Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under
 

Shotguns only. How faithful are you to the Parker gun? I don't own nearly as many shotguns as a lot of you do, but I can say that 100% of the shotguns I own are Parker Brothers (including one Remington Parker)! What about you?

how boring :rotf::rotf::rotf:

:duck: :duck: :duck:

LOL!

My B,C,Ds & VHEs all take offense!

In shotguns in terms of numbers, Parker first, Fox second, LC Smith third, Ithaca last. They all fascinate me as objects created by different individuals and companies during the gilded age and into the early years of last century. My primary focus has been on american waterfowl guns from that same period regardless of manufacturer.

I don't own every brand of fine shotgun, but I'm getting there. I have owned my first Parker for sixty years, since I was fourteen years old, and finally reached the holy grail recently. My "holy grail" was a Whitworth Fluid Steel barrel AA Grade Parker Pigeon Gun and a Whitworth barrel exposed hammer, bar in iron, late Purdey pigeon gun, one of the last ever made before the recent reintroduction at $80,000 plus. My first shotgun, when I was about eleven years old, was an 1887 Lefever E Grade pigeon gun owned by my grandfather, a pigeon shooter and pigeon ring proprietor in Hazleton, PA. I guess I was inoculated early with the "shoot birds for money" needle. He died in 1929 and his Lefever remained in storage with my uncle Norbert until he sent it to me around 1956. Apparently, eleven was his idea of the proper age for a kid to have his first Lefever. I wasted no time loading my first box of black powder shells for it.

I’m a two timer...many (many) times over.

I have others, (LC Smith, Winchester, Fox, and Ithacas mainly) but I have transitioned to Parkers almost exclusively over the last few years. There are lots of reasons for this I suppose but the ones that jump out at me would be the gun itself and then there's the PGCA and the folks involved. Not a bad place to hang out eh :)

I play the field, but have found the fair maidens from Meriden to be the ones to take home to mom.:whistle:

Parker by far #1, followed loosely in order by Fox, Smith, Ithaca, Various Brits, Baker, LeFever, Various Euro Guns, Iver Johnson, American Hardware Store guns, and a couple of very early Japanese "B.C. MY Luck doubles.

Parkers make up the majority of my collection and I shoot Parkers more than anything else, but I also enjoy a wide variety of other classic guns, including a few autos, pump guns and over and unders. I am partial to American made

Six Foxes, three Stevens, two Parkers. Love 'em all.

Based on the numbers of shotguns it would be a tie between: Parkers and Browning Superposed followed by Fox and Smiths. However based on the number times they are shot and shell count the of Brownings win by a wide margin.

Phil that is only 18%. You need to get busy and turn that % around!

At one time I owned a number of Superposed guns, mostly 20s. But I sold them all off when I started w/ Parkers.

Reggie and George, I also collect Browning Superposed, mostly prewar, but a sprinkling of early unfired twenties, which are all postwar, introduced in 1949.

Bill I had a handful of 20s that were made in the 1950s. I always thought that those were much more lithe, better handling gun than the later Superposed guns.

I have Parkers, Lefevers, Foxes, German doubles, Browning A5s, Remingtons 11s. Along with a few other oddballs.

However, I usually shoot the Parkers, Lefevers or German guns.

Never take your boots off
 

I never know what is next until I know. Parkers (hammer and hammer less), Superposed, Lefevers, L C Smiths, Fox, and Ithaca. Mostly 16 doubles except for the Superlight Superposeds and a few big bore Parkers.

What are my favorites
 

I guess I drank the Koolaid several years ago. Majority are Parkers that crowd the cabinet. Seems like the nod is usually atl least one Parker when I but on my boots. I do have some Belgium SXS I like. Along with some Win 21's one Ithaca and one English 28 ga.(Which will be forsale). Almost forgot an SKB 410 Czech gun with 29" bbls that is a real killer. Shot it yesterday and put the Parkers to shame. Oh well

All my SxS's and SBT are Parkers along with Krieghoff, Beretta and Winchester but those have the barrels positioned incorrectly!

Wow, 1 Parker 2 British (London best & Birmingham’s worse) and 1 Scots!

I started out as a Parker guy at the ripe old age of 10. Still am. I have to say that AH Fox built a hell of a smallbore (20ga,) and Lefever has a prized spot in my shooting arsenal. Not to leave out the M12's or the Belgium Brownings. Oh, there is a Wm. Ford 20 hammer gun in the mix too. Geez.... I think I might need more shoes.

All Parkers save for one lowly Beretta 28 ga O/U (That i love)

Got me to thinking about this and I have owned a lot of guns over the years. Parkers, Fox, Lefever,Stevens, Remington and some I may have forgotten. A Greener, Baretta ,Browning and have loved them all for one reason or another. Have some great friends who let me shoot their Holland and model 21's. They all have their place and purpose and I need to find that next one.

Question answered?

Marty I like what I see!

Yes Sir. I get it. Nice arsenal.

Rem 870, Parker, Beretta, Parker, Parker, Parker, Beretta, Parker, Parker, Parker, Beretta, Parker, Parker, Parker, Huglu (don't ask), Parker, Parker, Parker, Parker, Parker, Benelli (28ga), Parker, RBL, Parker, Parker, A10, Inverness, Parker, Parker, Parker... And so on and so forth.

Oops, I forgot one Mod. 21 Winny, and my custom De Haan .410.
All over the map, but Parker centric!

Currently, no Parker's. I've got a bunch of Fox's now, as seen below. Couple more in a rack not seen.

I've had some dandy Parker's, some nice Lefever's, Smith's and Ithaca's. I do have another double under the bed, an H&H 12 gauge hammer gun.

And I still have my first shotgun, a J. C. Higgin's bolt action 16 gauge that I got when I was a sophomore in high school 67 years ago.

https://i.imgur.com/8chtz6b.jpg

I have learned a couple of things; I don't own nearly enough shotguns and you don't get kicked out of the club for being a cheater! Thanks for all the responses!

It wasn't until I was in the Navy that I realized God made shotguns other than Parker and Winchester. I reach for the Parker's 98% of the time. I do enjoy my 2 1/2" chambered 20 gauge Model 12 from 1917, a Model 12 two barrel set 12 gauge, and a Model 97. I have a Mossberg 500 for dragging through the mud and canoe rides. Papa's Browning 425 12 and 28 are mostly for the grandchildren to borrow. There is a Beretta O/U double trigger 12 that sees daylight on occasions. If it's your Harum you are putting your boots under your bed arn't you?

Harry,

Speaking of the Navy, pictured below is the sometimes Sunday afternoon activity on the fantail of the ship I was on at the time. We shot a variety of guns and targets. Colt M1911's, M1 Garand's and side by side shot guns. Ithaca's I'm thinking. Targets were anything that would float long enough to shoot at.

Of course, we only did this while we were underway.

And by the way, the ship was a troop and dependent transport so if any of you lads and lassies happen to have a boat ride to or from Germany or England from NYC in the mid 1950's, we may have been your conveyance. The USS Gen. H. W. Butner T-AP 113.

Jolly

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

Jolliff, that is a great looking gun cabinet. Now, where are the rest of them? Bill Murphy

I still love Parkers and have my V grade collection (12-410) and a few more small bores, a couple of Fox A grade 16 and20, and then a few English guns, pair of 28's, a 16 and a 20, a hammer 28 Damascus with a set of modern 410 barrels, a hammer 20 ga and Scottish 16 and a few other assorted shotguns

All Parkers for me. I have handled and shot others, but there is just something about a Parker.

Parkers make up the majority but there are a couple of Purdey's a Holland & Holland, Stephan Grant, a couple of Fox's, Winchester M42. J Venebles ans Son.
Of all the makers the small bores rule!

I forgot these two . . . .

https://i.imgur.com/N9QrCJW.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/KeM1XUd.jpg

probably the only guy with a matched pair of cased Fox toy guns

Purdey eat your heart out

:cheers::cheers::cheers:

Double guns in order: Parker, Lefever, Ithaca, Crescent Arms, Browning, Hollis, Darne, CZ. Might be a few other stragglers in the back of the safes?