AAHE Upgrade?

[Brian Dudley]

I was recently watching this AAHE on GB, just out of curiosity as to if it would get any action.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=310362126

It caught my attention because of the Vickers barrels. They are very similar to the barrels that were on a PH I used to own. I found it odd for such a high grade gun to have Vickers barrel on it.

Then I looked up the Serial number (145418) in the book. The number is listed as a V grade. But, then I saw that 2 numbers above it in the book (145416) is an AAHE with straight grip. I wondered if the seller just listed the S/N incorrectly. The S/N engraving on the guard was hard to read in the pictures. But the S/N on the barrel lug is clearly visible as ending in an 8. So, most likely an upgrade. Not a bad looking one in some respects.

[Chuck Bishop]

145416 is an AAHE and shipped to Du Bray. Problem is that he ordered the gun without safety. Gun was later returned to Parker for repair but nothing listed as having a safety reinstalled. Most likely an upgrade.

[Brian Dudley]

Very good information about the safety on the actual AAHE. One thing that I did notice about the safety on this one for sale is that the checkering on the button looked too coarse for an AA grade gun.

[Bill Murphy]

Someone should invest $40 in a letter on this gun. Of course, our researcher says "probably an upgrade", so I guess he has looked it up. Better pictures may show the it is worth almost what the seller is asking. I'm not so sure about the serial number on the trigger guard. I would like to look under that trigger guard.

[Ed Blake]

Seems like a lot of trouble and expense only to put Vickers barrels on it. There's a story there somewhere.

[Chris Travinski]

The barrels seem to fit much better than other sets of Vickers barrels I have seen.

[Bill Murphy]

Ed is right and he and I have a plan. We both think this may be the DuBray gun.

[Robin Lewis]

Bill, you left me hanging on that last post. Would you say more about your thoughts about why it may be the DuBray gun?

[Brian Dudley]

The Vickers barrels do fit better in the dolls head area than the set I had.

When the listing was active, I did ask the seller if he could double check the S/N on the water table of the gun for me, but I did not get any reply from him.

Either way something does not add up. If it was a legit AAHE, why would Vickers barrels have been put on? Wasn't Remington doing Repair work on Parkers until the 70's? I would think someone would have rebarreled a grade 7 as close to correctly as they could have for the time.
And if it is an upgrade, why not do it right with a set of Parker barrels? The stock, engraving and double fences look great! whatever is going on with that pad is a different story. I think it is safe to say that was done long after the upgrade...

[greg conomos]

Maybe Mrs. Vickers did it for her husband, Mr. Vickers, and both felt his barrels were worthy of an AAHE.

The checkering on that gun looks very weak, like someone sanded it down all over.

[edgarspencer]

The fore end tip on a V grade gun is almost always flat. The protrusion on the front of the tip appear with some G grade guns but always on the D grades. Beginning with the B grades, there was a step just back from the protrusion, and most A grades are the same as those on the B grades. The AA grades shown in the main page of the website show one with two steps and one with one step, The gun on gunbroker has a single step. The fore end tip is stamped on the back side with the gun's serial number, and it would be very difficult to alter that.
It would be interesting to see what the number is, stamped on the back of the gunbroker fore end tip.

[Bill Murphy]

Brian, Remington was refusing to do rebarrelling work way back before were born. The Vickers barrels were probably done in the sixties. I'm waiting for my email reply, but I feel the gun is gone into a collection by now. Ed and I think it is real and DuBray's gun. Of course, "DuBray's Gun" is a stretch, since DuBray ordered many guns for other people. We need more provenance.

[Brian Dudley]

If it is an upgrade, they did the work to add the fences behind the bolsters, so I would think that they would have reworked the forend tip too.

[Bill Murphy]

After all the work and expense of an upgrade, the owner sure put that gun through some rough treatment. It appears to be a competition pigeon gun used by someone who knew what end the shot comes out. I'm still betting on "original".

[Andy Kelley]

Brian please forgive my ignorance but could this gun have been restocked...it almost looks like the grade of wood seen on higher grade European guns.

[Destry L. Hoffard]

Bill do you have a fever? If this gun is worth "almost" the asking price I'll eat my favorite hat. I think the only thing original on it is the receiver, everything else looks to be reworked or replaced.

DLH

[Bill Murphy]

OK, might be worth within $12,000 of the asking price. A letter on this gun may indicate DuBray ownership if he sent it back to Parker for work under his own name.

[Brian Dudley]

If the gun was upgraded, then of course it was restocked. But, they did a good job on the stock. Most all looks pretty correct. How worn the checkering is in the grip and forend area tells that it was done a while ago.

[Bill Murphy]

I also contacted the seller about the serial number and have not gotten a reply.

[edgarspencer]

Brian, if you copy and paste the picture of the fore end tip on gunbroker to your photo page, blow it up, and compare it to Robin Lewis' excellent album of pictures showing fore end tips, I think you come to the same conclusion I have; that it is a genuine AAH fore end tip

[Eric Eis]

Not sure about the gun, but that is a "Restock" wood is totally wrong