Dean while I have several vent rib Parkers none are Damascus. Pack Puglisi had a DH/DHE I don't remember which several years ago and that's the only Damascus vent rib gun I have ever seen. I thought the addition of the vent rib came long after fluid steel barrels were the norm.

You're right Rich. A few must have gone back to have ventilated ribs retrofitted on composite barreled guns.

When did Parker Bros. first catalog a Ventilated Rib on a double?

Hunter Arms introduced the Double Barrel Trap gun in 1920, and the 'Trap Package' included a flat beavertail forend (Schnabel forend available in 1922) with the reinforced barrel lug, Automatic Ejectors, Hunter One-Trigger, standard recoil pad, and two ivory sights. The ventilated rib on the Double Barrel Trap was introduced in 1925.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com:80/VOL.../241107963.jpg

Francotte (imported by Von Lengerke & Detmold) and Greener Single Barrel Trap guns were introduced in 1895 I believe with ventilated ribs. Lefever introduced a SBT with a solid rib in 1905, but Baker was the first major U.S. maker to offer a ventilated rib on their SBT in 1909.

The Prechtel SBT first appeared at the Cleveland Cartridge & Target Co. tournament in Cleveland, Ohio June 1897

http://pic20.picturetrail.com:80/VOL.../391112033.jpg

Thanks Drew, for that bit on Prechtel. He was a gunsmith/gunmaker who received his training working for Lefever. He lived in Cleveland and was very innovative in the gun business. I am working on a story of a Parker Grade-6 t/a hammer gun he did some unusual work on.

Dean: I put my Prechtel infro down in the "Other Fine Doubles" section

Prechtel double courtesy of Tom Will

http://pic20.picturetrail.com:80/VOL.../410793666.jpg

Paker SBT's starting in 1917 had ventilated ribs. AHE 204548 was the first double to have a factory-installed vent rib and that was a 1923 gun. The 1923 catalog was the first to offer the ventilated rib.

Now doesn't that look just like a Lefever?

Thanks Drew.

There was a GHE 12ga "trap gun" that sold on the Cabelas website a couple of years ago that had Damascus barrels with a vent rib and they were also stamped overload proved if I remember correctly. I thought somebody on here bought it, it didn't sell for a lot of money.

The pictured Prechtel is a Lefever with Prechtel tweaking.

Or it may be one of the ones he built from scratch while at Lefever or had Lefever send him parts and components in Cleveland.