First Parker
 

In November of 1976 I was shooting skeet with Bill Williams at the old Winchester trap and skeet club in Long Beach, California. There were a few shooters on station 7 on the field we intended to use. While waiting for them to finish I was drawn to the old gun one of the shooters was using. It looked and sounded like a very small sXs not usually encountered on a skeet field. When the squad finished and was walking off I approached the gentleman and asked about what I could now see was a Parker. He said it was a family gun and he only used it occasionally to shoot a round of skeet. Serial #241081. Straight stock, double triggers, original BT forend, 28" barrels bored ..004 and .003. and about 80% overall condition. I took a deep breath and asked if he would consider selling it. Without hesitation he replied yes but would accept not a penny less than $6000.00 for it and wanted cash. There was a branch of my bank just a few blocks away so off we went to close the deal. Upon returning to the gun club he handed me the Parker and I was astounded when he asked if I had any interest in the original case. Turned out it was a leg-o-mutton marked T.J.B. with the felt stockings. The grade of the little gun was a CHE. Good start to my Parker collection and a very lucky one.

18 years old. In the late 70’s till about 2001 in our area we had a local Weekly want ad paper called the Swap Sheet.
It was printed in another town and delivered every Wednesday, I knew the first stop it was delivered at and was there waiting at 10:30 AM every week.
This was before cell phones and internet.
One week there was listed was a Parker Bros. Gun 20 gauge for $200.00.
I called however no answer.
Back at that time I was a member of the local volunteer Fire Department, and the dispatcher had a Criss Cross book that crossed the phone number to the address.
I would drive nearby to a pay phone and stake it out till a car pulled in then make the call. I was always the first one there with this method!
The gun was a nice VH 20 gauge with 28” barrels my first Parker!
I remember the phone never stopped ringing while I was there!
I acquired many nice guns from the Swap Sheet!

In 1993 they had the great mid-western flood along the Mississippi River and I was in a gun shop in St Charles, Missouri when a gentleman walked with a large box of gun which had been in his flooded basement. Their were several Parker and I selected a 20 gauge PHE with 28 inch steel barrel. Took it to Paul Fucks in Alton, IL for a total restoration.
Then a 1894 Quality O, 12 gauge with 30 inch plain twisted steel barrels was acquired and sent to Paul Fucks again for a full restoration.
Followed by mint condition 12 gauge 1918 SC SBT with 32 inch barrels.
Since the first three all have been GH or GHE on various frames sizes and gauges.
Been collecting Parkers since I was 42 years old, however all are shot on a regular bases or they are sold!!!

I have always wanted a 28 ga , now the 10 ga will probably always be my favorite . But theres just something interesting about a 28 ga . I wish Parker had made a damascus/twist barreled 28 ga .

This Parker is also my first American made sxs , the two other doubles I owned were Birmingham made guns .

Parker did make grades 28 gauge guns with Damascus bbls but rare and very pricey

Look T GI #101497660

I have one - a DHE with Damascus barrels, the only known Parker of any grade with 24”, 28 gauge Damascus barrels.

Robin Hollow has one for sale in high original condition with 28” barrels.





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Milton, stick with the tens. Tell us about the #6 frame ten you recently bought.

I was 27 when I bought my first Parker, a 28" Trojan 12ga in 1984. I really didn't know much about them but a good friend had a Trojan that he used for upland bird hunting and it was a pride and joy that he spoke highly of. Whenever he made a good shot on a Grouse or Woodcock he would say he Parkerized it. I was in the USAF at the time and was getting ready to go on a remote assignment to a radar station in Iceland. I had rented my house and I was selling my Jeep because I could not have nor would I need a vehicle on that one year assignment, that gave me a little bit of extra money. I don't remember why I had gone to a local gunsmiths shop but he had two Trojan's for sale on consignment, a 12 and 20. The day I was to fly out of Boston was a Monday in December. I had a lot to do that day including the sale of my Jeep but I decided to go to a farm I hunted since I was teenager, it was a farm that bordered a brakish river and it had a cove where we hunted ducks. It was dead low tide at first light and saw some ducks in a channel that I could sneak up on by walking in the mud and staying below the banking. The channel had a turn and I knew when I came around the corner the ducks would be in range. It worked and as they flushed I pulled the front trigger and dropped a Black duck. I swung to the next target, a Greenhead and pulled the front trigger again, it was my first time shooting a gun with two triggers. I walked over and picked up the Black looking it over when I looked up and saw five mallards cupping in. They were 90 degrees to my position and about 45 yards away. I had a couple of seconds to react. I had not opened the gun and reloaded but the left barrel still had a 1 1/4 ounce of lead #4 in it. I was still holding the Black duck in my left hand and I rested the forearm of the gun on my forearm, picked out a Greenhead and dropped it. I was thrilled, two ducks with the first two shoots from my first Parker. I was convinced that my friend was right and there was something special about a Parker shotgun. I took Peter Johnson's book with me to Iceland and read it a couple of times, that was about the only information I had about Parker's. A lot has changed since then, I still have the gun and I shot a lot of ducks and geese with it over the years. Being a 12 it has taken a back seat to a battery of Short Ten's I use for water fowling for the last 11 years. It's sentimental value far exceeds it's monetary value so it will most likely be part of an estate sale some day as I don't see myself selling it.

This thread has had some great stories, hope I can add to it. The first Parker I'' had'' was found behind a stack of cues in a corner after a friend had shown me his good guns. Those were broom handle pistols and old Winchesters a Greener and others. I asked what is that in the corner and was told it was his sisters but she did not want it. When I dug it out it was a DHE 410 skeet and I started to research it.When I saw him again I told him it was worth more than all he had. He had given me his fathers safe and asked me to keep it for him and go ahead and use it. I had it for at least 15 years before he moved and got a safe. Bought my first the next year, 1975, at auction for 200.00 a vh which still shoot and hunt with and a few more since. Never had to sell one though.Had custody of a AAHE for a little while and it was the worst fitting gun I ever saw. I miss looking at it but not shooting it. When the owner was ready to take it back it was with mixed feelings I handed it over.

Its Craigs old NH #6 frame 10 ga , #116794 .
I really wanted this one because the original owner lived only about 2hrs from here near Columbus GA . I found some interesting information when I was trying to research him .

That has to be one of the coolest small bore Parkers .
I dont think I have ever seen a Parker 28 with damascus barrels .

I heard about Parkers long before I ever had one from my mother. My Grandfather was a double gun guy and Parker's were his favorite especially for shooting trap. I have a trophy he won at the Detroit gun club for breaking 200 straight from 16 yards to win the class C championship in 1936.
. He shot both trap and skeet and I was lucky enough to find some old photos of him both hunting and target shooting with a PArker.

Mom said the Parkers were his favorite. The family story is that he bought an A1 special at Abercrombie & Fitch in Chicago while he was on his way to Mayo Clinic. He picked up the gun on his return. It would have been used as this was 1948 or so but Mom still remembers the argument over the $600 when there wasn't any discretionary funds.

My parents bought me a Trojan 12 when I graduated from college. Shortly after that I bought a Vh that I traded a grade 5 Browning Citori 20 ga for. I played with some other doubles but never got the hang of double triggers and collected A5's and M12's for a long time.

About 20-25 years ago a friend an I were headed west to shoot Prairie Dogs and stopped in Cabela's in Owatonna MN. I found a nice DHE 20 with a straight grip 26inch barrels and bought it on the spot. A lot of guns have come and gone over the years some I still regret letting go of. I never thought I'd have an English Best but have several now or a high grade Parker but the God's have smiled on me not to mention creative financing and I have a BHE 32 inch 20 and an AHE 20/28 factory two barrel set. I have way more than I need but not as many as I want and we won't even go into the rifles:nono::whistle:

Maybe Fuchs?

Speaking of rifles there are some from vintage/classics one I would like to get some day . Lots of nice reproductions though that make them easier to obtain . I really want to pick up a Uberti 1876 in 50-95 eventually . I almost ordered a C Sharps 1874 last year , but they dont offer a pistol grip unless you get the presentation grade . So I would have to buy the action from them then find someone who builds Sharps to finish it .

There is a gunsmith I talk to a bit who builds the best looking single action revolvers in my opinion , I wouldnt mind getting one of his works . Lots of guns I would like to get if the funds allow it haha .

Milton,
Thank you for starting this thread. I purchased my first side by side about a year and a half ago at 65 years old. I took about 40 years off from hunting because of my business responsibilities. I purchased a beautifully restored 12 gauge fox A grade from a guy that is a member here and in the fox forum. I have always wanted a 16 gauge, I was looking at a gun dealers ad last year and he had a 16 gauge and the ad said "it hits like a 12 and carries like a 20" for some reason that really stuck in my head. Now I own 3-16 gauge side by sides, I got a nice 16 gauge vh that was restored from a member in here. I really like that gun, I have 2 fox 16 gauge shotguns that are original, and I also understand the beauty of an unrestored gun now too. I cannot thank the members in here enough and in the fox forum for all of their help/advice. I have met some members in person, and they are really great guys. When I bought the parker, we met in Grayling, I was so excited I held that gun in my hands, shouldered it a few times I shook the sellers hand, went back and put the gun in my gun case and sat down in the car and it was one of the most satisfying feelings I have ever had. I looked down at my passenger seat to check to see if there was any calls or texts on my cell phone and there was my money still in the banks envelope still sitting there. I jumped out of the car, the seller was getting ready to pull out and I gave him his money. We both had a good laugh about that. I often feel like a "kid" again with these shotguns, and with our first bird dog my wife and I acquired a couple of years ago. Milton, I hope you continue your pursuits, its nice to see a younger man with your enthusiasm. Thanks, Ed Norman

First Parker about 1990,I was 30 years old. Up until then I new little about Parkers. They always seemed to be something that were out of my reach.
Back then, pre-internet, gunshows were numerous and very active places. It wasn't uncommon to buy or trade a gun then flip it at the same show.
I was at a show in Greensburg PA. I had just traded up to a little Browning Citori, English grip gun. Walking past a table back in the corner an older gentleman, Bill Ault, had a table full of Parkers.
I walked out of the show without the Browning, but with a little 20g Trojan. That was the start. A few weekends later at a show in Harrisburg PA I thought I was trading up to a nice 16ga VH from the Hartman Bros. ,Elmira Arms, well it was my first learning experience with Parker condition. I wish I new were my first Parker is now.

The 16 gauge is pretty neat gauge to me and it has a following here in the South . You mention the 16 gauge to the old timers down here and their eyes light up . One thing I learned about the Ithaca 37 16 gauge , is 1 1/8 oz at 1300 fps+ gives a sharp jab in such a light gun . However I bet with the RST loads or similar loads a light 16 gauge would be pretty comfortable .


Correct me if I am wrong but from what ive read the the NH grade is the same as a PH ? I was thinking a PH 16 and 20 ga would go good with the NH 10 ga . The NH looks similar to them just alot beefier .

The 16 ga is why I never joined the shotgun team in highschool , everyone else were using Benellis and the coach kept asking me to join but I couldnt use my 16 ga .

Milton:

Four of the six Parker guns I own were legacies from my father -- Trojan 12; VH 12; VH 16 and DHE 12. In recent years I have added a GH 12 and a VH 16.

A WW II veteran, he departed from the usual path of his contemporaries by acquiring in the 1950s-1960s the Parker side-by-sides, and not repeaters, as were his buddies’ choices. Together they shot skeet and hunted Pheasant and waterfowl.

His preference for them was not because he was an antique guy, but because he was a quality guy.

Regrettably, despite my having a plethora of family photos of him, power-boating; sailing; fishing and standing near the classic airplane he restored and won prizes for, I don’t have a single one of him hunting or with a gun.

I live in a house surrounded by objects that were his and evoke his memory: furniture; photos; implements for hobbies and tools of trade; fishing gear; documents and various personal miscellany. But it is the guns that transmit the most meaningful connection to him.

As physical objects go, guns have a way of conveying in concentration a sense of its owner -- his (or her) character, experiences, relationships, and achievements, and do so inter-generationally, as best as anything I know.

I envy your early start in this and your mindful grasp of detail. Just keep it all in proportion and your rewards will be manifold.

Your Dad sounds like he was a interesting man . When I look at these old guns I often wish that the original owner had written down some of their hunts or adventures with these classics .

Something about these guns they just carry a soul to them when you carry them afield . I dont have anything against new guns either but the best way I can describe it is you cant get doubles made like this anymore really . Especially a American double .


I wish I knew what some of the original Parker owners had on their mind when ordering these guns in uncommon configurations.

From what I could find about my Parkers original owner he lived to be 86 . With this one weighing a hefty 12lbs+ I wonder how long he kept it as he got it at 27 .

Sorry, everyone for my miss spelling!!! His name was Paul Fuchs and some of you may remember him from his days at the Browning Customer Shop. Sorry for my inappropriate spelling and I apologize if I offended anyone.

Hello everyone!
New Parker owner and new member too! Thought I would go all in. I’m 56 and just bought my first Parker. I’m cross eyed dominant so shotgunning has been a challenge for me but I am learning lots of ways to adapt and know what I need to shoot well. Honestly I always thought Parker’s were a bit clunky but i’ve Learned now that there are some s great handling ones to. I just bought a 12 ga VH. Yes common except this one is built on a 1 frame and fits me well with 141/2 LOP and only 2 1/4 DAH! Has very nice wood and a lot of CC left as well. I couldn’t pass it up for a late season pheasant gun. I have a lot of shotguns and lately I’ve been buying and selling several to refine my collection to classic guns with great dimensions. I just bought a 20 superposed with 28 inch tubs and it only has 2 1/4 drop too!
Really great forum. I think I would like a Parker 16 to round things out! Has to have little drop which is the challenge, but I am patient!

welcome if you buy one parker you will have to buy another one thats just the way it is....charlie

I can see that being the case ! , I have been looking at a few that I wouldnt mind getting . The 16 ga and 20 ga PH twist barreled Parkers I have seen are a bit expensive but eventually I would like to get those to go with the 10 ga .

Theres a multitude of doubles I would like to get as I start my collection .
For some reason I always wanted a Beretta 410 10 ga . I have a hard time focusing on what I want next haha .

I’ve found it’s okay to want something specific . BUT you need to keep your eyes open and an open mind . Sometimes other things at really exceptional buyers prices crop up and even if you don’t really want them for the right price you add them and maybe not to long there after turn them over for profit then you have more equity towards something you really desire .

You are a very fortunate man.

The Hartman boys taught many people lessons.

I don't remember how old I was; 55-60, somewhere in there. With several Stevens and Fox shotguns in the cabinet I thought I'd see how the other half lives so I made an offer on a little 16ga Trojan with an issue or two that I was sure would be declined and suddenly found myself owning it. We've gotten along just fine and it got me in the Doubles Club :)...

https://i.imgur.com/gmXnLswl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/9bRUgHLl.jpg

I really those paper 16 gauge hulls .
Ive have enjoyed all the stories I have read in this thread .

Another interesting topic would be how to introduce or get other people my age interested in vintage doubles .

Our family, father, uncles all shot Parkers. My dad inherited his dad's 16 ga vh and shot that for years. Before i was old enough to hunt with a gun i would walk alongside my dad while he hunted grouse and woodcock. He talked alot about how fine parker shotguns were. I guess i just grew up not knowing there was any other shotgun worth hunting with except a Parker. And growing up in New England back in the day you hunted with a 16. When i reached 13 yrs if age dad let me hunt with the 16 and i killed a lot of birds, rabbits etc with that gun. After my dad died of Lou Gherigs disease I inherited the 16 and have kept it ever since. I finally had to get it fully restored as the stock at the head was pretty punky, there were no colors left. It needed a good restoration so i drove out to Del Grego's shop one day and sat down with Lawrence and Babe and figured out what we wanted to do. All new wood, colors, rust blue appropriately etc. A yr later they called and said it was done. After i got back from viet nam, i knew i had to have more parkers. It's a disease but one that won't kill you. You may go broke, but it won't kill you.

I never knew my Grandfather but have his DNA for which I'm grateful. The story regarding his A1 Special trap gun is that he used it very little but it was his favorite gun. He had a stroke and was unable to use it. It was his wish that the gun be given to a shooting friend who wouldn't be able to afford it upon his death. That wish was honored. My parents tried to track it down but it had been gone over 15 years by then and was never found.

I have been blessed with the AHE 20/28 set by a good friend who can no longer enjoy this fine gun as it was meant to be enjoyed. He knows I'll enjoy it and take good care of it and therefore made it available to me on a very gracious time table for payment.

I plan on following in my Grandfathers path with Gunner's Gun. A custom Parker purchased from a member here. It started out as a VH 20 but I had it restocked and engraved with pheasants, grouse, and woodcock. Gunner"s portrait in on the floor plate. He was my little buddy and I had his mom and there has never been a friend like him. He will go to a good friend who also has GSP's and a young son who is growing into being a hunter.

My Dad was a Parker guy for as long as I can remember and he usually had 5 - 10 of them on hand. I remember as a kid helping him clean his guns when he returned from a hunting trip. As I grew older and began hunting, he let me use certain Parkers of his and the others I was absolutely forbidden to touch. I consider myself lucky to have that introduction because I got to shoot/hunt with a few in different gauges and stock dimensions and learned what worked for me.

He passed in 2014 and I inherited his father's GH 12 ga and a second GH 12 ga, both of which I continue to hunt grouse and woodcock with. Last year I purchased my first Parker, a DH 12 gauge with 30" Damascus barrels which I will hunt turkeys with.

Being mostly a grouse and woodcock hunter I have in mind what I want for my next Parker and continue to search for it.

I should have mentioned in my earlier post the following additional history on the 16 ga vh that i inherited from my father. This 1927 vh was purchased by my grandfather in Boston. My grandfather and family lived in Dedham, Mass but also owned a farm of sorts in Bow,
New Hampshire. Some time later he was shooting hand trap on the farm with his 4 sons and while shooting it the recoil caused his hand to strike his nose. Must have held the gun loosely. Anyway, he went home to Dedham complaining of a headache. Went to bed and was unresponsive the next morning when my grandmother had called the family doctor to check him out. He was dead by then of apparently a cerebral hemmorage. Instead of a nose bleed out, it bled inward. So, i never met my grandfather but have his 16 to this day and consider it very special. My apologies for being long winded.

Bought my first Parker at age 44. My stepson who was and is involved in antiques knew a gentleman who had a12 ga. trojan and needed money as he was getting older. The trojan is in very good condition with the only flaw is lack of case colors on the receiver. He also said he had the original hang tag but had to look for it, unfortunetly he never found it. That started my passion for these great firearms and I managed to acquire two more. I paid $400 for that first Parker

[QUOTE=Rich Anderson;299481]I heard about Parkers long before I ever had one from my mother. My Grandfather was a double gun guy and Parker's were his favorite especially for shooting trap. I have a trophy he won at the Detroit gun club for breaking 200 straight from 16 yards to win the class C championship in 1936.
He shot both trap and skeet and I was lucky enough to find some old photos of him both hunting and target shooting with a PArker.

Mom said the Parkers were his favorite. The family story is that he bought an A1 special at Abercrombie & Fitch in Chicago while he was on his way to Mayo Clinic. He picked up the gun on his return. It would have been used as this was 1948 or so but Mom still remembers the argument over the $600 when there wasn't any discretionary funds.

Rich, the Chicago A&F store your Grandfather visited must have really been something special. At that time they were still doing business as Von Lengerke & Antoine at 9 N Wabash St in downtown Chicago. In fact, VL&A didn’t rebrand until 1959, more than 30 years after the A&F purchase. Such was the strength of the VL&A brand in the Midwest. What a sad day when A&F filed for bankruptcy in 1976. The Chicago store ran their going out of business sale in November 1977. Truly the end of an era. I wish I could have visited that store back in its heyday. Ed Muderlak wrote that he went in there as a kid and was in absolute awe of the place. Today, the old A&F storefront is a jewelry store.

[QUOTE=Garth Gustafson;299688]One of the best looking doubles I ever got to hold when I worked on the plantation was a A&F , ive never seen another one like it .

I assume you mean the Hartman's gave people "negative lessons" shall we say ?

I received my first one as a gift, a VH 12 ga with condition, upon graduation from college, aged 21.

I will say it is hard to get on the better side of a deal with them.

A late start for a double gun
 

I just turned 65, this past season while hunting pheasant's with a couple of good friends both of which are all in S x S shooters, one of them made a comment to me something like this, " You know Dan as much as you love the old guns of quality I'm surprised you don't have a S x S". That comment got me to thinking, he was right so within a couple of weeks I purchased my first Parker a CHE 30" 12 gauge. With all this virus crap going on I haven't been able to shoot any clay with it but I have been swinging it along the ceiling/wall lines all the time, not quite the same. Hope the Fall shoot in PA still happens, I would like to attend.