How old was you when you bought your first Parkers ?
 

Well I sent the check in the mail the other day for my first Parker , I am 27 and have looked at and admired these guns since I was probably about 14 . I never thought I would ever own one but sometimes in life things just align for you .

I know most the fellows here are my seniors and I love reading about their stories with their Parkers , but I was wondering when did y'all get your first Parker ? did you grow up shooting doubles or did you get interested in them later ? Here locally I know of no one who owns or hunts with a sxs . How I came to learn about Parker was by chance when I was 14 my neighbor who is the coach for the local 4H shotgun team , was talking to my Dad about he was either reading or watching ( I cant recall which) a thing about in England how they hunted with 10 and 8 gauges . I had never heard of such large shotguns before so I started reading up on 8 gauges . And the name that came up the most was Parker Brothers and thats how I discovered them .

That's amazing. I only have a 28 reproduction and I'm 55 now. Time has flown. I remember being a teen reading all about them and Fox and how I wanted one so badly. I remember lusting after Browning Superposed. I remember passing up many of those (and A5's) thinking "But they're so much money.." Now look at prices of some of these. Congrats and good job. I wonder sometimes, not having a ton of knowledge, where folks get their values on their guns. I keep seeing gun listed and re listed over and over without a single bid but they insist it's worth the money. Now with kids going to college I'm not likely buying a bunch of $10,000 guns. Buy 'em while you can afford them!!!

My first Parker was a 12 ga Trojan in good condition but I couldn't het the broadside of the barn with it that fall I interned with the DNR and a Conservation Officer wanted to buy it and offered me $400 which back in 74 was a lot of money especially to a kid in college! I grabbed the cash and went back to shooting my Model 37 Ithica. My next Parker was ten years later a DHE 12 and it was downhill from there..................:rotf::rotf:

The spring of 2014 at 63 years my Parker Mentor, who is a Life Member here Mr. David Dwyer, had a VH 12ga. shipped from California for another gentleman. Upon arrival this gentleman abruptly did not want the gun. I then scraped together the funds needed and purchased the VH. It is a 1901 era 12ga. 30 inch Vulcan steel. Eight months later my Mentor said that I needed a hammer gun. Another Parker from California came my way. It is a Grade 1 12ga. 32" Laminated Steel. I haven't shot a modern shotgun since.

I started with a 12 gauge Trojan when I was about 13. It belonged to my buddy's deceased grandfather and we discovered it in his cellar in it's original canvas case with the leather trim and handles. I really took a shine to that gun and my buddy's Dad let me keep it at my house for a few years. My next and first Parker - one that I really bought - is a beautiful 1899 DH 12/30 Titanic that I still have. I bought that one in about 1998, when I was 50, after I read Ed Muderlak's book "Parker Shotgun, the Old Reliable" and I fell in love all over again - and like Eric said - it's all been downhill since then.

And when I was about 54 I bought an 0-frame GHE 16 gauge with Damascus barrels - the first Parker I took a grouse with - What a proud moment that was!

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My first old double was the C G Bonehill 10 ga , I picked it up for about $600 theres a identical one to it thats been on GB for years priced at $2500 . I have found that usually you will find better deals on the for sale forum here compared to what you will see on the gun sites . I never thought I would end up with this particular Parker , it seemed like a long shot of ever owning such a sxs .

This will also be my first hammerless sxs .

I have two good friends thats in their 50s and 60s , I told them I never will probably spend this much again . They said 27 years old is too young to be saying you wont ever do something again :rotf:

I plan on never selling this Parker because its not even about the money but that even if I could spend that on another one I couldnt find one like this .

I could see buying some more Parkers in the future to keep mine company haha . My favorite are probably the PH grades with twist barrels .




Something I found interesting when I was digging for information on the Parker I bought is the original owner was 27 when he got it , now 117 years later I bought it at the same age he was .

So Milton what did you buy may I ask ? I bought my first at 45 years old now 55 years old it was a CH 12 and have a few more now !

I hunted ducks with my Uncle Bill at 16 in the late 60's, he was a double gun guy but AH Fox was his preference. Uncle Bill owned a gun shop and a boat dealership. Establishing my career and family completely absorbed my time and money in my 20's, 30's and 40's. I hunted with a Winchester 101 20ga and a Winchester 23 12ga. My job took me to Philadelphia for 6 years and spending dollars on guns was not in the budget but I did collect a few vintage decoys. By the time I hit 50 I had the discretionary income the result of two business transactions that allowed me to retire and enjoy life. So I'm 70 and have been retired for 20 years and have a bunch of Parkers, Foxes and Elsies, hunt ducks like a maniac, and travel the world hunting. I was about 60 when I purchased my first Parker a CHE Bernard for $2200. at a local auction, sold it to a PGCA member. Life has been good but not without it's gut punches.

Well I was going to wait to tell when I go to pick it up , but its a #6 frame 10 gauge . Its hard to contain my excitement about it .

I hope by the time I hit 50+ I have some decent doubles in my collection .
Though I also know its not financially practical for me to buy one every year .
I realized as well I dont have to be in a big hurry either . I got what is essentially one of my dream Parkers .

My Father (born 1907) grew up hunting in Minnesota with the heavy 1890 vintage Parker Bros. PH-Grade 12-gauge my Grandfather got in 1901. By the time I came along in 1946, my Father had a pair of Remington AE-Grades in 12- and 16-gauge for the uplands and a 12-gauge Remington Sportsman as his waterfowl gun. In 1959 he succumbed to Jack O'Connor's short barrel writings and had the Remington Sportsman's 30-inch full choke barrel whacked to 26 inch with a Poly-Choke. By the 1960 season the Sportsman was gone and he had a 12-gauge, 2-frame, 30-inch Parker Bros. for his waterfowl gun.

I got my first Ansley H. Fox double in 1963 and another in 1966, but shot Dad's Parker Bros. quite a bit at trap. It wasn't until May 1996 that I added a nice example of a Parker Bros. to my collection, an 1894 vintage NH-Grade.

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Those are my favorite right there the NH/PH Parkers .

My first two were gifts about age 29. The first one I bought was about 10 years later. Things got out of hand after that

Mills what got you into the 10 gauges ? People hear 10 ga and think its going to be brutal . But these 2 7/8" guns to me are probably some of the softest shooting ones you could get .


I never been much into semi autos because im left handed and the brass/hulls always come close to my face . A sxs feels pretty ambidextrous to me .

My first one was a gift from a wonderful Uncle - who knew about Parkers but did not own one until he was in his fifties. I was perhaps 25 in 1972 when he gave me a 12 gauge Trojan with a sawed barrel - killed lots of ducks with it.

My first Parker was a 1921 VH 16 gauge that had been restored that I purchased when I was 28. 2" of the barrels where cut off so it is now a 26" barreled gun that still has some slight choke in it with a Miller Single Trigger and is probably the gun I have killed the most pheasants with and shoot the best. I can attribute my addiction to double barrels to my good friend Jim Beilke who is a fellow member and introduced me to nice guns. My first over and under was a 1963 Browning Superposed 20 gauge that was given to me by my grandfather when I was 16-17 years old. He purchased the gun new. I can attribute my addiction to hunting and the outdoors to him.

I wouldnt mind getting a sxs 16 gauge in the future .
When I was a kid about 7 or 8 I used to watch my friends grand farther squirrel hunt with his Sweet Sixteen and I remember being a kid thinking how neat those purple hulls were .
Since then I have always liked the 16 ga .

Ive only had 1 16 ga and it was a Ithaca 37 featherlight , made in 1957 if I recall .
If I end up getting a 16 ga sxs down the road , I would want one that has a little more weight behind it .

Mine was about 13 (or almost 46 years ago) I think , a VHE 12 30” #1 frame . Came from a now deceased Parker collector by the name of Jerry Amos . About the same time a nice Fox Sterlingworth 12 28” philly gun and my Greener D-40 12 all appeared . Since then I’d hate to admit the number of doubles that have passed thru my hands and the number still here . Incidentally the three above are still here .

25 and it was a 28 gauge Remington skeet gun that i was deadly with and should have kept it!

I was 7 years old, the year was 1946, my mentor Louis Goland gave me a VH 20 bore with 28" barrels. Guess what, I still have it !!

Allan

First off let me say it is wonderful to see younger people take an interest in the Parker gun.
My first exposure was a VH 20 ga my grandfather let me use a few small game seasons. Even then I felt the sole that is there about the wrist of a Parker. Soon there after I found out the local high school art teacher also had a Parker. He wasn’t a hunter, but he had a small collection of high quality firearms. I eventually weaseled my way to get to see his Parker, and was shocked when seated in his library he pointed to a wooden box and said it’s there in that wooden case on the shelf. I had no idea people kept shotguns in wooden cases.

When he opened that case, maybe that was when lightning struck or something because I have never forgotten or got over, what was a thrill for me. The fitted case held a Grade 3 hammerless 16ga that was of very high condition. Flash forward 35 years and after chasing about everything here and there, life let me have a great bird dog and a Parker was needed. Then another and another.....

Some great stories here ! do any of y'all keep these stories written down for future generations ?
I think your grandkids would find it pretty cool to know the story of grandpas sxs .

I would at minimal like to have at least 3 Parkers , one for me and each of my brothers .
I was thinking it would be special if we could all go hunting with a Parker in hand .

I remember that really nice story from a couple of years ago in Parker Pages. We got to know you a little better through it. Thanks.





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Wow this is really cool! My first Parker I was 32, I love British doubles but wanted an American made gun and no better choice than a Parker, it was a reworked Trojan and I really enjoyed it. After reading more about them and asking all I could here (with annoying questions!) I started on my quest to upgrade, I’ve settled on 3 and am quite content, although I am hearing the call of a small bore or hammer gun! We just recently got our son his first Parker at 9, he doesn’t quite understand it yet, but god willing he’ll be on here 20yrs later telling this same story!

I purchased my first L.C. when I was 16 and my first Parker, a GH, forty years later, which I restored. I have collected both for the last few years and hope to continue. I keep an eye out for a 16 Parker hammer but they seem scarcer then hens teeth.

I was 29...and my first Parker was a PH 20. Year was 1975. I remember I paid $1500 from an ad in Shotgun News...The following year, I got married..bought an old Victorian to "fix up"..and sold the Parker and my Mark IV Lincoln to help pay for upgrades..The wife is gone. the house is gone..I miss the Parker most !!!

My dad had three Parkers when I was a kid. I would sneak out with the 16, up the outside basement stairs, hunt for 1-2 hours and get back before he got home. Always gave anything I bagged to an old guy down the road, mainly because I never came up with an answer to the inevitable question "How did you get that bird?"
Got my first VH20 from a neighbor when I was about 21. Had to trade a lot of my saltwater fishing tackle. Turns out, that gun was bought the same day as my dad's 20, at The PB factory. My dad's father's cousin took my dad, and the Cousin's wife's cousin, in his Pierce Arrow, from East Hampton, CT to Meriden.
Got it? Our family vet bought my dad's 20, and took it to CO. He offered to sell it back to me, but seems to think it's worth an AH price. I still have the 16 I covertly hunted with way back then.

Well for me my first double was a LC Smith 12ga, I was 45 at the time, my first Parker was about one year later, I happened into a gun shop to buy a client a Ruger red label shotgun for a gift at Xmas, The owner showed me a Parker 12 ga PHE steel barreled gun in great condition, well most folks know the rest of the story, I stoped at that shop every time I was coming to the cabin in the mountains, and usually could not wait to see what new offerings that shop held, 33 years later, I have been fortunate to own some nice Parkers, and some unusual ones, Gary

WOW! Some cool stories here on first Parker’s. My first was not as exciting as being gifted with one at 9 or finding one at 16. I acquired mine through attrition. I had been shooting competition for decades and got tired of NSCA shooter attitudes and so many rules that I needed something different to put the fun back into clays. Enter our buddy Cold Spring and his passion for double guns. He got me hooked on the horizontal oriented barreled guns. Started with Fox guns. I had one, then two. Next thing I had quite a few Fox guns. I “needed” more so I could shoot hammer gun events too. Enter those sexy hinge pin guns from Parker!! Be still my heart!! So then I see all the events sponsored by Parker or for Parker or about Parker and I quickly moved my Fox guns and procured more Parker’s! By now I’m fully addicted and loving it!! But, I digress. The first Parker I purchased was an early 12g lifter with 30” barrels. The next day I purchased a DH 12/30. Let’s just say when I’m in I’m ALL in!! 😂 That was about 8 or 9 years ago and I would have been 49 or 50. Fun times when you’re having flies!!

I was just about to turn 50.A friend and gun dealer invited me to go along to the Tulsa Gun Show in April 10 years ago.I had been saving up for my first double and decided it would be a 16 gauge.Lots to choose from if you've ever been to Tulsa.I came home with a very nice LC Smith.The Parkers,known to me as the Cadillac of doubles back then were just not affordable for me.Since then I have accumulated several doubles from all the american gun makers and finally 3 years ago at 57 purchased my first Parker,a 12 gauge V grade.It is in very good condition and proved itself 2 seasons ago with a limit of teal on opening day.I have since acquired a couple more,the last one being a Trojan 20 gauge which is just waiting for hunting season this fall to help me harvest a couple teal and maybe a rooster or two.I hope to add a PH or a D grade to my collection someday.The hook is set.

I bought my first Parker when I was 22. It was a 12 gauge DH titanic owed by one of my hunting mentors. My collection was enhanced by buying broken guns cheap, fixing them, and trading up mostly at the Tulsa Gun Shows. As I have aged, my interests have been on 16 ga Parker, Smith, and Ithaca, mostly mid grades with mostly damascus barrels. I have picked up a few Parkers that I thought were unique or special. My hammer guns phase has included the 14 and 16. Like Milton I always wanted a big gun because my grandad and great uncles had them. I looked for several years before I found a 4 frame B grade hammer 10. Many times I thought this gun will be the last one.

I had looked at alot of Parkers and came close to buying one before but for some reason I always told myself to wait . I thought I missed out on picking up a Parker back in November I had really wanted . Then around the same time the one I recently purchased came up for sale but was gone as soon as it showed up . Well then it popped up again not long ago and thanks to Mr.Josh Loewensteiner I was able to buy a Parkers I never thought I would own and my first Parker as well .

The big frames are my passion and you dont see them often , especially in a price range I could say was feasible . Sometimes you get lucky though and you find the right one or in my case It found me .


At 27 I often wonder by the time I get older if theres going to be any interesting old double collectors to talk to .

My first Parker was a well used VH 12 gifted to me by my grandfather which I still have today. I was in my thirties. The first Parker I purchased was a VH 16
from Gary Hermen at his gun shop Safari Outftters in Ridefield CT. That was in 1978. I was living in northern NJ and working for Buick Motor Division as a Car Distributor. I sold the gun to a Louisiana duck hunter a few years ago in order to purchase another Parker I had my eyes on! 😊

Believe me, you will be one of the "interesting old double collectors" to perpetuate this passion soon enough.





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Haha , I was telling my little brother just the other day soon as my nephew gets big enough im going teach him about vintage doubles . At the rate hes growing it looks like hes going to be a big fellow someday so I think he will be able to shoot the #6 frame 10 gauge just fine .

I have a few Parkers and will buy more. The hard part is selling them. I don't have a Parker I don't like and hardly have one I don't like to shoot. I have shot competitive skeet and sporting clays since I was a teenager, got the big cards and won a few bucks. I shot all over Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia and some NSSA World Shoots in Georgia. Now I only shoot double guns for money, no matter what the game. I may not win much, but I'm shooting my Parkers. Our pigeon club is full of double gun guys, most of whom shoot side by sides in competition, win or lose. I bought my first Parker in 1960 when I was 14, a 28 gauge that I still have. I have every kind of double gun, but the Parker is king. I like big guns and I like little guns. Eights and .410s are my favorites, but I have everything else too. I would rather shoot a hammer gun and I do shoot them a lot. My favorite is Austin Hogan's old 32" #3 frame lifter 12. Ron Kirby found me a great .410 VHE skeet gun and I bought two great 32" smallbores on this forum. Our members have helped me a lot with my collection although I was buying Parkers long before the PGCA and for 38 years before we copied the records at Ilion. Imagine how hard it would be to write a big check for a Parker without a PGCA letter of documentation. Well, we did it.

My first was a VH 2 frame 12 ga, that was in need of much attention. We were visiting friends in Farmville, VA. in 69 and my dad came back from the hardware store with it for $60. It had been restocked, but that was broken through the grip, secured with much of the old fashion black tape, barrels were painted with black paint! And it was a bit loose. My first project at 15! The stock, once degrimed, turned out to be a nice piece of walnut, and repairable, barrels rust blued with the tank and products from Herters! While not the first one I shot, as Dad had bought and sold a couple, it was mine! I still have it! Along with a number of others to keep it company. He spoke of stopping in a shop in NY during his travels, that was full of them.
It would be about 7 years before I bought my first one, a VH 12 on 1 1/2 frame, in a trade. I still have that one also.

While I have Foxes and LCs, my favorites to shoot are the Parkers!

I have shot side x sides my whole life but my first Parker was bought March 2011, a 30 inch 20ga VHE, still have the gun and shoot it all the time. Since then I have bought at least one a year, last one was a 20ga DH. Before that I shot many side x sides but mostly Winchester model 21's and Fox Sterlingworth's ,but I have seen the light or at least some of it , now it's either a Parker or a model 21 most of the time. Hard to believe I have been hunting for about 56 years as I am now 71.