DHE Special Skeet ?

[Eric Welch]

Good afternoon. I am looking for some expert insight on my gun. Is it a "Special Skeet"? I was hoping the letter would provide a little more detail. I have seen Hawkins pads that I believe to be factory, but I don't know about this one. Any help is sincerely appreciated. -Eric

[Dean H Hanson]

Wow!

[Reggie Bishop]

You have a very nice Parker grade 3 16 gauge skeet gun. Proper skeet markings are on the barrel flats. Since the letter doesn't mention the pad most would say it was added which deducts from the value. The 28" barrels are not found as frequently on Parker skeet guns as 26". Your gun is rare and appears to be in fantastic original condition. Parker didn't use the terminology "special skeet" but your gun is very special!

[Bill Murphy]

What a rare and wonderful gun. I just today bothered to look at the linked pictures. Do you have any idea who the original owner was?

[Eric Welch]

Good morning, Bill. I do not know who the original owner was. The letter provides no detail and unfortunately asking my good friend I bought it from a few years ago, is no longer possible. He was a big gun trader.
I do remember him telling me it came from "one of the largest Parker collectors in the country, who only had the best of the best." I was able to see the three other Parkers he bought from that collector at the same time. This one was the least valuable of the four. I'll let the experts on here speculate as to whom that collector may have been. I'm sorry I can't recall the name.

[edgarspencer]

Remington records are often lacking but both they, and Meriden, used Hawkins pads. The pigskin cover was added, but a very practical addition. A 1 frame 28" 16 is a joy, but I'd never be able to shoot a 2 1/8" drop, and telling me, at my age, to "Float the bird" is a waste of breath.