Anything on your 2020 Parker/shotgun shopping list?
 

I had an over the top shopping spree in 2019. BUT I would be unable to turn away from a Parker BH 10ga or any Super Fox with condition. My holy grail gun is Fox 31736 a Super Fox engraved with ducks in C grade that remains undiscovered. How about you?

Im looking for a good honest PH 12 2 frame shooter at a fair price.

My focus lately has been small bore straight stocked Parkers. I would like to turn a couple of nice high condition pistol grip small bores into straight grip guns and continue down that path, but I am easily pulled off course. Especially interested in higher grade 20s.

An AH 32" target gun and a nice 32" hammer gun to shoot.

I would lik to find a 32 in 20 ga on a 1 frame with a str. Grip stock. Choked tight and tight. Dont mind a fixer uper. Any one have one ??
Scott

2018 and 2019 were good years. 2019 had a theme which was small bores. Would like to add some A, B and C grades and some Remington guns. Still need a half frame

This is a sad, sad thing for me to admit to but I crave nothing really. I don't shoot most of what I have now:eek: I'd like to do some more hunting maybe in Texas for Aoudad, Axis Deer and Blackbuck Antelope. A trophy Mule deer is a quest also. A Kansas whitetail hunt is a dream as well.

2020 starts off well with a four day quail hunt in Georgia. Maybe a sign of the year ahead:)

I’ll play: 20 ga. V-grade, 28” barrels, straight stock In honest condition that I can hunt with.

Thinking about making 2020 the year for rifles. I want some pre 64 model 70s. I want a 375 h&h. My son Harry and I have gotten the urge for big game hunting

Friend of mine bought a 375 H&H in a Ruger NO 1 shot it once took it back said it liked to stop his heart , He was a small man !!!

I would like to find a 16 gauge, O frame, straight stock, BTFE, single trigger with 28 or 30” bbls. And a Bogdan fly reel.

I have 1H’s in 375 H&H as well as 416 REM Mag they’re not so bad even from the bench . But I shoot a lot of rifles from the bench .

Hmmmm of course it goes without saying I’d like to have EH/GH 10’s with factory original 24 and 26 inch barrels but I’m not holding my breath . I suppose the one I’m going to make a concerted effort for this year is a VH or GH 16 on a 0 or 1 frame with factory original 30” choked atleast full and full . And on a kinda side note a VH/VHE 20 gauge factory original 26” along the lines of IC/M .

Mills the pre 64 M 70's are the Parker of rifles. A solid choice when looking for a classic long gun. I have a 375 H&H and have a reduced load for it that turns it into a great deer rifle.

Rich, that is what I have heard. Several have escaped me recently and then I spent all the money on a ton of other cool stuff

If I was of the urge to do the African thing I believe a trio of Pre 64 70’s just might be the ticket ! A 264 Win Mag(26”) a 300 Win Mag and a 375 H&H Mag . And actually I could most likely eliminate the 300 . I had a circa 1960 Model 70 in 264 Win Mag I kinda wish I had back .

Craig I've had them all with the exception of the 300 Win. I have a Super Grade in 300 H&H that I'd take over the 300 Win mag any day of the week.

I’ve plunked a few deer with a pair of 375 H&H’s over the years . All using the no longer available Nosler 260 BT . But I never reduced the loads , nothing wrong with reducing but I just never tried it . Below are a pair of 8’s I got one morning with my Ruger #1H 375 H&H in about thirty seconds .

The 300 H&H is one of the few cartridges I’ve never messed with . Always wanted to be it Pre 64 Model 70 , Ruger #1 or what have you . Just never seemed to luck upon one at the appropriate time .

A buddy I used to work with back in the 1979’s, one day showed up at my house with mod 70 375 HH. Said he had just bought it and couldn’t wait to try it out. He pulled out a cartridge and handed it to me and I thought holy sh€¥!! We set a tin can up about 50 yards out in the field. Neither of us had hearing protection, safety glasses or other non-essentials. He brought the rifle up and nestled it against his T-shirt. He took careful aim and squeezed the trigger. The massive blast momentarily stunned us. He reeled backwards 3 or 4 steps. Handing me the rifle he said you try it. I told him to go to hell. He never shot the gun again and shortly thereafter traded it away.

Mills
The Queen of the medium’s is very easy to learn to shoot well. Much of dealing with recoil is mental. Pre - 64s in 375 H&H can be very good, but much like Parker’s, a bunch of them have been messed with so you want to Vet them like you would any other. I would suggest you seek a later higher stocked Monte Carlo style if you plan to use with a scope. The early versions had too much drop for comfortable scope use. In a true big game/ dangerous game rifle form follows function- meaning in this case flawless feeding from the magazine. While many Pre-64 model 70 do meet this need. Don’t assume they all do, with all ammunition.

If you’d like a 375 on a Model 70 to try and see if you enjoy it let me know. It can be arranged. The big mistake made with these calibers that have some recoil, is to sit down on a bench with a scoped rifle and start trying to deal with it. A much better start is to shoot off sticks or a standing bench using open sights. We aren’t trying to shoot groups but just hit a target and function the bolt. Starting off correctly makes all the difference in the world.

Set of 12 ga frame 2 , 26 inch barrels

Thanks Brett!

small bore hammer gun

I seem to remember buying both of my .375 H&H rifles in the same year, just because they appeared on the horizon close together. My favorite is an original London Rigby ordered by a good friend and shooting buddy who had an illustrious career that included duty as CIA Station Chief in Kabul during the Russian difficulty. He sold it to me shortly before his health declined and not long before his death. I have pictures of him standing over a Gaur, holding the Rigby, and also have his written request for a tiger hunt when he was stationed in New Delhi. Unfortunately, tiger hunting was off the map at that time, even for spooks and diplomats. All factory correspondence is intact and very detailed and interesting.

I had a good year of collecting and really should spend money this year fixing/restoring some of the Parkers and other guns I bought in 2019. However...

I would like to continue to go after some early Parkers, so a good condition back action would be nice find in 2020. I passed on a real nice back action a few years ago with a serial# in the 100s and I may start the year off by trying to pursue it again(if it is still available).

I am also so enamored with my early Remington Whitmore 10 gauge that I feel I need to get one in a 12(another early one with non-rebounding locks that are reset by opening the action).

A 16 top action hammer gun would be nice and fill a missing spot in my collection.

Lastly, maybe a DH or CH 12 gauge with a straight stock and composite barrels.

That's not asking too much...right?

Amen. Offhand rifle shooting allows one to rock with the recoil. Bench shooting does not, unless allowances are made. My 10 year old son used to shoot my Ruger #3 .45-70 with 300 gr. Rem HPs at a pretty speedy velocity, off the bench, with no flinching or discomfort whatsoever. I would seat him so the the recoil would move him around a bit on the stool. He loved it, and subsequently killed his first, and many other, deer with it. It went down the road for a new #1 .45-70. I have loaded it with 500 grainers at only 300 fps less than a .458 Winchester Magnum, per the RCBS loading manual. Fun to shoot, and big medicine for hogs and whitetails.

SRH

At this point in life, I won't know I want it until I see it and I still may pass.

I hope to find the one I can't live without. Not sure what that might be until I see it...and hold it. It will probably be a turn of the
Century-ish Parker (I like the era's engraving) with Damascus (or Bernard) barrels, light in weight, with a straight/splinter/two triggers, high dimensions configuration (and open chokes). Who knows, I may just find it.

Quite frankly I AM trying to shoot groups and I generally shoot pretty damn good groups with the bigger boys . The 375 H&H is fine from the bench , the 416 Rigby and Rem Mag are okay with a break after two or three 3 shot groups . I will say however I had a Ruger 1H in 458 Win Mag that thumped pretty well , but still shot some decent groups with it when I was working up a load . The 505 Gibbs I thought was going to punish me but in reality it wasn’t as bad as the 458 or so I thought . The guy that owns CH-4D and I had a pretty decent discussion on shooting double rifles and he was an advocate of the standing bench , personally I’ve never cared for a standing bench but to each his own .

Back in the mid to late 80’s Remington brought out the 416 Rem Mag and of course it intrested me . So six or so months after it had appeared in the gun rags a very slightly used Remington 700 Safari turned up at Clark Brothers in Warrenton VA and it just so happened my skeet shooting two man team partner and I were on the way to FAirfax R&G To shoot a couple rounds of skeet and then on to the old Betetta Gun Club that’s now the Prince George’s Shooting Center to shoot two more rounds . Anyway the 416 was in the better used rack behind the counter with a sign that said FIRED TWICE two boxes ammo missing two included. Turns out some over paid doctor or attorney from the NOVA DC area decided he needed it for an upcoming safari , so they called the Remington Custom Shop and got it for him along with a box of solids and a box of lead tips . Guy paid for the gun carried it around back to shoot it . Put up his target at I assume 50 yards shooting iron sights and let fly . He laid the gun down with very wide eyes not believing what just happened . Then drank a soda walked around a bit and decided to shoot again . After the second shot he picked up the two boxes of ammo and the gun with the bolt still closed on the empty case holding it by the barrel close to the muzzle end and walked back in the shop handed them the gun and told them to sell the damn thing . When I saw it they were asking around $800 I think if memory serves . I often regret not buying that gun .?

I was referring to someone that has little or no experience with medium or large bore rifles and is wanting to provide themselves with a good introduction.
And at this first introduction the seated bench is not your friend. Later once you have realized you can squeeze the trigger and not be altered, you can move to the bench and evaluate the rifles accuracy potential and learn all about eye relief and it's importance.
Your friend at CH-4D is absolutely correct when it comes to the use of a standing bench for double rifle regulation and load development. Getting two pipes to shoot to the same point and not cross can be great fun.

I need a 1911 45 too.

I shot a 460 Weatherby once. Never again. That damn thing would give you a concussion.

Three guns are on my wish list:
1. Browning Citori 725 28 gauge 32 inch barrels grade III or higher.
2. GH Parker 16 gauge with 30 inch barrels for complete make over and restocked to my dimensions.
3. Parker GH 12 gauge with 32 inch barrels.

on my list would be a 8 ga hammerless parker with 4 1/4 inch chambers 36 inch barrels and weigh in at 12 lbs....and my other gun would be a 4 gauge double holland and holland maker and 4 1/2 inch chambers to shoot ball or shot...weigh in at 16 lb....charlie

Charlie, most 36" eight gauge Parkers weigh more than you specify.

I have been thinking on this and like Gary I will know it when I see it. But most of all, I want for my friends who missed last year to be healthy and able this year.

Any clean, all original 20 ga Parker in shooting condition

The more i've thought about Craig's post the more sense it makes. Thinking back, none of my favorite guns are guns I went after, trying to find. All of them were offered to me by friends, either close by, or long distant internet friends, or i just happened upon them.

Reminds me of an old saying that....."You'll back over more good luck than you'll ever run down".

Fun, ain't it?

SRH