My Hand-Me-Down VH!
 

Hi All! I am just here to share pics of my Parker Brother VH. I found your site very useful and have already bought the two-volume set "The Parker Story" also. I think this gun is all original and has seen light use in its day! Tell me what you think...but I have no intention of selling. This is a piece of history! I hope to eventually have the research letter done, and may even become a member. But right now, I'm doing time in the desert with the USAF, so this is a way for me to enjoy a hobby of mine long-distance.

Very nice looking VH Mark...
Thanks for your service and stay safe to return to that waiting Parker girl. :)
"GO AIR FORCE" :cool:

Welcome Aboard. Looks like a VHE! Is your hand me down a family Parker? I have several family Parkers and I feel as if the one who used it for so many years is with me when I shoot them. Keep your head down and come home safe. Like many here on the PGCA who also served their Country, I applaud your service.

Harry

Mark , We are glad you found us...Welcome! Looks to be a great V grade gun Congratulations! Thank You for service in our Armed Forces....:)

Thank you for your service!!! We look forward to hearing from you on the forum. My best,
Mike

In reply to Harry, I thought this was a VH gun, not a VHE (It says VH under the barrel, but I am a novice). Any opinions? Also for Harry, this is indeed a family Parker, going back to my grandfather---but I'm not sure if it goes back even farther.

Its one reason I need to have the research thing done. Being a 1925 gun, it could go back a couple more generations. I haven't fired it yet, but I will when I get back, and I'll get it cleaned up also---I imagine it hasn't been cleaned (or fired) in a loooooong time. Its a beautiful gun though---even if its just a grade 0! I mean, its a Parker, right? :)

I agree with Harry, I can see the split in the extractor which makes it an ejector. So, yep it is a VHE.

I want to also express my thanks for your service! Stay safe!

Mark,

It is a Vulcan Hammerless and the extractors look to be split which would make it and Ejector Parker or VHE. The ejector guns will fling the spent cartridge from the barrels as opposed to the extractor guns you must pull the spent shell from the barrels. They have their good points and bad. The good is you can reload quicker and the bad is you have to pick up the empties.

Harry

Hello Mark: I wish to add my thanks for your service to those above. You have a wonderful family heirloom there. I say a Parker is a Parker is a Parker. The main difference between the various grades are the embellishments: engraving, quality of wood, etc. It is even believed that the barrel steel on fluid steel Parkers is all the same regardless of whether the top rib reads: Trojan, Vulcan, Parker Special, Acme, Peerless, etc. Welcome Aboard.

Best Regards, George

Mark,

I had a coustomer walk in in the middle of my last post. I wanted to add that the "water table" will have VH stamped on it despite the fact that it is a VHE. I can't make out the serial number to look up in the "book". If this were my Parker to clean up, I would limit it to Hoppe's 9 solvent and 0000 steel wool to remove the surface rust I see then follow up with an oily rag. The less done the better. Aggressive cleaning will detract from the gun. I have family Parkers that had been used hard and I like to see the honest wear from the hands of the ones I received the gun from.

Kindest, Harry

If you could find some bronze wool it would be even better than the steel, it's a little less agressive.

Mark: SN looks to be 212649 (most apparent on the trigger bow)
if correct, the book shows
V grade
Hammerless
Extras code 2 = Ejectors
Capped Pistol Grip
12 gauge
28 inch barrels

Nice looking gun. Family provenance makes it even more special to own.

Stay safe

Jack

Mark: Great looking Parker. Stay safe and U.S. AIR FORCE . NO ONE COMES CLOSE. Thomas L. Benson Sr.

Thanks for the replies from Harry, George and Bindlestiff! I especially want to say thanks for the recommendation on how to best clean my Parker; I definitely want to do it the proper way so as not to detract from the gun. I had no idea this was a VHE gun...I read/researched a lot so far but obviously I missed that! Of course, once I actually fire it...! Funny comment about picking the shells off the ground, Harry. The serial number fo my gun is 212649 (see pic). I measured the barrel length and I think it was 28" (my memory isn't always the greatest). Can't wait to shooot it when I get home. I took pics of the gun and loaded them onto my laptop the day before I deployed---my piqued interest in guns is due to my wife wanting to take firearm/self defense training, so I bought her a pistol and she determined she LOVES guns! Needless to say, I've always loved guns, but never grew up in an environment that enjoyed firearms for recreation. I have a small collection of guns, mostly of a military heritage; but now that my wife is on board with going to the gun range, "our" collection has surged recently, and also led to me researching the other two hand-me-down firearms. This has been quite fun! Before i deployed, My wife Dawn and I took concealed carry training, took two one-on-two formal handgun training classes, and then took a formal course called "Pistols II" which builds on basic handgun skills. We've been shooting handguns a good half-dozen times at the range, and I've shot (and cleaned) all the handguns in my collection now. When I return, however, I want to start pulling out my long guns and shoot (and clean) all of those! That will include the Parker! :)

Wow! I just posted this and saw that there were several other posts i hadn't read! Obviously i hadn't caught on to the fact that there was a page 2 of posts. Thanks Chris T., Tarnation, and Thomas Bensen for your posts, observations and recommendations! It is greatly appreciated. It was coincidental that I mentioned the barrel length and sent the pics I selected---my memory was correct for a change, and one of the pics I sent I guess is the (optional?) capped pistol grip! Very cool!

Actually Mark, the capped pistol grip was the standard, any other style of grip would be less common.
That's a very nice VHE in great original condition, from what I can see, and it should provide hours upon hours of shooting and hunting recreation for you and generations into your family's future.

I salute you for your service to our great country.

Alright, PGCA, I just mailed a check for $60.00 with a Parker Research Letter request. I appreciate all the help and information you guys gave me about my shotgun, and now i will have official documentation about its history.

Is there any way to determine who purchased it and when/where?

I will keep it clean and fire it lovingly forever. The fact that you guys even provide this service for these pieces of history is just "Patriotic"!

Proud to Serve...

Mark Ciarlone
Deployed, 960 EAACS

That's a very nice V-grade. Especially nice wood for a V grade. You did well on that one. Good for you. I hope you and your wife do your best to wear it out.... but good luck with that if you try; they last a long time if properly cared for. My first Parker was an inherited vhe20 and I treasure it above all the others I've accumulated since. Thanks for your service and come home safe. And please pass my, and I'm sure all of our thanks on to your fellow soldiers over there.

You may learn who, or rather, what hardware store or sporting goods supplier ordered your Parker if the order book still exists for the serial number range of that gun but rarely on the lower grades do the records provide the name of the individual for whom the gun was ordered.

Mark,thanks to all you out there fighten for our great country. What you got your wife shootin? Thoes Old doubles are adicting, you got a nice one. Godspeed ch Post Script Oh our country is great but sometimes I wonder about the ones running it.

Unfortunately, there will not be an order book for that serial number range. It is unlikely that the original owner will be identified.

Copy all! That's OK...it's still a family heirloom even if i can't figure out who bought it originally and where. My wife is shooting pistols right now, as i got her trained up for self-defense before i departed. And now she's addicted! And I love it because now we can buy guns "for us"...and not just me! She's presently armed to the teeth, and I pity the poor fool who tries to break in! She's a good shot at the range...but more importantly, she's competent and confident now. We will pull out the long firearms and go to an outdoor range when I return. But I have enough land to legally shoot shotguns on my property as i understand it...but i will read up on the local laws before i test that theory frequently. I on rare occasion use my Mossberg 590A1 12 gauge pump action to kill beaver when they decide to take out some trees---but i haven't used the Parker yet because I knew it was an antique, and I didn't know anything about it at the time. But now I do, and now I know it is a quality gun that can be used as needed for fun or utility---like beaver control! But i do need to clean it up...like I said previously, it hasn't been cleaned in I bet over a couple decades. Probably even more than that! Can't wait to get my research letter... :)