Wow lots of interest here! I have pics posted in the general forum
http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthread.php?t=12548

I figured I'd get more traffic over there but it seems i'm getting plenty of attention here as well.

As for the future of my first shotgun (i picked a good one huh) I think i'll skip the restoration and have this as an i-earned-this-patina fun gun, maybe for some hunting as well.

At the risk of upsetting those who bleed Parker, the Winchester Model 61, if in decent shape, and un-drilled, is the most valuable of the bunch.

It's far from decent shape

http://i.imgur.com/HfmjpJ3.jpg?2

cleaned up pretty well though, will definitely be a sweet shooter, but UGLY

I have yet to see an Ugly Winchester. They are one of my three main collecting marques, and I never stop looking at them. I think 50 is enuf for now.

oh alright

http://i.imgur.com/U8eY4IM.jpg?1
That was my OMG moment
http://i.imgur.com/1unVtJIl.jpg
The Winchester, see above post for the worst of it, the internals are surprisingly clean except for a few cobwebs
http://i.imgur.com/vesSVKQl.jpg?1
shell lifter from the Savage 775a 16ga more signs of 30 years in a basement
http://i.imgur.com/IXigdaz.jpg?2
After a few hours with Ballistol and some 0000 steel wool
http://i.imgur.com/Y01isbtl.jpg?1
Here's the lot L to R: Savage 755a 16ga Super Choke, Savage 720 pre-war 12ga (copy of an Auto-5), the Winchester 61(looking much better), and finally the 1928 Parker Trojan #2 12ga.

they will all be cleaned up and used enough to make up for 30+years they've been unfired, rusting in a basement or the previous 20 years they were in a closet in a beach house. because you know what's good for guns salty air:banghead:

they say that you shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth does that mean you shouldn't look a gift gun down the bore?

i shoud really stop complaining i've seen people spend more money than I make in a month on guns in worse shape than this

looking good Aaron

Aaron, You did well, both with the find and the cleaning, enjoy them they will last you your lifetime, Gary

What an awesome story Aaron. Now to really start your journey into the world of Parker Bros shotguns take $40 and send in to become a PGCA member. It's the finest gun collector/hunter/shooter organization there is IMHO. AND, you get access to the FOR SALE section where you will find your reloader and many other things you won't see for sale anywhere else.

Seems as if you got your Christmas present a few days early. Shoot and enjoy. Dan

In about 1960 I learned to shoot a SXS with a borrowed 28" Trojan 12. Shot pheasants, puddle ducks, rabbits, and woodcock with it for three or four years.
They're great guns!





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