maybe old willie has got it right...charlie

My dad had me start hunting with just walking with him. Then he bought me a single shot 410 hammer gun at 12 yrs old. I hunted grouse, pheasant and woodcock with that till 16 when he was satisfied that i was hunting properly and i then graduated to a Parker 16 ga VH. Parkers ever since with an occasional Belgian Browning in the mix. Dad would always tell me that if you can't hit the bird in 2 shots, the bird deserves to fly away. God love him.

your dad was a rightous man...charlie

Charlie, he was s wonderful dad. He died at age 56 from ALS, Lou Gherigs disease. Miss him to this day

Thanks so much everyone for your input, many very well thought out opinions that are helpful to us all. But I still can't believe I bought a really nice DH 12/30 dam for 1500 dollars.

I think you made a heck of a good acquisition myself!

Craig; I recently traded into a DH 12/28 Damascus gun. After having it cleaned by a pro and a little repair work I have 1400 in it. I am shooting clays weekly with it and doing better than I have ever did. It did take a little experimenting with different loads and I have found one it likes. I feel the $125 for the cleaning was money well spent. It may have never been taken apart and cleaned. The top lever was very slow returning to center. My advise to others is before you start shooting a 117 year old Parker get it cleaned and lubed. I shot one for several years that looked like a screw had never been turned and then one day while shooting doves it doubled about three times and cracked the stock. We never get to old to learn do we? I traded a pistol that I had $300 in and gave $700 boot. I could have bought the DH for $1200. It was priced by the shop at $1500. I was surprised to find it where it was. This may well be my last Parker purchase. But I said that before I found this one. Of all the gun deals I have done I am happiest about this one. If I had this gun 50 years ago I would have eaten a lot more quail and doves. I traded into my first Parker a VH 12/26 about 20 years ago for about $1500 so i guess the market is down. I really enjoyed that VH also. It fit me very well also. The DH is a 1 1/2 frame at about 7 lbs. Feels great. Gerald

I wrote a $2200 check for my AHE double Trap. The seller asked whether I also wanted his prewar Pigeon Grade Superposed for $1100. I was already running for the door and don't think I really heard him. I had told him his Parker was worth several times his asking price, but all he said was "Write the check."

Bill are you have 1970's flashbacks again?

PML