Not to try and put more on Mr. Bishop, but would there not be a listing of the merchants around the area that would have ordered guns at that time frame? That my further narrow the list.

Let's say the OP can find merchants in the Petersburg/Richmond area doing business in 1908. Let's say I found those merchants in the order books and the guns they ordered. How would I know the gun or guns they ordered were for Mr. Charles Lunsford without the merchant specifically stating the gun was for Mr. Lunsford and that's a 1 in a billion possibility. Without a S/N, it's hopeless.

The OP does not state what he intends to do with this information if found. If he has the serial# does he want to try and find the gun and buy it?
The term ''ordered'' can mean many things, an order placed to the factory by a sales person working for Parker(DuBray) or to Joe at the hardware,''get me a VH Parker. The gun could have been made that year or languished in stock for 2 years.
On this forum i have read of guns not sold for a few years after being made.
OP's intentions are not clear and his definition of ordered is not clear. Special ordered with specific requirements is one thing, send me one is another.

I had a Parker 28-bore that was manufactured in 1908 but wasn’t ordered until 1912.





.

Charles, the best way to find your grandfathers gun is to work backwards. Start with your family, it’s only been a couple generations. Contact all family members and friends/family of your grandfather and do some investigating. Somebody will likely remember what happened to that gun. It might still be in the family. When you get leads, use the internet to locate these people and reach out. Be patient, be persistent. Good luck.

I would like Thank everyone for their comments and suggestions. My grandfather loved to quail hunt and that was its primary use. The last time I saw the gun, I was 25, 40 years ago (1983). We recently started talking about family and the gun and so much has changed due to the internet and research and as the keeper of family stuff , I figured why not give it a shot. I have some more local research to do and if I come up empty handed I will try to purchase a similar gun made in 1908. There are more moving parts than I originally anticipated, but the next step is probably the local retailers that sold Parker Guns around 1908.
Again, I want to thank everyone who has read these posts and for all those involved with the Association.
If nothing additional if found, I will probably need advice on the purchase front.

Charles was there anything that stuck out about the gun you can remember like a pad or anything to Id it by?

Steve,
I say upfront that I am trying to remember from 40 years ago. What I do remember because he would showed me when we hunted together was the following:

16 Gauge
Barrel Length unknown, but I would assume 26” or 28” since he was 14 when he received it
Plain in appearance, looks like a VH from the pictures I have seen
I am not 100% sure but I remember the 2 plastic pieces (Butt and Grip) were plain,no Parker logo/picture
The stock close to the front had a slight crack

The gun had been well used for 70+ years
Thanks for asking

It sounds like the whole thing at this point is simply a memory. As there is no way to specifically locate the records with the limited information you have.

Plain guns like a Quality VH or a Trojan Grade were sold in large numbers to a jobber (some of whom also had retail outlets), they in turn sold them to smaller dealers who then sold them retail to individuals. Even if you knew the serial number, the surviving records would very likely show the gun sold to a jobber.