In 66 years, I've handled more guns than some, less than others, but think I have a pretty good sense of "feel", as in, it feels "good", or it feels "warm". I have some old shoes like that. They may have been like any other, when they were off-the-shelf new, but now they look like I want them to look, feel like I want them to feel, and slip on an off with ease.
I enjoy the gun shops where you can take anything down and handle it, or even walk out the door to swing it at an imaginary target. Some of the new European doubles feel super, others feel like new shoes. I still see NIB Reproductions, and on occasion will heft one. I don't think any of them have the correct stock profile, especially at the heel of the butt. The radius is much greater than either a Meriden, or Illion gun. There is a resonance in the gun that transmits to the hand when you close it up. Not there for me in a repro, but I may just be tuned to a different frequency.
I had an old Benz diesel wagon that I bought when it was five. I drove it for years, and 300+K miles and lament the day the new owner drove it off. I could have replaced it with new, albeit only recently in a diesel, but I didn't.
I don't have to own something to appreciate it. I went over to CSMC the day after Christmas to exchange my new bore and choke gauge with one that had a micrometer barrel whose threads were more like a machine screw and not like a wine press. The one they sell is a copy of the old Chubbs gauge from England. They had one that worked OK, but before I left, I hefted many Parkers, and gave the Remington commissioned AAHE a good look-over. I spent a lot longer fondling a 230,xxx range AHE 20 with 30 " tubes. They both had eyeball appeal, but the 20 was warm. Sometimes a copy, however good it looks, is just a copy.

I'm pretty sure I know how I like a gun to feel and I have a bunch of Parkers that I like. I don't ask that a gun fit me perfectly because I know I can conform very easily to fit my guns. I know how my guns should feel between my hands and how they should come to my shoulder and how dynamic they should feel when swinging on a target or a gamebird. My Repros do that for me just as well as all of my original Parkers. I think a lot of this "feel" is in the mind of the shooter just as much as it is a physical thing. Repros were made to the exact in every respect, specifications of the original Remington Parkers that were used as patterns to be duplicated. Sometimes in a Repro you get a piece of wood that might be prone to breaking, and it might.... This is why Parker Bros. developed the hickory reinforcement rod through the wrist so I guess they had some complaints too, right?

Not sure what that means, but I too have handled and owned my share of guns, although in only 64 years :p. Everything from Lebeau Courallys and Holland and Hollands, to Garbis, Grullas, Browning Diana, and many others. I've owned 7 Parker Repros and they felt as good as any of the others to me!

I have a Holland & Holland and a Charles Boswell that are both so thin in the wrist it's scary:eek: I won't take them out on a winter hunt as a fall will surely break something.

I have had several of the Reproduction Parkers both 20's and 28's back in the day when I couldn't afford an original Parker. I have never had any issue with them and they had single triggers for the majority of them. They are a great gun at a good price.

When my dad died, he had over 50 side by sides, and more than half were Parkers. The rest were English. If you held one of his H&H 20s in one hand and his Purdey 20 in the other, my description of "warmth" would be more easily understood.
He had a virtually new DHE 20 with 26" barrels and one day brought home a reproduction 20, in all repects, the same gun. To look at either, you felt you were holding a great gun, but to hold the two at the same time, the warmth factor popped right out. He gave that 20 to one off my Nephews, and I'm still trying to figure out how to get it back. The repro went in short order.
I think what I find I like the least of the Repros is the stock and fore end. I also don't like their cyanide case colors, but a little borax and linseed oil cures that fast. I prefer guns with dark wood, and oil finishes. Maybe 'warmth' comes with age, because I have a friend who has a repro 16 with more miles on it than most originals, and it 'feels' good.
My dad's CHE 28 became my daughter's Master's degree, and that's an itch I am still scratching. I know I could get a repro 28 tomorrow, but will wait till the right real one comes along that I can afford. I know it won't be a CHE, but a VH would be just fine. I look at gauge and configuration before grade anyway.
We'll have to agree to disagree on the likability of repros. They may, and probably are good guns, but I have enough variety in my guns, and there's no void that only a repro can fill

I agree, but will say that, at the times that I bought them, there were three Repros that I just had to have.

i know the feeling of warmth in your hands its like haveing a parker in one hand and a stevens in the left....but i still have a place in the corner for a few old stevens... charlie

I think we should all bow our heads and say a little prayer for Edgar.:bowdown: So, he too; can make room in his heart for a Repro. :cheers:

Amen to that!!

That prayer better include lots of fire and chicken feet cuz it's not something the Nuns are gonna be able to pull off on their own.

[QUOTE=edgarspencer;124739We'll have to agree to disagree on the likability of repros. They may, and probably are good guns, but I have enough variety in my guns, and there's no void that only a repro can fill[/QUOTE]

With all due respect Edgar, and I am aware that everyone is entitled to their opinion, it doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense to come to a Parker Reproduction forum to tell everyone why you don't like Parker Reproductions :duck:.

Actually, It's a sub-forum of the Parker Gun Collectors Assoc., not the Parker Reproduction Gun Collectors Assoc. (Please don't let that keep you from spending $40 and Joining the PGCA. You'll get 4 issues of the best collector oriented magazine there is, and access to the members only section. They sell repros there too)
Maybe if you're that intimidated by criticism, you ought to get the mods to put a sticky up that says it's only permissible to post if you Love repros.
Just to set the record straight, I never said I hated the gun, and in fact have mildly intimated the opposite. If you're unhappy that I'm not just gushing over them, I can't help you with that.
I recognize it would have made the gun somewhat more expensive had they done the case hardening in bone/leather/organic, as opposed to cyanide. Finding a sufficient quantity of American, or European walnut would have been difficult, and more expensive.
No, I'm not in love with the repro, like I am a Meriden gun. I don't hate it, and if I have enough years left, and wake up some morning unhappy that between the far left, and far right of my 15 Parkers, there is a gun missing, gauge, grade, whatever, I might fill it with a Repro. I've certainly done dumber things than that.

I have owned many Parker Shotguns in my life, but never a repro, why? cause they did not make them with external hammers, and they do not have that dark wood and beautiful patterned barrels, but if any body has one in say a 130 years that still earns its keep, let me know, PS please send that letter airmail not ground, Gary

There is a place for every shotgun and every shotgun has it's place. My first repo was a straight grip 28 and a lot of Grouse fell to that gun. It was as close as I could get to a Parker with my current financial status or lack thereof at 22 or 23 yrs young.

In todays market for $5K +or- find me a better sxs. I consider myself lucky to have two original Parker 28's today but wouldn't disparage the repro or anyone who wanted one.

Why do these guns generate so much flack? Seems they kinda paved the way for the Galazan Fox (I have one, an FE in 410 and its a great gun also) the M21 also from Galazan, Ithaca Classic doubles to name a few. IMHO the reproduction Parker was ahead of its time and helped in the resurgance of the double gun.

Who said you hated them...:rolleyes:? And I'm certainly not intimidated by your criticisms. As I said, you're entitled to your opinion. I also never said you needed to "gush over them." I also didn't call this the "Parker Reproduction Gun Collectors Association," however, the part of the forum that you are reading right now is specifically about Parker Reproductions. I don't belong to the PGCA simply because I have no interest in original Parkers, and I'm not a "Collector." Sounds like you may be a bit overly sensitive :p ?

I have to ask. Why do you not have interest in original parkers? I can not figure it out.

Thank you for your diagnosis, Dr. Bernfield

Edgar Dr. COB offers the following RX for being overly sensitive. Take several shots of your favorite adult beverage and watch some OBamma speeches, your blood pressure will rise and some colour will appear in your face but thats ok. You won't be overly sensitive any more:rotf:

Unfortunately, Rich, under real doctors orders I can't crack the label on anything for another week. Yeah, it was a real exciting New Years Eve.

Dr. Bernfeld (not Bernfield) to you :p!

Edgar I'll bring some medicine to Hausmanns so keep your RX handy.

Etymology

From Middle High German velt, from Old High German feld, from Proto-Germanic *felþą, from Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂-. Cognates include Dutch veld and English field.[1]. German Gefilde (“fields”) is a collective derivation of Feld.[2]

Whatever:p

Wes Thu Hal
Mr. Spencer

Ic þe þancas do.

I am not smart enough to know how to type thorn on a keyboard.