Which 20ga to get?
 

Need some opinions. I have been looking for my My son (10 yr old) his first Parker. I have found a 20ga VH in pretty good shape with 0 frame, 2-3/4 chambers 28in barrels, and a 20ga reproduction DHE 26" barrels straight stock with hard case within a couple of hundred bucks of each other. Which would you choose? The old original or the newer higher grade reproduction?

It would depend on stock dimensions and fit for him. Although at 10 years old, hard to predict.
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Does he like a straight stock?

He honestly doesn't care about the stock configuration. The original VH does have a shorter stock (13-5/8) which would fit him better now, but he's growing fast!

I’d buy them both and which ever one works best for him for fit, recoil, etc. I’d keep and sell the other one. (Or keep it) If I had to choose 1 for a youngster I’d probably go with the repro for less concern about the bumps and bruises it might get and concerns re:maintenance/repairs. I don’t think there is a wrong answer.

I wish I could afford both but unfortunately cannot.

My gut says original, but when you think about durability and able to shoot a bigger variety of ammo as he gets older, the repro makes more sense.

the repros are very nice durible guns. Stocks can be altered, for now and future. And it is fancier than a VH. But fit is important for ypung folks starting out.

David Trevallion, one of the most respected names in the doublegun business of our time, opined this: "Parker Reproduction guns were in every respect equal - if not superior - to the originals." Show your boy good pictures of both guns and let him make his own decision.

But the VH will digest about anything you can feed it and all you need to do is lengthen the chambers 1/8 inch… or lengthen the forcing cones and leave the chambers where they are.





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Personally, I would pick the VH for being an original Parker

Take the Repro. You won't regret it and neither will he

Unless the Original VH 20 is prestine original I would have to say it is way overpriced if cost is same as a DHE Repro 20 GA!
Bob Jurewicz

Well the Repro has already sold. I may hold out and see if I can find something at the southern SxS.

I believe all parker reproduction parts were destroyed in a flood. So repair could be a problem in the future. Just a thought.

If it were my choice I’d buy the original . But I’d also buy some sort of beater gun for him to use a bit before I put the little Parker in his hands .

He may be quite correct . But after close to forty years of them being around the word Repro is still hard for me to swallow .

I realize that deeply held prejudices can be hard to let go. But, there comes a time for all things to come to an end.

Don't look at Parker Reproductions as something made in Japan in the same light as many other products that came out of Japan. After all, weren't they designed by an American born in the U.S.A.? Weren't they the brainchild of an American born in the U.S.A.? Weren't they built by an American company headquartered in the U.S.A. (albeit utilizing a production facility located in Japan)? Wasn't the stock wood supplied by an American company located in the U.S.A.? Weren't they marketed by an American company located in the U.S.A.? Weren't they sold through a network of American dealers located in the U.S.A.?

Furthermore, Parker Reproduction cases were made in Italy and the snap caps were made in England.

If anything, given the U.S.A., Japan, Italy and England connections, Parker Reproductions was/is an international endeavor with worldwide reaching proportions to be enjoyed and collected by many generations yet to come . . . and they're here for us right now.

Thank you Greg

I'd vote for the repro, only because I have a VH, VHE, PH 20 and Grade O hammer gun with 16 an 20 ga barrels.

I bought my son a 20ga. Trojan made in 1913, exactly 100 years older than him. It has 28 inch barrels and choked IC/M with a 14" LOP. It weighs 6 pounds. He is still a little too young for it, but he is excited about it. It should be a gun he enjoys for a lifetime and is his first Parker.

John check your P MESSAGE

You have your opinion and I have mine . I never made mention of the made in Japan part (although I don’t care for that either) . All I said was Repro . You can use all your selling points you care to , but in this case they fall on deaf ears .

I’d opt for the 28” bbls, BUT, if the DHE repro has double triggers I might opt for it and look for a set of longer bbls later.

The repro has sold so I think I'm going to see what I may be able to find at the Southern SxS.

At this time in history you may want to go for something with barrels suitable for all manner of non-toxic shot like the "Cryo Pattern" stress relieved barrels with the "Tuff Bore" coating of the RBL-20. Just a thought.

But then he won't have a Parker like his dad has... lol

What a great gift! I wish my dad had the same decision to make when I was 10, haha! Life was much simpler back then. We went down to K-Mart and dad bought me an H&R 20ga. Still have it. I own a repro 28, great gun, I'd go with the repro 20. He'll grow into and appreciate a nice graded gun!

He's a really good kid. Makes straight A's in school and loves shooting his 28ga with me in sporting clays, but really wants a Parker like mine. I have a very nice 12ga VHE I may sell or trade to help fund him a decent one. I feel investing money in a nice Parker for him will be better money spent than video games and other things at his age..

Actually not, Repro's can be fitted with original parts as they were exact copies.

The Reproduction that led me down the Parker rabbit hole I found in pieces. As in, we discovered the barrels first then the stock and forend. An exhaustive search finally uncovered the receiver and all of its internals in a gallon bag on a table full of gun parts. When inventory was taken it revealed a missing hammer. This was located from an original and now this fine shotgun has been responsible for many pounds of turkey jerky!.........And an infatuation with Parkers old and new.

The only parts that I’ve ever heard of breaking on a Repro (besides broken stock wrists) are the ejector hammer in the forend and Joe Breda makes perfect replacements.





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