Parker Ponder
 

Last evening I was able to beat the rain and get in a couple rounds of skeet with my newly acquired 1 frame DHE 20 ga. 2 barrel set. This gun was acquired as a project going in and still is. It was restocked incorrectly and converted from a SG to a PG in the process, also 2 BTFE's were added in the process to replace the original SFE's. Honestly the BTFE's while lacking any originality fit quite nice and do not look to bad. The problem, a good problem to have began when I started shooting this thing with Fiocchi 3/4 oz 1075 FPS load. Recoil was nil and target after target turned into White Flyer talcum powder. Now I am thinking I should hang on to this one a bit before restoration and ponder things while I shoot it. Take a look at the letter excerpt which explains the lack of recoil. I don't believe I have ever seen a set of 20 ga barrels with an unstruck weight of 4-11 which these have and a finished 20 ga that weighed 7-15. But then again I have never seen a set of 34" barrels on a 20 ga !! :shock:

Pictures, Randy ....... pictures!

I have not taken any good pics yet but I will get something up soon Stan.

Interesting gun Randy, but pictures!

It's a shame they made those barrels so long and the thing weighs so much! I would be glad to take it off your hands.

:bigbye:

No pictures are ok. That just lets my mind wonder off into fantasy of what it was in 1922 when fresh from factory. Rare air, can’t be many, probably caused a stir on the factory floor.

Boy, in its original configuration, that would be one shootable gun!

Were both sets of barrels choked the same? Is the pellet count for both?

Thanks Reggie, I knew I could count on you but after shooting it I don't think you should hold out for this one.:)

Garry the 28' set matches the letter while the 34" set has .025 constriction in each tube.

Just a little tease as one of our Editors has cautioned me that to many pics will ruin the before/after story for PP and we all know he's a hard case to deal with at times :) Those 34's next to the 28's kinda tells the story, whew !

Wow, gorgeous gun, 34" 20ga, who doesn't want one of those.... :-)

OMG!! That makes our 32-inch 20-gauges just pikers. Mine does weigh more being on a 2-frame.

My #2 frame 20s have been well over 8 pounds. Randy's gun should handle much better than mine.

A 2 frame 20 is one that I have not managed to come across. I would love to hear about the wall thickness measurements on one of those, surely beastly.

Yikes, like a skinny-skinny version of Mutt and Jeff.

Randy,

Just when I was beginning to think that life was becoming a little more fair, you show us this :crying:

Oh well,
the good thing, I'm thinking you probably have no use for that other 2 barrel set 20 gauge you had bought before you fell for this one. (the one that was born at the Falls Creek Plant)

Let me know how much the shipping is,:)

Stan Hoover

Being aware of some of the guns you own Stan I am going to struggle just a tad in my quest for pity on your behalf. :)

Concerning the other gun are you speaking of the 4E NID set ?

That’s the one Randy, I promise to take very good care of it:corn:

I figured as much. I believe I have posted this before but just in case here's a copy of the actual invoice as provided by Walt. I always thought it was really cool that it noted the fact that it would be delivered to Miss A.D. Osborn at the factory, her initials are on the shield. This gun would not fit you, I recall you to be slightly larger than Miss Osborn :)

Why did I think that one had a set set of 32” barrels??

As far as fit, I’m sure it fits you closer than I but I’m sure I can make it work, might fit Shane for awhile.

You really should move it along, you will never use it:p

Stan you probably thought that because like me, you didn't think Randy owned anything with barrels that short!

There you go,
You’re 100% correct:)

I apologize for taking this thread off course Randy, very nice Parker, man I would like to swing those 34” barrels

When have we ever totally stayed on course here :)

Zero frame and Two frame breech wall thickness. Zero frame Dam 4, Two frame Parker Special Steel, both 30"

A 26-inch NID 20-gauge would look good in my gunroom. My 12-, 16- & 28-gauges and .410-bore are all 26-inch with this 30-inch 20-gauge standing in the middle of them.

Dave that added barrel would just clutter your gun room up and drive you crazy.

Thank you for not posting too many photos!! Let them wait for the article in Parker Pages!! :shock::corn:

Yea, dog gone it that Bishop wood and those white lines were sexy in the sixties! Cooler than Jimmy Dean and Ralph the Dog.

I've been in this house 18 years, and I am still pondering on how to display extra barrel sets in my gun room!!

Here's the chamber end of a set of 2 frame 16 gauge barrel's they look a bit thick also . No I didn't take the picture someone sent it to me .

Would some of you fellas with the 2 frame 20's mind posting the barrel length and unstruck weight ? I am just curious. Thanks !

So it's very clear that there is collector interest in and passion for long barreled, heavy weight 20s.

Can you help me understand what the intrinsic value of these guns is (not the monetary value...I can see that in the price of those offered for sale)? I certainly understand the rarity, and the historical interest in the "fashion" of those duck club guns, but is there something else I'm missing?

Garry the one thing you omitted that is a huge factor to me is the actual use of these long barreled guns. I like them on the sporting clays course and out on the prairie. Tried a 34" in the turkey blind one year and also tried to carry it through the woods, I'm over that now. We all have certain aesthetics that we prefer in a gun. For me a long barreled 20 or 16 is just sexy looking. Now throw in a 32" 28 gauge, oh my !

Randy, thanks for your answer. I'm not a clays shooter, but I can understand the dynamics of a heavier, long barreled gun. I like small gauge guns, but I use them for hunting. A long barreled, small bore gun is a blessing on the prairie where shots can be longer and of the crossing variety...but a heavier gun becomes a problem, at least with me in my old age, for an all day hunt.

So is it fair to say that these guns or more purpose driven in terms of their interest -- folks who use them for clays and maybe in a duck blind or on the dove field?

Don't make me too interested, or I may get this affliction, too.:banghead:

32-inch, 4 pounds 5 ounce --

Attachment 99852

I will throw my two cents in. I think what attracts me to long barrel small bores is that there just aren't that many. I have a 30" 00 frame VHE 28 gauge that is the sweetest little thing ever. I have been looking for a long time for the same gun in a G, or D and they just don't seem to materialize which makes the attraction even greater. Maybe it is the "why do you want what you know you can't have" syndrome??

I shot Daryl's VHE 28 30" at Hausemann's in June . Little thing will roll up some targets at distance if I do my part !

For years and years I was eaten up with 26" IC/M . I never waterfowl hunted at that time all my intrest was dove , quail and grouse . Then not to long after I got in the skeet and trap games . 28" worked great for me on the skeet field and 32 O/U and 34 unsingle for trap were the ticket atleast for me .

Started doing the sporting thing shall we say a little more than casually . 28" gave way to 30" and at present I'm quite happy with 32" on both 10's both 12's hopefully a soon to be in my possesion 16 and maybe down the road a 20 . I'm afraid my 16 hammer will have to be done with a 30" gun and the 28 will most likely never be longer than 26" for me .

But if all eight were 32's with the same stock dimensions I'm sure I could find somnething else I wanted to change :whistle:

I can relate to the weight thing . Quite a few weekends I've shot bunch of targets and over the course of fire one of my better scores would be fired with a little DHE 20 gauge 30" on an 0 frame . Now I'd like to see if it gets any better with another one just like it with a 32" barrel .

I wonder if some California duck clubs back in the day had a gauge limit of 20ga. That is the only explanation I have for a 1 or 2 frame 20ga. with long barrels. The customer wanted a 20ga that had the swing characteristics of his 12ga.
I must agree 32" 20ga guns sure look sweet Fox or Parker. Not quite as sweet as a 8ga 36" beauty :rotf: