1 st parker

[charlie cleveland]

what was your first parker and do you still have it..my first parker was a ph grade 10 ga hammerless gun with 32 inch barrels and i still have it....charlie

[Bill Murphy]

First Parker, 57 years ago, which I still own and shot it Friday. 28 gauge VH #126,764. I bought it on our local skeet field with six twenty dollar bills when I was fourteen years old.

[CraigThompson]

Our first was a VHE 12 gauge 30" on a #1 frame . Got it from one of my fathers old coworkers . Fellow named Jerry Amos from the Warenton VA area . Got that gun 40-45 years ago and Jerrys been gone atleast 15 years . And yes still have it . I have a VHE 20 gauge I've known for fifty years and finally acquired three years ago and the person I got it from had owned it since the late 50's after his dad got it for him from the original owner while he was in college .

[Thomas L. Benson Sr.]

VH 2 Barrel set 12 Ga. with straight grip that I bought in 1979 and will be in my casket when I go to the happy hunting grounds. That's if my wife doesn't sell it in a yard sale for 20.00 Thomas

[Wayne Owens]

A C grade 20 gauge hammer gun my father gave to me in 1980 prior to his death. It will stay in the family hopefully forever.

[Robin Lewis]

My very dear friend gave me his GHE 16 upon his death in 1972. Needless to say, it is my most cherished.

[Jerry Harlow]

A GH 12 Gauge #2 frame with perfectly refinished/recheckered wood and original Damascus rebarreled and proofed in England. Still shoot doves with it.

[George Lander]

Mine was a Grade 3 10 gauge hammergun that I traded for when I was @ 8 years of age (so that was @ 70 years ago) The owner was a local AMOCO dealer who took the gun in trade for gas. He wanted a gun for his little boy & so I traded him my Iver Johnson single barrel 16 gauge even trade. He even through in almost a full box of 10 gauge Super X #4 shot. I still have the Parker.

Best Regards, George

[Dean Romig]

My first association with a Parker was when I was twelve or thirteen in '60 or '61. It was a 12 gauge Trojan I found in my friend's cellar. I asked his father if I could borrow it and use it to hunt pheasants around the fields and woods bordering my property. I was allowed to keep that gun until I moved to a different town in the spring of '64. I have some wonderful memories of hunting with that Trojan. I shot my only double on woodcock with it in '63.

I wrote a story about my adventures with that Trojan in Parker pages, "A Last Trojan Pheasant" but I'll be darned if I can find it in the Parker Pages online index.





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[Tom Pellegrini]

I was introduced to Parkers just over four years ago by my Parker mentor and respected Parker member David Dwyer. I started out with a Trojan 12 gauge which was swapped for a VH 12 gauge with the Trojan's owner. He actually did not want to sell me the Trojan, I believe he just wanted me to have my first Parker. I still have the VH 12 and now two others. All are very close to my heart. Many thanks to my mentor.

[Jay Oliver]

I also got into Parkers about 4 years ago. I am not sure how or why I was looking, but I came across a nice 12 gauge GH with damascus barrels made in 1901 online. For some reason I just wanted it.

I remember researching about shooting damascus guns and having a conversation with an ammunition company I had never heard of who I order from all the time now...RST.

That gun started my down a very enjoyable path. I actually think my second Parker, an early lifter, ignited a full blow addiction...but that is another story.

[Robert Brooks]

My first Parker was a 28 gauge VHE skeet gun with loads of case color that was bought in mid 60s and I traded it for my 20 gauge GHE straight grip.Bobby

[todd allen]

I still have the old GH Damascus 30" 12 ga that started the whole thing, 30 some years ago.
Nothing special about her, except for superb quality, handling, devastating patterns, and beautiful Damascus.
Other than that, she's just another old shotgun.

[Jerry VanHorn]

My first was a 20 ga. PH. ..in 1976. I remember thinking that I should not buy it, because I had just gotten married..and bought our first house..an old 20s brick Victorian that I saw through rose colored glasses. Sold it a couple years later to continue restoring the house..So..it's gone..the house is gone..and that wife is gone !

[Mills Morrison]

My first is my 20 gauge Trojan and I still have it.

[Mark Ray]

My first, about 5 years ago was a VH 20, 0 frame, 26" barrels,straight grip with replacement wood, that I could not shoot to save my life! The gun must have been really tired when it was restored. upgraded. sold it but now I have 3 12 bores, a DH1 1 frame, a VH 2 frame with half pistol, a GH 3 frame, and a $150.00 grade 10 lifter straight grip

[Bill Holcombe]

My 1st was 5 years back. 32 inch VH 12. Traded it off for another gun after refinishing the stock and rebluing the barrels.

[Mike Franzen]

My first Parker is #12088, grade 2, 12 ga, lifter, 28” bbls, made in 1877. All screws are perfect and the gun hasn’t been touched. The older gent I got it from said it had been in his family for over 100 years. I thought about restoring it but decided I would rather keep it in the original condition. NFS ... never for sale.

[Michael Moffa]

My first is a DH12 two barrel set, straight grip, two forends, 30 and 26. Still have it. I took the inheritance from my fathers estate and purchased something that will be handed to the next and next generation. The balance went to my special snowflakes college fund.

[Jean Swanson]

At the age of 7 , my mentor Louis C. Goland , gave me a VH 20 bore with 28" barrels . I still have the gun after some 71 years. After all this time ,the gun reminds me of "Mr. Golan" and the times we had together in Keene, NH.I visit his grave site several time a year.

[Brett Hoop]

I was about 9 when I had my first exposer to a Parker. I was allowed to use it because as good as the Winchester 37 .410 did on rabbits I wasn't able to knock down a pheasant cock. So Grandpa let me use "the Parker". My uncle once told me it "wasn't a good one".
I didn't understand then, and still don't feel that way now. To me it was the greatest thing ever. It was a VH 20 with 28" barrels and it was too long for me and I didn't shoot it very well on pheasants. Shortly Grandpa figured out the problem and I was issued a Mdl. 12 16ga. with the butt plate removed. Tail feathers started to accumulate and that helped, but I loved that VH 20, and wanted to shoot a side by side like my Dad. Time passed and that VH went to another very worthy young man. 40 years latter I still hadn't forgot "the Parker", and the best bird dog of my life came to be. I knew I wanted something special for time spent with this dog, and like before it has taken a little trial and error to find the right gun. We are still looking there are several getting tryouts but they are all Parkers.

My uncle did make sure I got to see "a good Parker" and it was all the way across the street and up one house. The high school art teacher owned it. That Parker was a DHE 0 frame 16ga. with ivory mid and front on the 28" barrels.

[Garth Gustafson]

I'm very late to the game and only got my 1st Parker 4 years ago. I've been fighting the fever since I first handled a Parker at Goose Hummock on the cape when I was 16 and that was a long time ago! But better late than never and this 16ga VH is one of my prized possessions. I know a lot of you guys are going to look at those tiger stripes and say WOOF! I agree the Delgrego colors are still pretty intense but I like em and they'll eventually fade. I'm never getting rid of this gun.

[Dean H Hanson]

The $60 dollar grade 10 gauge, 32" twist barrels, hammer # 41730 always sat atop of my fathers gun rack. It was dark, intimidating, and was not very likable, much like my father. Once or twice a year he would show it to one of his friends with a prideful smile. His father bought it around 1915 for $12, his uncle soldered deer sights on it and tales of deer hunts dripped off its barrels like syrup. The gun aged with my father and both slowly lost any recognition of their youth. This year marks 3 years as caretaker, as the gun was past down to me, but not before seeing my father shoulder it one last time and let " boat a dem go". Being able to thank Mr. Bachelder in person for his repair to the gun was very important, only to have him thank me for bringing it in. Dad past this July...

[Dean Romig]

Your Dad sounds like an interesting guy.

Nice that you sent the Parker to Brad to be 'reborn'.






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[King Brown]

In Fredericton, New Brunswick, there was a highway builder who hated reporters and tracked me down whenever I was in the city. He'd invite me to his club or elegant home on the golf course with shotguns behind glass on two walls. What passed between us was barely civil at times. I liked him for his honest spirit. When he died, his wife asked me to visit and took me to his gun room. "Charlie wanted you to have first pick of his guns." I chose an 1899 Parker fishtail 16 hammer 0 grade. All the others were just money.

[Dean H Hanson]

I don't believe I ever heard my father described as interesting, lots of other adjectives. Have contemplated a PP story bout our family Parker, someday...

[todd allen]

Deano, write the story, and let us decide. I love reading about these "back in the day" Parker back-stories.

[Garth Gustafson]

Deano, also, please let us know if you got your buck this year.
Happy Thanksgiving!

[keavin nelson]

The VH 2 frame 12 ga. has been in the family three generations. It hung on the wall of my bedroom from the time I was about 8, in very sad shape. Bad restock that had failed, safety worked backwards, left barrel wouldn't cock, off face, and loose, with pitted barrels and a small crack at a dent on the left barrel. I worked with a local smith about 15 years ago to return it to solid use. I restocked it, corrected the safety, cleaned up the bores, had the crack tig welded, blued the barrels and re-cased the action after polishing. When I showed it to my then 86 yr. old uncle he was quite touched, and spent the better part of two hours telling me and his two sons how many rabbits it had killed, grouse my dad had taken, and an occassional duck, and at least one deer.. It kept grandmas cook pot full! My son has already laid claim to it, on to the forth generation!

[Marty Kohler]

When I was about 22 or so I had the idea I wanted to shoot and hunt with a traditional side by side. My brother worked at Creekside while going through college and ordered an Ithaca SKB 20 with 26" barrels and beaver tail....well it was a fine little gun but I wanted a "historical" piece to hunt with and I looked over briefly the big 5. The Parkers just stood out to me and it wasn't close. I found a VH 16 at a gun show with a $1000 price tag which you all will remember was a lot of money in those days especially for someone my age. But I had to have it and in those days at least for me Parkers were hard to find...anyway an older dealer I trusted walked over to look it over for me. I was shaking...he took his time, looked it all over, and pronounced it an honest gun...SOLD! For the next few years I hunted grouse, pheasants and woodcock with that gun but never was as accurate with it as I was with a single barrel pump....But I practiced and improved and used it till I got some snow in the right barrel and caused a bubble...Sent it to Lefever and they were able to fix it but they refinished the stock and left it blond which I just couldn't stand ..so it was sold...But I wish I still had it.....I do have a few more now:)

[Paul Harm]

I hunted my whole life with doubles, the cheap ones. I wanted a old one - bought a 1889 Remington which I proceeded to blow up [ loaded PB thinking it was Pyrodex - 94grs - 22,000psi ]. The week before I was looking at a Parker hammer gun. I drove two hours to buy it. I still have it and shoot it very well. It only cost me $750 and that was about 12 years ago. It has laminate barrels and I had Bachelder redo them. It has a very interesting pattern. The scar on my arm [ 23 stiches ] is a reminder to always double check what powder I'm using.

[charlie cleveland]

my dad traded for a 28 ga rem. model 1148 about half way down the barrel inside the barrel there was what looked like a rusted out ring...i took it squirl hunting and that thing blowed up shooting at a squirl...it blew up exactly where that ring was just beyound the fore arm i was not hurt.....charlie

[Craig Larter]

I am a Fox guy but I hang around with a bunch of Parker guys so their influence tipped me over about 7 years ago. My first was a CHE Bernard 12ga that I hunted but sold to a member. Now i own 9 and I am not stopping.��

[Dave Noreen]

The first Parker Bros. double I was cognizant of was my Grandfather's 1890 vintage heavy PH-Grade 12-gauge, but that has flowed down through my Father's next older brother's family. While I was growing up, my Father shot three Remingtons, a pair of AE-Grade doubles in 12- and 16-gauge for upland work and a "Sportsman" 12-gauge for waterfowl. In 1959, Dad caved in to Jack O'Connor's short barrel writings and had the "Sportsman's" 30-inch full choke barrel whacked to 26-inch with a Poly-Choke!! By the 1960 season, the "Sportsman" was gone and he had a 2-frame 30-inch barrel VH-Grade for his waterfowl work. I still have that gun. Being primarily an Ansley H. Fox guy, the first Parker Bros. double I bought myself was this rather nice condition 1894-vintage NH-Grade in May 1996.

58542

58543

[Kirk Potter]

I had posted on the Shotgunworld message boards a couple of years ago that I wanted to buy a Parker.. Greg Baehman PM'd me with an awesome looking GH at an extremely fair price. He aslo told me about the PGCA and recommended I join.

[Ted Hicks]

My Dad hunted upland birds avidly with Parkers and he had several when he passed. I used them many times when I was younger but purchased an old Browning Lightning 20 ga for upland bird hunting when I branched out on my own. My Dad and I still hunted together and occasionally when I couldn't hit anything with the Browning, he would have me try one of the Parkers to get me straightened out.

I ended up with two of his GHs after his passing in 2014, both 12 ga. One was my Grandfather's that passed to my Great Uncle when my Grandfather passed, and then to my father when my Great Uncle passed. The other was a project gun that my father started to resurrect.

My Great Uncle shot a pheasant with the first Parker in 1918 that he had mounted and I have the gun and the pheasant now. I've since finished the second Parker, the project gun, which has become my preferred grouse, woodcock and pheasant gun.

[Mills Morrison]

My Dad hunted upland birds avidly with Parkers and he had several when he passed. I used them many times when I was younger but purchased an old Browning Lightning 20 ga for upland bird hunting when I branched out on my own. My Dad and I still hunted together and occasionally when I couldn't hit anything with the Browning, he would have me try one of the Parkers to get me straightened out.

I ended up with two of his GHs after his passing in 2014, both 12 ga. One was my Grandfather's that passed to my Great Uncle when my Grandfather passed, and then to my father when my Great Uncle passed. The other was a project gun that my father started to resurrect.

My Great Uncle shot a pheasant with the first Parker in 1918 that he had mounted and I have the gun and the pheasant now. I've since finished the second Parker, the project gun, which has become my preferred grouse, woodcock and pheasant gun.

Great story!

[carl hazelton]

Dad gave me a GHE 12ga when I was maybe 14. He had put it away in a leg o mutton case years before.
He shot his Simson 20-- I the Parker.
Still have them both.
I believe he bought the Parker in 29 or 30
Have a picture dated 1931 with him holding it

[allen newell]

My first Parker was a vh 16 that was my grandfather's and then passed to my father. I grew up with this 16 vh as well as a German double 16 Schmidt & Habermann. The 16 Parker though has a unique history. At the height of the depression, my grandfather bought a farm in Hooksett or Bow New Hampshire. While shooting field hand trap on the farm with his four sons, the gun's recoil caused his thumb to strike his nose. He went home with a headache and died the following day of a cerebral hemorrhage. Instead of getting a nose bleed, he bleed inward. I had DelGrego restore this vh and it remains a cherished Parker to this day.

[Dean Romig]

Allen - he probably needed a longer LOP than that gun had.





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[allen newell]

Yes, a longer lop would have helped. When I spoke with my dad about this he said that my grandfather had ordered the gun with the dimensions including a substantial drop. I seem to recall that he got it through one of the leading Boston gun stores at the time. It always had too much drop for me and when it came time through wear and tear from hard use to have DelGrego restock it, I had them use more normal dimensions. To be honest, I don't shoot it that much anymore as I prefer Shooting other Parker's in my possession but I do take it out from time to time in the field and put a tie on my shirt in remembrance of how my grandfather and dad dressed to hunt birds in New England.

[Harold Lee Pickens]

First Parker, a 16 ga VH 1 frame with 28" baarrels
Last Parker, a 16 ga O Quality O frame w' 26" barrels
Have carried both hunting this year

[Ted Hicks]

"While shooting field hand trap on the farm with his four sons, the gun's recoil caused his thumb to strike his nose. He went home with a headache and died the following day of a cerebral hemorrhage."

Sad story. You don't hear too often about someone getting killed from that end of a gun.

[Gary Carmichael Sr]

Sad story for sure! My first Parker was a PH steel barrel gun with 30" tubes, bought the gun at Colonial gun shop in Hillsborough N.C. I always stopped by the shop on my way to the mountains, I bought some very nice guns from Colonial, sorry they are no longer in business, they started my interest in the Parker gun, this was in early 1990.and no I do not have the gun any longer, Gary

[Bill Zachow]

Mine is a 12 gauge DH that I bought at auction in Theresa, NY. I have written about this gun twice in Parker Pages. I am the second owner. The first having purchased it through a gun shop in Watertown, NY. He was a member of the Snell family. The gun shop paid $68 to Parker Bros. I assume Mr Snell paid the $100 list. With the gun, I received the original hang tag and the catalog used to order it. Ordered in 1916. I still have it and it will probably be the last to go. The Snells took very good care of it and it is a 90 to 95 percent gun.

[allen newell]

Trying to post a pic of grand dad's 16 vh on the farm

[Chuck Bishop]

When I was old enough to shoot trap, I shot my grandfathers SC. When I moved to Harrisburg there was a trap club 2 miles away. I asked my grandfather if I could borrow the gun. He handed it to me and said, "it's yours, just take care of it." It will be the last to go!

[Kent Nickerson]

Mine is a VH 20 bore left to me by my father in law. His brother collected Parkers and Foxes and "made him" get the gun 50 years or so ago when they shot birds together in Augusta. He shot it a few times and put it up. Too nice to take in the brush. I hope he wasn't too upset with me yesterday, but our birds do not set next to mowed lanes and manicured rows...

[George Lander]

Hey Kent: My office is in Leesville at 109 Bennett Street. Stop by sometime & we'll talk Parkers.

Best Regards, George
Phone (803) 240-3271

[Dave Tatman]

I love how connections get made on our PGCA website. I now count as great friends several people who I would have never met had it not been for these forums.

Best wishes to George and Kent for some interesting discussions.

Dave

[allen newell]

Actually my first 'parker' was Pamela. Lol ��

[Jack Cronkhite]

First was Dad’s VH 32” 12ga F/F CPG DHBP 145522. Still have it but it has been cropped and the butt plate was shattered. Found another barrel set from 144444 that dropped in. Having new tubes fitted to original so will become a two barrel set albeit not factory and different numbers. Used it a lot and then I found PGCA forums and succumbed to the “itis”. Now am custodian of a few more than by any account I need. I exercised two 16’s during pheasant season with some success. My winters are generally enjoying these golden oldies stripping down cleaning and repairing

[allen newell]

Welcome to the pgca