul....charlie...

[Dave Noreen]

It is all in the mind of the shooter. I'm sure when I watched Col. Davies take six Ptarmigan in six shots on a covey rise, this Model 12 had plenty of "soul" --

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/Ansleyone/Hunting/DempsiewithalimitSpetember1974.jpg

[Bill Murphy]

Some modern guns have at least some soul. My 48 year old Krieghoff has been my companion on a daily basis for at least 30 years. My S&W K-22 has ridden in my cars and trucks every day for at least 40 years and saved my life once. It has a bit of soul.

[greg conomos]

Soul is not entirely in the mind of the beholder. It comes from different places.

A brand new Parker in 1911 might have lacked 'experience', and might have lacked an owner as it sat on a gun store shelf. But it still had plenty of soul. The character it would gain over the coming years of use would round out its soul - but the care and thought that went into its making ensured it had soul from day one.

Similarly, I don't believe any amount of beholding will ever imbue a Winchester 24 with soul.

[Gary Carmichael Sr]

Phil, You are right about the guitar with wear marks I call character, also a well worn case with faded and worn patches of concerts from long ago, you look at that case and pause and wonder, some good times for sure! gary

[CraigThompson]

To me "soul" is defined by a gun that has been through decades of use, has been crafted by hands that had attention to detail and by methods deemed crude by our modern manufacturing techniques. Provenance also adds something special to that "soul" in my opinion, whether the previous owner was a farmer from Kansas or a professional shooter back in the day when shooting was a spectator sport. The little dings and scratches add to that. Patina, if you will.

"If" that were 100% true and etched in stone so to speak , you guys wouldn't try to find BH and above grade guns in almost never used condition and rather look for Trogans or such that have almost had the life shot out of them . Provenance while nice to have for resale or bragging is nothing more then a verification that someone who was deemed important owned the object at some point , it adds nothing to the use ability of the gun or object . Provenance adds nothing to me liking or disliking an object .

[John Truitt]

to me it has nothing to do with grade or that stuff.

there are just some Parkers that I pick up and there is no connection/ no feel to the gun.
Others I pick up and I can instantly feel a connection to the gun. Like its got something special to it. You can feel the extra quality come out. Like shes got no misses in her and She is telling you she knows what to do.
Hard for me to put into words.

to me those are the guns that have soul.
each of us will be different. thank goodness or else we would all be fighting over the same guns. :)

for me soul can be found in any gun and any make. some have it, some don't.

[CraigThompson]

Soul is not entirely in the mind of the beholder. It comes from different places.

A brand new Parker in 1911 might have lacked 'experience', and might have lacked an owner as it sat on a gun store shelf. But it still had plenty of soul. The character it would gain over the coming years of use would round out its soul - but the care and thought that went into its making ensured it had soul from day one.. Not , that gun picks up no soul sitting in a dealer rack still brand new and unused no more then a new K-80 would in Ottsville PA or a Purdey sitting in the rack at Audley Street .

[Bill Murphy]

I disagree with Craig. Many guns have soul on the maker's rack. Think about a long barrel 28 gauge Boss, an eight gauge Watson, a well appointed Galazan Fox, all of which can have plenty of soul before they fire a shot. Dr. Truitt's statement means a lot to me. Some Parkers seem to have been ordered by people who knew which end the shot comes out. Others seem to be built for the hardware store rack.

[Daryl Corona]

"If" that were 100% true and etched in stone so to speak , you guys wouldn't try to find BH and above grade guns in almost never used condition and rather look for Trogans or such that have almost had the life shot out of them . Provenance while nice to have for resale or bragging is nothing more then a verification that someone who was deemed important owned the object at some point , it adds nothing to the use ability of the gun or object . Provenance adds nothing to me liking or disliking an object .

To each his own Craig. I agree with John T. in that some guns you pick up just speak to you in their own way. I think the phrase most often used is "I can shoot this gun". I for one don't look for pristine high grade guns as I'm not a collector but a shooter. If they were owned by a famous person/shooter even better.
Let's say for arguments sake , a Rem 700 comes in to the shop you work at and you buy it because it was what you were looking for in either caliber or some other criteria used for buying rifles. After owning the rifle and taking some game with it or just punching holes in paper you find out it was one of the rifles shot by Carlos Hathcock in his career as a sniper. Even better he had X number of confirmed kills with it.
Are you telling me that rifle would'nt mean a little more to you than an off the shelf M700?
With all due respect, if it does'nt, then you don't truly understand the "soul" concept.

[Dave Noreen]

I think there is a big difference between looking for a mint condition collector's item and that gun that has developed "soul" over a life time of adventures together.

Could that lifetime of adventures together be displaying that mint condition collector's item at collector gun shows and vintage events?

[Ed Blake]

Gentlemen:
The thread on the recent Fall Southern raised an intriguing question about certain guns having "soul."

So... rather than divert that thread onto a side road, I thought I'd post a new topic focused on a gun's soul.

As we can all agree, many Parkers have it. But a K-80 apparently does not. Neither would some plastic stocked Bennelli semi auto or Turkish box lock. Maybe even a thoroughly flogged and varnish slathered Trojan or Fox Sterlingworth would lack soul.

So... if we limit the issue to double guns for the sake of brevity, the question is:


Exactly what IS "soul" as applied to a Parker or other double gun?

And... which guns have it? And what guns don't?

Sorry to bust your bubble John, but my K32 has soul, at least IMO.

[John Campbell]

Ed:
I was just following opinions on another thread. So my bubble is intact. However, there appears to be an interesting range of opinion and insight so far!

As I see it, members have a few key positions. But they also pose some dichotomies:

• Japanese guns have no soul. But how about American guns? Or English? Or German?

• Soul can come through owner involvement/interaction. But is that soul or sentiment? And would someone recognize that quality 50 years from now?

• Soul can come via the wear and tear of use and age. But does that give a worn and torn Stevens soul? Or just a bad complexion?

• Enduring service can impart soul. But just because a $500 Trojan on Gunbroker served its original owner faultlessly, does it have soul?

• Craftsmanship and provenance could grant soul. But does the Czar’s Invincible have soul? Or notoriety?

• Does sentiment equal soul? I’d love to have my childhood Stevens/Fox back. But its value to me is personal. Is that soul? It would probably be a clunker to anyone else.

• Does efficacy equal soul? If a person makes every shot with a cut barrel VH, is that soul? Or simply good fit combined with human skill?

• Does soul come from fine materials and craftsmanship? If so, a Japanese Browning might compare to a AH Parker in soul. (Or a Toyota pickup might have as much soul as an S-Class Mercedes.)

• Does soul come from a name? Parker made about 250,000 guns. Does each one have a soul because it’s a Parker? Purdey made a fraction of that number. Does each Purdey have a soul?


I don’t know any of the answers. This may be a proverbial search for the Holy Grail.

(apologies to Monty Python… )

[Bill Murphy]

Ed, my K-32 has soul too, as I mentioned in an earlier post. Daryl's comment about picking up a gun and saying to yourself, "I can shoot this gun." comes from a shooting man, not a gun collector. Daryl and I both have a few collector guns that don't give us that feeling of "I can shoot this gun". However, some others, not neccesarily collector guns, but some that are collector guns, are guns that we know we can shoot. Sorry to say it, but "soul" is usually identified by people who know which end the shot comes out. I find it hard to believe that someone who has not paid his dues in shotgun shooting, either at game or competition shooting can identify soul in shotguns.

[greg conomos]

It's important not to over-analyze 'soul'. It's simply one of those things that if you have to have it explained to you, you wouldn't understand.

It's like trying to analyze why there is a marked difference between Rodie O'Donnell and Andie McDowell when in chronological, scientific, and socioeconomic terms there is very little difference in the two.

[Jay Gardner]

Great question. Plenty of elements go into it but there is no way to quantify it or define it objectively. All I can say is that I know it when I see it.

[Bill Holcombe]

With guns.....It starts with quality built gun, proceeds to being associated with a known and respected brand, has a dominant history to the gun maker, was a practical gun when made, looks used but not abused, bonus points if it has family history.

This is why colt revolvers and 1911s appeal to me while non colt 1911s do not.

I have a colt AR15 that is fun to shoot, but it has as much soul to me as my trash can, it is a largely impractical gun. My winchester M70 supergrade does have a lot of soul.

Branding also plays a role, that's why I like colts and not Rugers of any kind. I like shooting Rugers but they don't bond with me.

All else fails, the gun just speaks to me.

[Ed Blake]

The K32s soul comes from the 80 year old Cuban-American trapshooter from Miami who ordered it in 1971 from Hal DuPont and took excellent care of it for 40+ years before I got it. He got too old to shoot and like all of us, had to unencumber himself of some "stuff".

[Bill Holcombe]

Ed:
I was just following opinions on another thread. So my bubble is intact. However, there appears to be an interesting range of opinion and insight so far!

As I see it, members have a few key positions. But they also pose some dichotomies:

• Japanese guns have no soul. But how about American guns? Or English? Or German?

• Soul can come through owner involvement/interaction. But is that soul or sentiment? And would someone recognize that quality 50 years from now?

• Soul can come via the wear and tear of use and age. But does that give a worn and torn Stevens soul? Or just a bad complexion?

• Enduring service can impart soul. But just because a $500 Trojan on Gunbroker served its original owner faultlessly, does it have soul?

• Craftsmanship and provenance could grant soul. But does the Czar’s Invincible have soul? Or notoriety?

• Does sentiment equal soul? I’d love to have my childhood Stevens/Fox back. But its value to me is personal. Is that soul? It would probably be a clunker to anyone else.

• Does efficacy equal soul? If a person makes every shot with a cut barrel VH, is that soul? Or simply good fit combined with human skill?

• Does soul come from fine materials and craftsmanship? If so, a Japanese Browning might compare to a AH Parker in soul. (Or a Toyota pickup might have as much soul as an S-Class Mercedes.)

• Does soul come from a name? Parker made about 250,000 guns. Does each one have a soul because it’s a Parker? Purdey made a fraction of that number. Does each Purdey have a soul?


I don’t know any of the answers. This may be a proverbial search for the Holy Grail.

(apologies to Monty Python… )


To answer your question, I have a honest worn, non abused Trojan that just looks like it was taken care of and used well. Running my hands over the gun it oozes soul out of every pore.

[Mike Franzen]

There are guns that just seem to have an attractive quality that goes beyond, "That's a nice looking gun". Guns with soul reveal themselves at the first encounter. They stir an emotional connection that makes you want to hold them, point them, feel the wood and metal. Their ability to do this has nothing to do with who owned them or the experiences they survived. The sum of their parts create a harmonic vibration with kindred spirits that that makes them want to bond. A couple years ago my good friend Jim DiSpagno sent me a set of 20 gauge Damascus barrels to be evaluated at a testing facility. When I removed them from the package and held them in my hand I knew immediately I had to have the rest of that gun. I didn't care what it cost, what issues it might have or where it had been. I called Jim and told him how I felt and he agreed to sell it to me at a fair price. Now it's my gun. I can look at it or shoot whenever I like. And every time I do I get that same feeling in my soul all over again. What's that worth?

[King Brown]

Guns don't have "soul." The question is what "imbues" a gun with soul. The answer is what we do, with feelings we attach to the gun.

[Mark Beasland]

Soul is in the eye of the beholder. To me.

High quality hand work Soul

Shiny No Soul

Improper refinishing, improper repairs and poorly maintained No Soul

Honest wear on a properly maintained gun Soul

Proper balance and lively in the hands Soul

Poorly balanced No Soul

Japanese No soul

Your milage may very

[Bill Murphy]

All original smallbore Damascus Parkers have soul.

[Rich Anderson]

IMHO the "soul" of a gun is in the eye of the beholder of that gun. Gunner's Gun for me has lots of soul, it invokes memories each time I take it out and creates new ones as well. It might mean nothing to someone else.

Sometimes you just see a gun and pick it up and something happens (this occurs for me at least three times a year at the Southern and Hausmanns) a case in point is a lovely DHE 20 with 30 inch tubes and a Charles Boswell 20 that weighs a scant over 5lbs. Both these came home with me immediately.

Hand craftsmanship also tends to allow a gun to have soul as evidenced in Parker, Fox and most English guns as does the well cared for usage of that fine firearm. The question of "where has it been? what has it hunted? who carried this before me? The stories these could tell also adds to the soul of the gun.

At the end of the day it's a personal feeling soul for me might not qualify as soul to someone else.

[CraigThompson]

• Japanese guns have no soul.


Well then that eliminates all those Jap Parker's a good many of you hold in high regard :rotf:

[Gary Carmichael Sr]

Rich, It will not be as long as it has been on the Mattie Gun, engraving is finished it is at the stocker for fitting and then off to the French Grey man, did I show you the last engraving photos? This gun like Gunners will have Soul! Hell I might even sleep with the thing a night or two, for sure I will take a few photos of it laying against her stone, damn still get tore up thinking about her, Gary

[Phil Yearout]

to me any gun could have soul just like a beautiful or plain jane person has a soul...i m sure no one will admit it but that first gun for most of us was a stevens or westernfield or mongeromy wards or...i have several guns that are not parkers and everone of them has soul...its in the eye of the beholder...remember that first bb gun did it have soul....charlie...

My first ever double gun is a Stevens 5100 in 16ga. I once took a limit of four wild prairie pheasants with four shots from that simple old shooter; if that doesn't give it soul (to me at least) I don't know what would!

I still have it, and it goes with me on every trip as a rainy day gun. I seldom shoot it any more, but if I'm completely honest, I may shoot it better than any of the "better" guns I own!

[Craig Larter]

When I buy a gun that interests me it has intrigue. In most cases it is a vintage American classic side by side made for waterfowl hunting. The gun inherits soul for me after I kill a few ducks over my black lab.

[Rich Anderson]

Gary I have not seen any pics of the engraving on Mattie's gun. I'd love to however. I know it will be well worth the wait and it already has soul.

[Chris Travinski]

Don't knock the reproductions, if you were 15 years old and opened one up for Christmas it probably have more soul than any other gun you would own for the rest of your life.

[John E. Williams]

Mileage does it for me. The safe queens are nice to look at but they don't really click. I've got an old frosted up 1921 Trojan that's one of my favorites. The metal is what many of you would probably consider scrap and the wood's little better, but that old gun has lived a most full life. Locks up tight as a vault and has been killing squirrels this very season! I wonder how many families got through the depression with a somewhat full belly because of that simple old gun? For me, that's where you find soul.

An old friend of mine, John Madole, once took some kind of old Savage .22 Hornet he bought for like $200 and threw every ounce of toolmaking knowledge and artistic ability into it. It was really rather absurd, but he turned that piece of trunk trash into an absolute jaw dropper of a rifle. I seem to remember James Corpe fitting an exhibition-grade Claro walnut stock and forend to the little gun, and John had engraved and French grayed the receiver and so forth. Again, it was absurd. That rifle had soul because two of the greatest artisans I've ever met collaborated on a gun that should've never been considered for such a project and absolutely rocked it. The story goes that someone at a FEGA show once asked John why he bothered with such a hardware-grade gun to customize. He supposedly answered in his subdued way, "How much was the piece of canvas worth before da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa on it?" That was classic John. Wasn't so inclined to give you a direct answer as he was to ask you a pointed question which revealed the answer. God, I miss him...

[Alfred Greeson]

I have to go back to the old Parker collector, now gone, who said we love the old guns because they harbor old men's souls and they remind you of the old soul's now gone that we wish we could share the old gun with just one more time and relive the best days.
I like the reference to the old guitars, ever see Willie Nelson in concert and his old guitar that is so worn it has a hole in it and he sits it down right beside the bottle of Jack he sips during a concert, talk about soul! Old guns, old friends, good whiskey and old souls, not sure how to define them but I know they make life worthwhile.

[George Lander]

I have always believed that almost any old gun, especially SxSs, if they could speak could tell some amazing tales: of travels, of hunts long ago, of hunters gone on, of great hunting dogs, of huge quail coveys, of ducks and geese so numerous that they blotted out the sun, of times long past that are only distant memories now. I have learned to respect these old "girls" because they have seen things that will never be seen again.

Best Regards, George

[Dean Romig]

An old friend of mine, John Madole, once took some kind of old Savage .22 Hornet he bought for like $200 and threw every ounce of toolmaking knowledge and artistic ability into it. It was really rather absurd, but he turned that piece of trunk trash into an absolute jaw dropper of a rifle. I seem to remember James Corpe fitting an exhibition-grade Claro walnut stock and forend to the little gun, and John had engraved and French grayed the receiver and so forth. Again, it was absurd. That rifle had soul because two of the greatest artisans I've ever met collaborated on a gun that should've never been considered for such a project and absolutely rocked it. The story goes that someone at a FEGA show once asked John why he bothered with such a hardware-grade gun to customize. He supposedly answered in his subdued way, "How much was the piece of canvas worth before da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa on it?" That was classic John. Wasn't so inclined to give you a direct answer as he was to ask you a pointed question which revealed the answer. God, I miss him...

I don't believe I've ever read a better reply to such a dumb question! John Madole must have been a very impressive man.






.

[Phil Yearout]

I just realized I thanked most every post on this thread. Must be a lotta soul here!

[CraigThompson]

Don't knock the reproductions, if you were 15 years old and opened one up for Christmas it probably have more soul than any other gun you would own for the rest of your life.
Well now after the assanine responses I got to the REM/Krieghoff 32/K-80 I suppose you'll just have to live with my personal feelings on the Jap knockoff' and with that being said you can throw Galazan's stuff in there as well .

[Dave Suponski]

Well ... Ya know how it goes with opinions. I thought some responces were very well thought out. A great thread....

[Mills Morrison]

Soul is like beauty - in the eye of the beholder

[edgarspencer]

Several years ago I made a comment in a post how some guns had a 'warm feeling' and others did not. The responses I got varied but generally I got the feeling many thought I was an idiot from that comment. I will grant you, I am an idiot, but that single post could not have given you that much insight.
I became aware of this feeling many many years ago, when I was able to wander around with other peoples Purdeys and Hollands. I distinctly recall almost every Holland had something that the Purdey did not.
I've long since given up my fascination with things Anglophile, except possible good Ale. My senses haven't numbed simply because I now can pick up most nice, original Parkers, and sense this warmness. I'd die from exposure trying to keep warm with a repro.

[CraigThompson]

Well ... Ya know how it goes with opinions. Kinda my feeling about people as well .

[Dave Suponski]

Ya... Thats funny mine too....

[Jim DiSpagno]

Well, while I have perished this thread with great interest, I have found a great variation in what some will define soul as. One comment by Fishtail caused me to pause and reflect. That was his comment on the Winchester model 24. While not a classic, and not the canoe Oates model 21 that so many hold in such high esteem, I have a model 24 that has more soul than Gladys Knight, her Pips, The Four Tops, the Temptations and James Brown all rolled up into one.
That little 16 ga 24, bought by a young man, age 24 in the midst of the Great Depression with money earned working in the WPA and used until he gave up hunting in 2001 at age 86 brought more game home than most guns ever saw. From native pheasant on Staten Island, when the population was less than 45K to ducks and geese along the now lost NE Atlantis flyway, to grouse [ partridge] as the old man called them and woodcock in the high Catskill mountains and the Poconoes. There were many buck harvested in the shotgun only counties of NY and NJ. The first time I was allowed24 on the outsid to go to deer camp with him was 1960 and although rifle country, he carried the e chance a shot presented itself for me. Well, in 1961, on a very cold late November morning, sitting with my Father atop a mountain, freezing but afraid to shiver, he quietly pointed towards a stand of mountain laurel and there, making its way towards us was a black bear at @ 150 yards. We watched in a statue like pose in what seemed like an eternity and when that bruin was at about 50 yards, that model 24 let loose with both barrels, one after another. That sound crackled forever it seemed until the silence was deafening. And the bear laid dead. Taken with a gun more suited to rabbits and birds. That gun hunted the northeast for six plus decades always the go to gun. There were others he used including a beautiful GHE 12 ga. but the 24 was always present either in hand or waiting in the wings as the pro always did. The most amazing thing I have ever witnessed was a shot Dad made on a real nice Dutchess County whitetail buck sporting a 9 point rack. As we were walking to position ourselves as standees on a drive, walking a small overgrown tote road, a driver yelled "buck coming your way". Looking towards the voice, that buck was hell bent to get away and flew over the slate walls bordering the road. In full flight about forty yards in front of the old man. Without hesitation, he shouldered that old, worn out 24 and swung through the shot like any good wing shooter would and that buck fell dead smack dab in the middle of the tote road, killed with a single pumpkin ball. Dad was 81 at the time.
To this day, no matter how many fine Parkers pass through my hands and how well sime handle and shoot, for some unknown reason, that old Winchester model 24 16 ga. outperforms them all. I'll call it SOUL but it is rather uncanny but some might call it his soul.

[Jim DiSpagno]

Pleas excuse that damn auto spell etc. thanks Jim

[Dean Romig]

Very nicely told Jim. I'll bet that ol' 24 holds a coveted position in your gun rack... and in your heart.






.

[Jim DiSpagno]

Dean, more than you know. As Dad got older, like many of his generation, shot shells were never separated, just returned to any empty box. Well hunting pheasants in Rhinebeck NY, with his 3 Brittanies, who were as odd as he was at times, pointed and flushed two cockbirds at once. That old 24 emitted an odd sound and one rooster literally blew apart. Dad loaded the right barrel with "00" buck and that pheasant never stood a chance. His words of wisdom were " don't have to gut that one, just put him in the soup"

[Alfred Greeson]

Well, as some might say, That has to be the defining answer that any gun can have soul! That story is why some men will be buried with a favorite shotgun or rifle and a box of their favorite shells, a fifth of their favorite beverage to fight off the cold and no doubt wearing their finest L L Bean boots under a hand sewn suit chosen by their wife. The gentlemen should be carried to his final resting place in a solid walnut coffin in the back of his favorite 1948 Ford F-100. The head stone should note that such a gentleman will rest in peace until the final Hunter's horn is blown to call us all to the great hunting lodge in the sky where all old dogs and hunting buddies will be waiting.

[chris dawe]

Christ Jim ,you sure spit that out! ...off all the stories you ever told ,that one is still the best

[edgarspencer]

I know which one I'm taking

[chris dawe]

Hilarious ,Edgar ...how long did it take you to do that ?,the kids up here usually just rearrange the message into something similar with swear words ,always good for a head shake and a chuckle on the way to work ....but you sir,show real ingenuity !

[Dave Suponski]

I know which one is going in the box with me too Egger

[Dean Romig]

I know which one is going in the box with me too Egger


Oh NO! Not the 16 gauge lifter...:shock:

Oh NO! Not the SBT with gold inlays...:shock:

Oh NO! Not the 20 gauge Trojan...:shock:

Oh NO! Not the 30" 16 gauge GHE...:shock:

Hey - Wait a minute..... Which Parker is going to the crematorium with your sorry ass???.....:eek:


.......cause I want the others!! :bigbye:





.

[Dave Suponski]

Just for that Mr Roming I ain't tellin

[Dave Suponski]

Actually it's Murphys gun but I don't have any pictures of it.

[Kenny Graft]

I have a Parker repro with added Merkel 16ga. barrels. This gun shoots hard! I have dumped wild roosters way beyond what a normal 16 should and I stood looking in disbelief! I don't know why but its a hammer in my hands....(-: It is the best rooster gun I own period, its been to Kansas on every trip. It is a young shotgun in the realm of things but truly is a special shotgun. Too me it has soul it must have stolen from a 10ga.....(-: SXS ohio

[edgarspencer]

I know which one is going in the box with me too Egger

If you're suggesting it will be that 16GHE, Don't waste your time Dave, You ain't going to Heaven anyway.

[Dave Suponski]

Now THAT hurt my feeling. LOL ........

[Dean Romig]

I have a Parker repro with added Merkel 16ga. barrels. This gun shoots hard! I have dumped wild roosters way beyond what a normal 16 should and I stood looking in disbelief! I don't know why but its a hammer in my hands....(-: It is the best rooster gun I own period, its been to Kansas on every trip. It is a young shotgun in the realm of things but truly is a special shotgun. Too me it has soul it must have stolen from a 10ga.....(-: SXS ohio


I'll say it has soul - I rubbed those barrels like a budda's belly and recited several incantations over them just before I sent them to you :)






.

[edgarspencer]

I have a Parker repro with added Merkel 16ga. barrels. This gun shoots hard! I have dumped wild roosters way beyond what a normal 16 should and I stood looking in disbelief! I don't know why but its a hammer in my hands....(-: It is the best rooster gun I own period, its been to Kansas on every trip. It is a young shotgun in the realm of things but truly is a special shotgun. Too me it has soul it must have stolen from a 10ga.....(-: SXS ohio You lucked out Kenny

[Daryl Corona]

Becoming quite the computer whiz now, are'nt we?

[Mark Landskov]

:shock:I just bought a Repro:whistle:

[Dean Romig]

Well Mark - start imbuing some soul to it - :cool:






.

[Mark Landskov]

I am working on it:)

[John Truitt]

I just had a 28 ga repro monoblocked from a 26" barrel to a 34" 410 with nice tight chokes.

She patterns extremely well. Nice beavertail, nice weight to the barrels/ etc.

For me she has the potential to develop soul. For others I am sure they would call her some names. To each his own. :)

[Greg Baehman]

I just had a 28 ga repro monoblocked from a 26" barrel to a 34" 410 with nice tight chokes.

She patterns extremely well. Nice beavertail, nice weight to the barrels/ etc.

For me she has the potential to develop soul. For others I am sure they would call her some names. To each his own. :)
This would make a great little article for Parker Pages. :cool:

[Mike Franzen]

That would make a great article and give the gun some soul.

[CraigThompson]

I just had a 28 ga repro monoblocked from a 26" barrel to a 34" 410 with nice tight chokes.

She patterns extremely well. Nice beavertail, nice weight to the barrels/ etc.

For me she has the potential to develop soul. For others I am sure they would call her some names. To each his own. :)

Patton or Doc Lehew told me about that gun and I had thought they said it was an original, I'm glad it was a repro !

Did Merrington do the barrels ?

[charlie cleveland]

john thats got to be a really special gun...them long barrels and tight chokes would be one fine squirl gun in tall timber...if santa would give me a wish it would be for him to bring me a gun just like yours....charlie