Galazan Experiences

[Reggie Bishop]

I am a new guy on the forum and a new member to the PGCA. I have hunted upland birds here in the great state of Tennessee all my life. Primarily hunted with my little superposed guns but am looking to add a Parker to my collection. Anyone here ever bought a Parker from Galazan/Connecticut Shotgun Manuf.? Or any experience with them that might be helpful to a Parker newbie?

Thanks to all!

[John Dallas]

Not a Parker, but I bought an RBL 20 gauge. Experience was so good that I have ordered an Inverness.

[Scott Janowski]

Galazan's is a first class operation. I have been pleased in all my transactions with Tony.

[Gary Carmichael Sr]

I have also bought Parkers from him, and he stands behind his guns! Most of the guns on his site like others have some wiggle room. Gary

[Bill Murphy]

If you are truly a newby, you might look at a gun before you write the check. Tell us where you live and we will tell you where to go to look at guns. Yes, I buy from and sell to Tony, and am quite happy, but you should look at the individual gun.

[Fred Preston]

I have one gun from Tony G. I paid a dollar short of a G (K nowadays). A Trojan 12, not original, it has a pad and a mid rib bead. Exterior is about as good as it gets; if it has been redone it would have cost a lot more than I paid. Mechanics, bores and reliabiliy are perfect. First pic has it below my VHE 12. The next has it in a box (the box didn't come with it).

[FRANK HALSEY]

I have bought a few things from Tony and a better person you can not find. Great for our sport and collecting. Lucky to have him doing what he does best. Making and selling guns and other shotgun items. Thanks, Frank

[John Dunkle]

Tony is a pleasure to deal with - from personal experience. But - take my experience out of the equation and factor in the opinion of my customers I have sent Tony's way for custom work or restoration (and there are a lot of those folks)..

In ten years - I've never had a single customer of ours come back and say anything but the experience and workmanship was anything other then "First Rate"...

Hope this helps,

John

[Brian Dudley]

When I was at the CSMC showroom last month, I was amazed at the place! He had a good selection of Parker's from Trojans on up to c grades. And a good amount of repros. I do not recall any b grades or higher at that time.
I was also able to handle one of the new AAHE 28s. By the way, they did tell me that there is TALK of offering other grades/gauges of the new Parkers.

Anyway, in my opinion, the retail tag prices of a lot of the Parkers were very high, but I am sure there is room for negotiation for a truely interested buyer.

[Reggie Bishop]

I appreciate all the replies. I have browsed his website for years looking at Winchester 21s and Parkers. Just needed to know what kind of experiences/reputation he had and this thread has answered my questions. I am looking for a nice original VH 20 for starters.

Thanks again and keep any comments coming!

[allen newell]

I just visited Galazan's website. He has gorgeous firearms but I just can't imagine paying $200K for any gun. (not unless I owned an oil well somewhere).

[Ed Blake]

I just visited Galazan's website. He has gorgeous firearms but I just can't imagine paying $200K for any gun. (not unless I owned an oil well somewhere).

Tony is always open to offers.:)

[ed good]

allen: you bring up an interesting topic. what is the motivation behind the purchase of new high end consumer products, such as cars, boats, guns and the like? most of us of limited means look upon our purchases primarily for their utilitarian value, and perhaps with parker shotguns in mind, a certain hope for future monetary gain via appreciation. it is a winning situation when one can experience the pleasure of ownership, the pleasure of use and the realistic hope of profit from our investments. parker shotguns are one of the few consumer products that offer it all...so why would anyone buy high end newly made firearms, when experience clearly shows that for the most part they depreciate in value and may take more than a life time to appreciate back to their original cost?

[Robert Delk]

I suppose the same question could have been asked in the early 20th century of men buying high end Parkers, Smiths and Lefevers.

[ed good]

robert: perhaps so. however, the difference between now and then is as follows. now we have many thousands of classic side by side guns at various prices to choose from. then we did not have these classic guns. then it was good, better and best based on perceived quality. now we have cheap, affordable and expensive, based on ? why is a $2500 classic parker gun worth less than a $5000 new gun? and as allen asks: why would anyone pay $200k for a gon?

[Bill Murphy]

If a gun is advertised at an exhorbitant 200K, maybe a lowball offer of 185K would initiate a dialogue and result in a price good for both parties.:):)

[allen newell]

Perhaps Bill. I'm reminded of the time when I was on assignment in Saudi Arabia. I had the chance to work alongside some extremely rich Saudis who placed great value and importance of being able to drive around the desert in their $180K. They did it because they could, and being as wealthy as they were, I suppose the relative value to them of what we could consider a highly expense auto was insignificant. It's all relative.

Unless I win the Lottery, I won't be buying any $200K guns, but a nice 20 ga. VH bird gun would peak my interest.