going to pick up a new parker this weekend
 

im from minnesota i visited puglisis in duluth last fall on my way up to the north woods for a week long grouse hunt,what an expirience that was, first of all john puglisi is a great guy he took me through the whole shop and showed me gun after gun, guns that i will never own, guns that i was afraid to touch because they cost more than my car!!! (now what surprized me the most about this is that i am covered in tattoos from my feet to my chin and am much more used to the sound of a car door locking as i walk by than somebody rolling out the red carpet for me) john really impressed me.. i didnt know a thing about parkers at the time and he gave me a bit of a crash course in parkers and planted a seed... now im not a rich guy, i work for a living but i am resourcefull i wouldnt fit the typical profile of a double gun collector. shortly after i got back from my grouse hunt i started reading about parker guns first in DGJ and then purchased a copy of Parker by peter johnson... at the time i owned a 1919 fox sterlingworth 12gauge as my only hunting gun (and still one of my favorites)ive owned alot of doubles but nothing "vintage"...well that was in october i now own a 1919 sterlingworth 12gauge 28" barrels mod/full, a 1912 sterlingworth 20 gauge 26" barrels ic/mod, a GH Parker from 1896 with 30" damascus barrels full/extra full, and im going to pick up a parker hammer gun this weekend, i plan on taking it out this spring on my first minnesota spring turkey hunt this year, its is a 0 grade (i belive) hammer gun built in 1893 sn 77481 built on a #1 frame 30" plain twist barrels choked full/full 2 3/4 chambers probobly not that impresive of a gun value-wise but feels sleek and light for a 12gauge to me, probobly due to the slim #1 frame....., the gun is in great original shape, ill post some pictures when i get it home!! i get alot of satisfaction from my modest gun collection all of these guns have some kind of spirit to them a bit of "soul" and history.. im hooked

Joe; Can't wait to see the pics. ,Nothing like getting a new Parker !!! And yes ,you are correct ,YOU ARE HOOKED !:eek:

Hey Joe - Welcome to the fraternity! I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures too.
Remember - even for turkeys, you don't need heavy loads. Be nice to your old guns and use low pressure loads from RST or some other manufacturer of ammo made for older guns. It sounds like your Parker with full/full chokes is just the ticket for turkeys. All you really need is pattern density and head shots at reasonable yardage (closer if possible). Man, are you gonna have some fun!

Joe good luck on your new Parker. Russ and Dean are right you have a very serious disease.It's called "Doubleguntosis" which sometimes manifest's itself with symptoms very similar to "Parkeritis".It's a long slow spiral with no known cure sorry to say....:crying:


Hmm....A tattoo of a C Grade hammergun....:rolleyes:

Joe,

It sounds as if you have a very nice double gun collection. I have two #1 frame Parkers and they are a joy to shoot and carry. Dean has given you great advice. I do not shoot anything heavier than 1 1/8 oz of shot through the #1 frame. If I am going to shoot a round of sporting clays with a #1 frame I use 7/8 oz loads because after 100 shots even a 1 oz load will start to wear on on you. You will be supprised at the patterns a modest shot load will yield.

Kindest, Harry

Heck with gun pix, I want to see pictures of the body art

Hey dean
 

one thing I was confused about with that dean, I'm planning on only shooting Rst in my Damascus guns, but the mn DNR says that for turkey you have to use and I quote " number 4 shot or smaller" most RST shells (outside of non toxic shot) are # 5,6,7,7 1/2,8 maby I'm over thinking this but it confuses me #6 shot is "smaller" than 4 and #6 with proper chokes would be a correct load for and in range turkey right?

Right Joe, and #6 shot will produce a denser pattern than #4 in the same gun while still large enough to break head and neck bones decisively. I use #6 shot almost exclusively but go to 7 1/2 in a sixteen or smaller bore gun.

Joe,
Welcome to the world of Parker guns and the afflictions that come with them. The hammerguns have taken hold of me in a decisive manner so beware. I'm NOT a 12ga person but I adopted a grade 3 12 on a #2 frame with 30 inch damascuss bbls and it has rapidly become a favorite companion on the clays course. I even went Goose hunting (the first time in over 20 years) with the old girl hopeing to drop a Honker with a hammergun. HMMM could be a Parker Pages story "Hammergun Honkers":rolleyes:

Joe it is nice to go to a gunshop and not be treated like the plague!! I work in a gunshop about 4 hours north of Pluglisi's and we treat everyone who comes threw the door with respect and as if they were our new friend. The way they treated you at Pluglisi's was very much the same treatment my wife and myself were treated. The first thing I told them was I am Canadian!!! this ussually results in dont touch the guns and get out pronto!!! They welomed me and ,my wife esspecially. They asked her first what she would like to see, then myself. They gave me the grand tour and an nice southern bell that was there with her husband wisked my wife away for a nice chat( my wife indulges my gun collecting but is not that interested) this left me and the gentalmen to show me a few guns. THe sales man even let me go in the vault and handle guns worth mor than my house!! Since I live in the Canadian capital Province of Ontario it is next to impossible to get an permit for export, and there is alot of guns I would like to buy there as well as consign. I felt bad leaving without spending a cent, but that seemed not to matter. I also wish to thank the nice southern couple who were there and very nice to my wife and me( the lady was a true Southern bell). Overall I have never been treated so well in an gunshop in the USA, regards Dale in Thunder Bay Ontario Canada:)

Good news Joe- thanks for sharing too
 

Not surprised to hear that about Jack Puglisi's High Class operation. He didn't become a very successful gun dealer by not knowing the old secret of sales: Treat every person you wait on as if they were the most important person you will have seen all day--

The tats- well, many folks are negative about that, sure. I used to ride Harleys a bit- but no Gang or Colors- just another fan of Bob Seger's great anthem song "Roll Me Away" but some folks are still panicked when they see bikers out for a summer run- Not all are Hell's Angels, or even Marlon Brando wannabees from the 1950's (and Brando rode a Triumph, not a Harley)--

Case in point- some years ago, one of my sisters, who lives in Devon PA- we went into Philly where her husband at that time worked- into the BookBinder's Restaurant for lunch- two truckers in uniform were waiting in line for a table, and we heard a Chestnut Hill matron gasp- "My stars, they won't let those awful men eat here, will they? she asked her escort-- "Of course they will my dear, the owners know a 50 dollar bill from them in the cash register is the same as one from your purse"- end of story!!

Do let us know if you get that hammer gun. I am hoping for a fish-tail lever 20 bore Hammer Parker-maybe someday--:rotf:

Francis, in this small world of SXS collecting I can assure you that wishes do indeed (sometimes) come true!! (more on this later)

Okay Dean ,Spill the beans !!!!!!!!!!:corn:

Russ, see the thread "Somebody Please Pinch Me".

heres some pics
 

a few pics of my new hammer 12 my GH 12 and my sterlingworths