Back on line
 

Some months ago and after plenty of talk back and forth I made a good deal on a VHE 32" double trap gun with non-working ejectors including one that would bind up and make bad noises when the dry fired gun was opened. Despite mucho advice to stay away from broken Parker ejectors I figured I could repair and learn all about them in the process. And learn I did! As many know, ejector parts are almost impossible to find and I ended up making a new toggle block (cocking toggle), a new two-pronged sear spring, and microwelding and remachining the shoulder on the joint block (joint roll) that engages the rear end of the levers (floating sears) to trip the ejectors. All that along with fitting new floating sears which I got from a kind gent. The original ejector hammers just needed a touch on the mill and were re-used.

I also learned this gun was owned by a noted trap shooter and sportsman in Iowa, a contemporary of Joe Kautzky, and in 1916 he had Parker retrofit the 32" Titanic barrels from a earlier DHE to make up this VHE. That DHE, in turn, was fitted with 34" tubes. The Titanic barrels were renumbered to the new VHE frame by Parker.

I just finished up the ejectors this week and fired 106 shots today at Rock Mountain with perfect ejector functioning, mostly both barrels but some singles to verify each barrel ejector was working independently.

I'll be doing an article for publication on this Parker and its original owner and so these are all the details I want to share right now. Kind of a salute to the original owner, some of the shells I fired today were vintage Remington paper trap loads. :)

Second pic shows a very well fitted plug in the safety button slot.

Having handled that gun I can say it is a beautiful specimen and Frank did a heck of a job bringing it back into service. We’ll done Frank!

Frank are you going to have the gun at Hausemann's ?

I'd love to see it !

I'll be bringing the vent rib VHE trap I recently acquired as well as 12 and 16 VHE skeet guns with the bells and whistles .

Never realized until recently how deep my early target shotgun roots went . Thought the skeet/trap thing was out of my system :banghead:

Yes Craig, I'll be shooting her at Hausmann's. I'd to see yours too.

As I'm sure you assumed it won't be difficult to see anything I bring :rotf:

I'm planning on bringing a SC 34" I acquired in the last three or four months . Which reminds me I've not shot it yet .

Well that is if yawl have the SBT event at the Bo-Whoop tent !

Nice work Frank! You are one talented individual - Congratulations.

I hope we'll be seeing your article in Parker Pages rather than DGJ.





.

your the man....charlie

Thanks everyone. Dean, fyi I committed an article to the DGJ editors some weeks ago.

That’s great work Frank. Looking forward to seeing you and your guns at Hausmans!

I tried talking Frank into turning that article in for Parker Pages
but I couldn't get a check from Allan!! :bigbye:

We're an all-volunteer army. :rolleyes:





.

Just want to reconnect here. I shot her again today, 100 shots and once again the ejectors worked perfectly. Great to see her back after being sidelined for years as what the Dealer called a "problem gun". Today she was high gun in our squad of 8, shooting against 2 Perazzis, 3 Benellis and 2 Brownings - all of them sporting clays competition guns. And especially neat because I drove the Jeep to the Rock today and my shooting glasses were back home in the truck. Used a pair of Rangers that were in my shooting bag - which I did remember to take - but the lenses have an old prescription six years old. After we finished up the guys told me to get rid of the newer glasses. :rotf:

A couple of gents have asked and here are some stats on the Parker; she weighs 8^2, chambers 2-5/8", chokes I-Mod & Full, LOP 14-1/2". Today's load was 7/8 ounce of 7-1/2's in Gun Club hulls, pushed by Alliant E3 powder at about 1200 speed.

Typical Parker, “Diesel Smoke”!

Beautiful gun Frank !

Thanks all. Just to close out here; 500+ shells fired as of yesterday and both ejectors are working fine including the timing of the "kicks" which haven't changed since set up. Done deal.