S/N 220878 VH

[Phillip Carr]

I traded for a VH yesterday S/N 220878. Unfortunately I can not get a letter on the gun. It is a 2 barrel set with forends. 26" and 30" barrels. Barrels are marked 1 and 2 Barrel 1 marked with code 15. Intreastingly enough the chambers are 2 1/2 inch and all barrels are .042. Both sets of barrels marked Parker Proofed. I will post some pictures this week, but the gun is in 90%+ condition. Sure wish I could get a letter. Only down side is the stock is 13 3/4" and 3 1/2 " of drop. Also the buttplate does not have a NIB. Did all of the Parker plates on this area gun have a NIB ?

[Bruce Day]

I believe by "NIB" you are referring to the spur on the top of the dogs head butt plate. The spurred plate began to be phased out in the early 1920's in favor of the easier to fit flat plate, per TPS.

[Phillip Carr]

Bruce, yes I the Spur is what I am refering to. It appears that there are no records for my serial number range and and with that, no letter can be obtained. The good news I gues is that the plate without the spur is correct for this period.
I welcome any comments on both sets of barrels being choked Full and Full. Also the gun is a 1 1/2 frame how many 1 1/2 were there compared to the 2 frame? Also the gun is marked Parker Over proofed with 2 1/2" inch chambers I thought later models had 2 3/4" chambers.

Phil

[E Robert Fabian]

I would double check the chambers they may be 2 5/8 which would be normal for Parker and the use of 2 3/4 shells.
Bob

[Dean Romig]

Hi Phil,

The 1 1/2 Frame eventually replaced the 1 Frame as the lighter of the 12 gauge Parkers while the 2 Frame was kept as the heavier (though a few 3 Frames are known). Eventually the 1 1/2 Frame became the 'common' frame size even in competition 12 gauge trap and skeet guns. In the very late 1920's the 1/2 frame was developed and produced in the 1930's but it is believed less than 500 were produced on the 1/2 Frame.

[Austin W Hogan]

Check your chamber with a bore gauge or a set of inside calipers. A blade gauge will read a tight chamber as a short chamber. If your chambers are indeed 2 1/2 inches, measure some present day 2 5/8 shells. Most of those I have measured are 2 1/2 inches long after firing.

Best, Austin

[Phillip Carr]

Pictures of the VH


http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss14/Philcarr/Parker%20VH/DSCN0006.jpg
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss14/Philcarr/Parker%20VH/DSCN0004.jpg
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss14/Philcarr/Parker%20VH/DSCN0002.jpg
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss14/Philcarr/Parker%20VH/DSC_0017.jpg
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss14/Philcarr/Parker%20VH/DSC_0016.jpg
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss14/Philcarr/Parker%20VH/DSC_0015.jpg
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss14/Philcarr/Parker%20VH/DSC_0004.jpg
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss14/Philcarr/Parker%20VH/DSC_0003.jpg

[william faulk]

Really a nice Parker..looks like it is in great condition and a two barrel set is a plus.
Bill

[Bill Murphy]

If the barrels are original length, you have a great gun and don't need a "letter" to prove originality.

[Phillip Carr]

The barrels are uncut and .042 of choke in all barrels. Only real question is why have 26 and 30" barrels. Choked full and full. Seems like an unlikly combination. Have others seen this on a 2 barrel set?

[todd allen]

I have racked my brain for an answer to why those bbls would be choked the same. IMO, a 2 bbl'd set should be same length, with different choke combinations, or in the case of a grouse hunter, open chokes on the short set.
If guns could talk. . .

[George Lander]

Phil: I believe quite often Parkers were shipped with full chokes, especially to dealers like A&F, VL&D, VL&A, and others, whereby the ultimate purchaser could have the chokes opened to his/her need. If you could have been a "fly on the wall" in the Parker barrel room you could, probably, have heard the term "choked down like a rifle." The 2-1/2 inch chambers could, perhaps, denote that the gun was destined to be shipped across the pond.

Best Regards, George

[Dean Romig]

An original two-barrel set is such a 'rare bird' (only approx. 1,000 ever ordered that way) that I would find it extremely hard to believe that even one of the major dealers of that time would have ordered such a gun for the rack. But a letter might have proved otherwise.... :(

[Phillip Carr]

Here are pictures of the barrel marks for 1 and 2

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss14/Philcarr/Parker%20VH/DSC_0013.jpg
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss14/Philcarr/Parker%20VH/DSC_0012.jpg

[Austin W Hogan]

When I was a kid we had board games where there was an arrow on a card; you spun the arrow and played the answer that the arrow pointed to. I think the same may apply here. Some of these answers assume that the chamber is really, and intentionally 2 1/2 inches, and not a .001 undersizechamber that stops the blade at 2 1/2.

1) The owner shot imported or handloaded short, light loads. A full choke barrel would yield the same pattern with 1 ounce as a 1 1/8 ounce modified, or with 7/8 ounce as a 1 1/8 ounce IC.

2) F & F was the "default" Parker choke prior to WWI. The first owner was happy with his or his friends earlier Parker and ordered his to match.

3) The customer couldn't decide how to choke his gun but realized he had to order now or miss bird season. He ordered F & F so that he could have any choke he wanted after trying the gun.

4) The initial customer ordered a 26 inch ( 30 inch) F & F, from a small shop. The initial customer became a no show. The dealer returned the gun and had the second F&F barrel fitted, so he had the flexibility to please a rare customer for a relatively expensive gun.
This answer should begin a twenty year argument among the real purists; is it still a real two barrel set if the second barrel was fitted before it was sold?

Back to being a kid; I helped out in a local tool and sporting goods store to buy my target ammo. The owner told me he always stocked a few short open choked guns , but that the longest barrels with tightest chokes always sold first.

I think it is necessary to measure that chamber with other than a blade to verify the length before spinning the needle. I have measured several guns that stop a blade gauge but have much longer chambers.

Best, Austin

[Phillip Carr]

I spun the needle again and came up with a few new things for me to think about. I had prviously only measured the 26" barrel chambers. Thought they would all be the same. I am using Brownell Chamber gauges which seem to produce very accurate measurements for me in the past. From the pictures you will see the 26" are truley 2 1/2 inch chambers. The 30" barrels on the other hand are 2 5/8 inch. Also just for info the 30" are the barrels marked 1 and the 26" are marked 2. The 26 inch barrels appear to have been shot the most.
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss14/Philcarr/Parker%20VH/DSCN0019.jpg
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/ss14/Philcarr/Parker%20VH/DSCN0020.jpg

[Dave Suponski]

Phil, Great gun! That is a gun anyone would be proud to own.