DH 28 Ga.

[Russ Jackson]

Gentlemen ,I have owned this gun for about five years or so and it is a little different than your normal D Grade ,the gun is Serial # 106312 ,it is the only known 25" Barreled 28 Ga. D Grade according to TPS . It also has unusual ,drop points ,this gun has English drop points and according to the PGCA letter ,the gun Has been sent back to The Parker factory twice ,once by the original owner in 1902 to remove dent from stock and again in 1915 by a company named " Kirkwood Bros. "to be " restocked same as old " WEll after all these years of ownership ,I finally decided to remove the trigger guard and see if Parker Bros. truly put this stock with the English drop points on this gun ! When I removed the guard ,it was in fact " Machine cut like factory but had " Kirkwood 78 J 112 L Stamped as plain as day ,also the # 1938 in front of Kirkwood ! What I can find out is there was a Co. by the name of Mortimer and Kirkwood " Gun Makers "in Boston Ma. at the time period also listed as Kirkwood Bros.. Does anyone know of this Company or has anyone else ever found this on their guns ,it appears as though this stock would be original and Parker Bros. did it and possibly Kirkwood Bros. stamped the stock as if they had done the repairs ???? Any Opinions ? Russ

[Dave Noreen]

Cornell Pubs sells a repro of a 1924 Kirkwood Bros. catalogue --

http://www.cornellpubs.com/old-guns/item_desc.php?item_id=2624

It includes a brief history of the company.

[Russ Jackson]

Dave ,Thank you much ,I ordered one of the catalogues, I see you are known as the Researcher ,I will ask you another question ,When I first received my letter , I researched the original owner and came up with little ,his name was H. H. Valentine and he was located in Albany New York ,seems the only info. I could find was there was a prominent , young businessman that belonged to the Albany Yaught and Tennis Club and often traveled to Europe , My thoughts are if this is the same H.H. Valentine ,possibly the reason for the 25 " Barrels were,they were popular in Europe at the turn of the century and also possibly the reasoning for the English drop points ???? Again ,only speculation on my part ? What do you think ,any opinions ,also the gun has a very seasoned leather covered pad ? also European ?

[Dean Romig]

Those are some tough questions Russ. It will be interesting to learn what you find in your Kirkwood catalog.

[Russ Jackson]

Hey Dean ,You know ,the stock fits so exact and is well aged same as the rest of the gun ,but the drop points always sort of bothered me ! My buddy that tagged along to Pintail was up the other day and talked me into removing the Trigger guard ,I was pretty sure we wouldn't find what we were hoping to ,but was I pleasantly suprised to see Kirkwood stamped on the wood very deep ,clean and ledgeable ,same as the PGCA letter ! Just wish the serial would have been there as well !

[Dean Romig]

In the order to be "restocked same as old" Parker may have followed the instructions 'to the letter' in that the "Old" stock may have been a sample gunstock sent along with the DH that the Parker Bros. stockers were to duplicate in every detail... including the stamp under the trigger guard... or maybe not.

[Russ Jackson]

Dean , Now ,,, That is a scenario ,I hadn't thought of ! My thinking is ,or maybe my HOPE ,Mr. Valentine delivered the Parker to Kirkwood Bros. in hopes of having a stock repair or restock if necessary and the Gentlemen sent the gun to Parker Bros. for restocking ,and upon return since they in fact had the job in house but had in fact sent it out ,upon return ,stamped their own markings as if they had done the restock ,but ,Parker Bros. kept very good records and since they are available to us today ,this might be a stone uncovered ! I was hoping others might have found these same markings on their guns also !

[Dean Romig]

Most likely happened the way you suggest.

[Ed Blake]

Please post a few pictures.

[Bill Murphy]

The Kirkwoods were skilled craftsmen and could have done very good work. Only pictures would help to clear up this mystery.

[Russ Jackson]

Gentlemen ,I am leaving for a while this morning ,when I get in ,I will take some clear pics. and attempt a few pics. of the stock under the trigger guard ! Thank you for your thoughts ! Russ

[Russ Jackson]

OKay guys ,I am back ,I managed to get a few pics ,remember ,the letter states ,sent back to Parker Bros, by Kirkwood to be restocked ,what I am trying to show is the fine fit and finish and determine if this is the stock mentioned in the PGCA Letter ! Ps. I apologize ,Picture #4 is of a different gun ,and I am unable to delete it ! Russ

[Dean Romig]

How'd you get your 28 ga. Repro in with that set of pics?

Very interesting stock on 106312. PB even went so far as to put an outdated grip cap on it. I wonder why they did that? Could they have not wanted their name on that departure from the standard drop point?

[Russ Jackson]

Dean ,I don't have any idea ,the LOP and DAC and DAH match the letter ???? The grip cap is 1890 or so and the gun is 1901 , the Oval is correct and fitted well and the checkering looks right to me ??? What do you think ? Also the Repro is a 20 Ga. ,my crazy camera is acting up ,I took about twenty pictures and it downloaded the last 100 or so I took and it was in the mix !

[Dean Romig]

I didn't mean that Parker Bros. didn't restock the gun - I think that is pretty obviously a Parker stock. Just wondering out loud why they wouldn't have used the grip cap with "PARKER BROS. MERIDEN, CT."

[Russ Jackson]

Dean ,I know exactly ,I feel the same ,I think Parker did the restock ,but ,I appreciate all opinions ,it would be nice to be certain beyond a doubt , If they could only talk ! Bill M .seemed to be familiar with Kirkwood ,I hope he takes a look and gives an opinion also !