VH 20 Revival

[Mills Morrison]

This VH 20 was in sad shape when I acquired it several years ago. The stock was shot and the metal was rusted and scratched. It is now fully restored and looks brand new. Brian Dudley did most of the work and coordinated the rest. Geoffrey Gournet recut the engraving and Doug Turnbull did the case coloring.
New case from Jeff's Outfitters.

What you don't see is the barrels are 28" and IC/M. It is among the lighter of my Parker 20's and handles like a dream. We broke it in on clays this weekend and will get it on real birds soon enough.

[Randy G Roberts]

Nice gun Mills. I saw it at the Vintagers and was quite impressed. Really nice looking wood.

[Daniel Carter]

Nice work as always, i hope you and your sons have many years of great memories from it.

[Brian Dudley]

Thanks for posting about the gun Mills. It did turn out nice and is quite a before and after for sure.
This is the gun that I featured in this post about the details of stocking a Parker.

http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthread.php?t=24745

Here are a few additional finished photos of the gun. Turnbull's shop always does a great job on coloring Parkers for me, but this one was right up there as one of the best ones I have gotten out of them.

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[Mills Morrison]

Thanks for the comments and thanks for the additional photos Brian. The wood is such that it both looks great and still looks appropriate for the grade.

[Harry Collins]

I like your style Mills.

[charlie cleveland]

great looking gun mills...that brian does have a way with guns dont he....your son will get to break this gun in shortly....charlie

[Mills Morrison]

This was supposed to be for my son but he might have to wait awhile

[Jerry Harlow]

Beautiful. I would cry if it were mine and I put a scratch on it.

[Mills Morrison]

No kidding. I am sure a scratch is coming

[Jerry Harlow]

I have a couple of youngsters I want to give a Parker to, but until they learn how to treat them not in the way they treat the guns they hunt with, they won't get them. I should give them a beater I guess but I wanted to do better than that. Every time they come they have forgotten their gun case, throw it into the back of the truck like it is a garden hoe, and don't ever oil or clean them.

Your VH is a presentation piece now.

[Mills Morrison]

Harry has expressed interest in my 870 20 that got me started and we may begin there. Actually he really likes rifles now and it may mean we buy a few more rifles.

Maybe I will keep buying until I find one he can keep

[wayne goerres]

To pretty to hunt with Mills. Put it in the gun safe! Ha.

[Mills Morrison]

To pretty to hunt with Mills. Put it in the gun safe! Ha.

Fat chance. Ha!

[Harry Collins]

Jerry,

My nephew is to inherit my fathers 20 Trojan. The SXS he shoots appears to have never been cleaned and it is a rattle trap. I offered to fix that, but was declined. I am seriously rethinking my will. The truth is the grandchildren have completely different taste in rifles and shotguns. I have thought of selling the lot and keeping just the ones I have been shooting of late.

Harry

[Mills Morrison]

I would give my Parkers to a friend who appreciated them long before I gave them to a family member who did not

[Mark Garrett]

Kinda takes you back in time , that feeling of waiting for your brand new Parker to arrived after your dealer ordered it for you. Looks perfect ! Now go out and make some memories with it.

[Mills Morrison]

Someone was asking about Brian's work recently, so I am reviving this thread. It also reminds me I need to take this gun out for quail in the near future.

[charlie cleveland]

I too am rethinking about whom I give my guns some of my grand children do not care about hunting so I guess they will inherit some thing besides a parker...charlie

[Austin J Hawthorne Jr.]

Does Harry still want to shoot elephants?

[Mills Morrison]

He does. He'd be satisfied with just about any game animal in Africa though

[Daniel Carter]

Do you have any stories to tell about this guns use?

[Mills Morrison]

Check out Parker Pages a year or so back

[Andrew Sacco]

I would give my Parkers to a friend who appreciated them long before I gave them to a family member who did not

I agree. I'd probably donate some to be raffled for a good cause. Reminds me of what Shaquille ONeill said to his kids, "I want to remind you that I'm wealthy, you are not" :bigbye:

[Mike Koneski]

Mills, if you have a gun, shoot the gun! Closet queens are useless. As they say on "Swamp People"- "Choot 'em!!"

[Andrew Sacco]

If anyone knows swamp people it’s Mike

[Mills Morrison]

I don’t buy a gun I don’t shoot

[Mills Morrison]

It’s a so many guns so little time thing

[Mike Koneski]

I don’t buy a gun I don’t shoot

I’m with ya!

[Randy G Roberts]

I don’t buy a gun I don’t shoot

My new role model :bowdown:

[Mike Koneski]

If anyone knows swamp people it’s Mike

As Molly Hatchet sang in Gator Country, "We got that chomp chomp..."

[Dave Noreen]

Nice restoration. That wood might be for a Remington era VH, but the Brothers P went for a bit plainer --

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This gun was virtually new, but had been left in a case and the metal had some severe cosmetic issues. My Wife bought it for me for my 55th birthday. After owning it for fifteen years, I dropped it off at Bachelders on my way home from Hausemanns.

They did a nice job, except for polishing the triggers bright.

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[Brian Dudley]

When people are paying good money for a restock, most opt to upgrade the wood some to make it more attractive. I try to make sure that the selection is not outside of the realm of possibility for the grade.

[Mike Koneski]

Brian, it’s also not unheard of for one of the stockers to grab a higher grade stick of wood for the gun he was working on.

[Gerald McPherson]

I shot a VH for years that had highly figured wood from the factory 1917 if I remember. One side was not as figured as the other but was not plain by any means. I also had a Gh with nice english walnut,

[Kevin McCormack]

There are not a few Remington era VH grade guns that sport bona fide factory GH wood, and a few GHs that will make you loosen your collar going through Meriden catalogs and auction pictures showing righteous DH factory grade wood; all a product of Remington using up the considerable inventory of Meriden wood gleaned at the 1934 buyout. So it definitely pays to know what you are looking at era and style-wise.

Years ago I bought for pennies on the dollar a DHE 20 ga. straight grip 30 inch gun that had been stocked by Remington at Ilion in what was at least CH and arguably BH figured wood with checkered butt and SFE. Shown to 3 or 4 dealers and half a dozen "bottom feeders" at the Richmond VA gun show, no one would touch it because of the "bogus" stock (must be a restock with high grade wood) and butt (checkered instead of SKBP, standard for a DH). I sold it at the last Sandanona Vintagers years later for nearly 3 times what I paid for it and would never have done so had it not put me into a GHE .410 RK PG SFE 26" DHBP beauty. Caveat Emptor!!

[Harold Lee Pickens]

This 1891 PH O frame 16 sports wood that is certainly much nicer than what I've seen on any other PH. It is what led me to pick it up as a project gun. And its still a project, but it did take its share of grouse and pheasant this year.

[Brian Dudley]

I have personally seen many P grades with funky wood like that.

[Robert Brooks]

I had a VHE 20 #241xxx sst checkered butt reversed choked that had the finest piece of feather crotch wood i have ever seen and i have seen many! Bobby

[William Woods]

Mills,

Not many people would spend that much to restore a VH. I commend you for giving that shotgun a new lease on life.

[Mills Morrison]

Thank you. I don't think I would do it again, but it was a fun project.

[CraigThompson]

Okay 20's are great fun to shoot clay or feathers with .

I've got 20's with 26 , 28 and 30 inch barrels .

So....................................... ,

I need one with 32" barrels choked kinda tight . VH , VHE , DH , DHE any of those would work :whistle:

[Mills Morrison]

I have 26 and 28. 30 would be good and I have let a few get past me. Actually, the best idea is saving up for a California waterfowl 20 gauge