DHE 34" 163985
 

I ran into 163985 on gun show set up day today, it left the factory as a 12 ga #2 frame 34" DHE straight grip with no safety. The butt was checkered with no plate, forearm is splinter. Barrels had been re-blacked tastefully, bores were rust free with one light dent. Wood was free of cracks and original. forearm iron had trace case color but the receiver was blued. It was not polished, the engraving was crisp and screws fairly clean. It was in a leather bound 34" case that may have been original with some accessories. What to do..... what to do...the guy was asking $4400 and that seemed not too bad??? If it was a DHE 30" I would not be thinking about it at this late hour but 34"??????

if its in the book as that gun- I'm away from the Book- I would have to seriously think why I am not buying the gun.

That would be an easy decision for me...

The gun letters as described, except for the blued receiver.

My bank account would be $4400 lighter this morning!

What a great gun for the "Challenge" later this month!

Not something you find every day.

It would be in my gun safe by now....

That would certainly have been a special order (bespoke?) gun... I wonder what the provenance is on it :cool:

You can get that blue off the frame in less than an hour. You may find remaining case colors under the blue.

The good and bad about 34" barrels is that they are long. They can be unwieldy in the field. I find 32"s too long but depending on a person's height and the intended use, many are happy with these long barrels.

OK I am off to spend some money bright and early this morning.

Excellent!! I hope it is still there.

Please show us pictures!

Let me know if you don't want it.

I have a friend thats a bit up in years but he still shoots well at skeet , trap and sporting and his go to sporting guns are a pair of Parker DHE 34" guns .

True, you can get the bluing off. But anyone who expects to remove bluing and find remaining case color is kidding themselves.

The operative word was "may" as in,
maybe I have been imagining seeing some remaining case colors under bluing.

So, don't expect to see any , but you may get lucky and there may be some left if the frame was not buffed prior to bluing.

Exactly. If it was there before bluing, and the bluing is removed with something like vinegar, it will still be there.

But how can something be properly blued without prepping the surface with polishing. Even minimal polishing will remove case colors. Not the case, but the colors.

From the Original post
'properly' being the key word. But, if, as Brian H says, it wasn't polished, surface bluing is unlikely to affect the colors resulting from heat treatment.

I am the new owner more later

It was a steal from what I see. You could move it right here with dollars to easily cover your trouble if you decide that you do not like it. I would love to have one like it. Bob

Looks really nice. That forend looks a lot different than the stock for some reason.

Let's just agree to disagree on the case colors surviving bluing/bluing removal.

Back to the subject. Great find Brian!

Brian,

Nice find and good decision.

Shoot the gun and enjoy it.

Great looking gun Brian! In my opinion case color is over rated, especially when your talking about a 34" DHE with a great looking piece of wood on a straight stock.

Brian,

Good decision. Someone did the same to the DH I have prior to me getting it. If you decide to take it off be prepared. There were no case colors at all under the bluing on mine. Brad Bachelder is going to take care of that when he gets to feeling better though.

Brian: I was curious if you saw any other doubles at the show or mostly modern guns. Thomas

I wonder if they made many 12 gauge GH guns either damascus or fluid steel with 34" pipes ? Heck I'd be happy with a 32"12 gauge GH with fluid or Damascus barrels .

they made a few gh 34" ers. I used to have one. It was a great shooter.

She's a shooter for sure, I am quite happy and the guy was VERY negotiable. I also picked up a brand new in the box 28 ga repro 2 barrel set, straight grip splinter. Yes there were a bunch of doubles at the show. :cheers:

DOC 1 5/8", DOH 2 5/8", LOP 14 3/8", 5 degrees of pitch.

And yes the letter is in process.

Thanks everyone for your input. My question to buy this gun may have seemed silly but some times its obvious to me and other times I just need a little support from the group. Considerate insightful advice is what helps make the organization grow.

Brian

What a wonderful gun! Congratulations Brian!

That is a drop dead good find.
Go back to the second post on this thread. Am I prophetic or what? [I need to take my own advice.]
But keep us posted when you remove that bluing with vinegar and find some case colors.

mighty nice gun at a fair price in my opinion...love the long barrels...charlie

A very nice find. Who wouldn't like to have that one!?!

Before you do anything, get a research letter on that gun. You may find it was blued at the factory... probably not, but there is always the possibility.

Very unique but plate, I like it.

Heff, that is a 'checkered butt'. Sometimes found in the order books referred to as "no butt treatment" or "no butt" but later as "checked butt" or "checkered butt".

Wonderful gun Brian! Congratulations on a solid find.

And no Safety to boot! I bet it will be an interesting letter.
Nice find!

I'm a fan of 32-34" barrels, I think you found a more than fair deal. Long barrels, straight stock and safety delete are items at the top of my list of desirable criteria!

For whomever was asking, here is a 34" GHE for your consideration. Not as reasonably priced as Brian's deal, but the lesson here is to get them when you can find them!:whistle:

http://kevinsguns.com/index.php?rout...roduct_id=1436

That price is no surprise, considering the store that has it for sale.

Dean, I only hit the "Thanks" button once, but I would hit it a few more times for your last post if it would work. By the way, I own two Parkers with blued receivers and have no plans to change them.

Wow good catch Dean, I should have looked closer last nite or at least put my glasses on. I like it even more now!

I have a GHE with a checkered butt, so I should have known better.