Any new SxS's at the half way point of 2024?
 

I'm off to a good start in 24, a very nice BH Parker 12ga 30" Boston Show Gun bought on GB and a Fox XE 12ga 30" purchased from Josh at the Southern. Sold way more than my two purchases. How about you?

Just sold my 28 ga Repro. Didn't fit me well enough to keep.

I bought a 1926 Thomas Wild hammer gun at auction for a very good price. Had a fitting done, opened the chokes a to M/M, decreased the drop and increase the LOP with a pad. Shoots really nicely now. I shot pheasant, ducks and partridge with it last season. It’s great on clays as well. Fun old gun.

Josh worked with me, and the seller, on a beautiful BHE 20ga, Damascus barrels. I guess I have to count a GHE 20ga with 30" damascus barrels, but I only bought it, to add the barrels to the BHE.

Not a Parker but I recently picked up a High Condition 16 Gauge , LC Smith Specialty Grade ,Double Trigger 28" Barreled Gun ! A pretty rare Gun according to the Book ,which always seem to appeal to me for some reason and it seems to fit me very well ! It is choked so tight the Galazan 16 Gauge Choke Gauge wont go in the left barrel ,not sure how that will work out !!! :rotf:

I purchased the NH 34” that was on here for sale then sold the GH 10 34” I bought a few years ago . Then a week or two ago an EH 28” fell in my lap . According to the book they made 60+ in this configuration but the kicker being I already had a match to the gun and they turned out to be consecutive serial number guns shipped to the same place . Both of these consec guns will be at Hausemann’s as well as the NH .

I've gone the other way ..... made a major reduction of the collection over the past two years. Most all of them were little used guns and I kept a good representation of the makers I like. So far, no new SxS's for me during 2024 and I did resist the great urge to buy one on Gunbroker just a few days ago. :nono:

Rare and special Parker
 

There's one on the horizon and I'm preparing to get it if it comes out into the light of day. EVERYONE will know if I'm successful. Of course, I'm going to have to sell some things in the meantime to afford it. $$$$$

Unfortunately, no. I have bought a couple guns so far this year, but no sxs's.

Got a 20ga DH a few weeks ago, 26" 5lbs 13.8oz .All original condition

You got hit by the “Corona Effect” I see with that MX-20 ! While I’m a Krieghoff person in O/U’s , Daryl’s MX-20 and MX-28 are nice feeling guns as I’m sure yours is as well . I’ve kinda come To the conclusion if I’m able to get a shotgun to the Philippines I’m better of taking a K-80 over the VH 12 2 barrel set and a Fox pin gun . Just from the parts aspect alone . They’ve got decent mechanic gunsmiths meaning replace readily available parts but if a Parker or aFox broke over there I’m afraid I’d be down for the count .

If you are worrying about your gun breaking then sell the K80, the Parker and the Fox and buy a Perazzi on the MX8 platform. If it ever breaks you can service it yourself.

Nothing high grade, nothing original, nothing to see here. Move along.

Except a 28GA repro that is original.

That's a beauty, James. I like a short barreled gun for many upland situations. Did you get it as a grouse/woodcock gun? That's a great weight to carry for a long day afield. Congratulations.

Garry, Yes it's for grouse and woodcock. Like many older 20ga Parkers it's F&F but shoots great with polywad spreader loads .

But if you decide to buy a Parker reproduction, make sure it fits you. They all shoot high.ni found that out the hard way

Actually Craig I was shooting Perazzis for serious sporting clays for a few years before I first met my friend Daryl at the 2008 Vintage Cup when it was at Pintail Point in MD. I’d moved up from Euro Browning 425’s to Krieghoffs in 12 and 20, and then to Perazzis. My last two P guns were both MX2000’s bought from Andrew Litt in the UK, a 12 and a 20 gauge, both 32”. Then I got more heavily involved in vintage SxS’s and the Perazzis were gathering dust in the safe over several years. In moments of weakness I traded them off against two high grade, high condition double-guns and got some cash back to boot. But afterwards I regretted letting those P guns go, and now that I’ve slashed my collection of vintage guns, I’ve put some of that scratch into two Perazzis. One is a brand new MX8 12 gauge/32” that I’d posted on the forum a month or so ago, and the second is this used MX20. They’ll be my main sporting clays guns for regular shooting with my gang who aren't SxS guys. But with all that said, Daryl did have an influence on me to get the MX20 in 20g rather than the larger MX8 frame with 20g/32” barrels as my MX2000 20-gauge from Litt was configured.

Almost forty years ago I wanted a Perazzi as I was shooting a 3200 . But when I made the trip to Allem’s Gunworks in Zionsville PA I picked up and tried the feel of a Perazzi MX-8 , a K-32 , a K-80 and a like new Remington 3200 1 of 1000 . All were new except the 3200 . The K guns felt the best and pretty close to the feel of the old 3200 I was used to shooting . The new K-32 with Kolar tubes and Americase was several thousand less than the K-80 set up the same . So the K-32 it was , without a doubt I shot that gun better then any other shotgun I’ve ever owned . And the fact that I had it stocked high and just switched barrels to shoot skeet or trap made it even better . The feel was always the same . While I’m sure a spaghetti gun would be fine I think I’ll stick with a kraut gun :whistle::rotf:

I've been pretty good at holding to my self imposed buying ban for the last year or two, but occasionally one slips in. One on its way now is a 1928 GHE 12 with 32" barrels, double triggers, and a ventilated rib. The serialization book has it as a TI3 with the option 21. That would have been a DHE with ventilated rib on Titanic barrels with a splinter forend. Photos show it's clearly GH engraving with a Parker Special Steel rib inscription and an almost certainly after market large forend. We'll see when she gets here. I'll hold off requesting a letter in case her arrival raises any new questions.
I don't get that many opportunities to pick up unusual Parkers in Canada. I joined the PGCA ln 2008 and I've never actually seen a ventilated rib Parker in any grade. Looking forward to trying her out.

Bob, I think you’ll like your GHE vent rib gun.

On another note: I had a trap buddy say to me, you shoot that Parker side by side pretty good, don’t you want to try a Perazzi? My reply was, I might if I could hit anything with an over and under.

Your buddy might have meant the DC 12 Perazzi S X S, John. Here ya' go ....... have the "best of both worlds".

https://www.thefield.co.uk/reviews/g...de-side-review

I think I’ll stick with my Parkers. They’ve proven to be pretty reliable.

Russ, you might want to mic the bores of that 16 with a Skeets or comparable gauge. I have a 16 field grade from 1930 with the following specs:• R bore .646, choke .627 (19 points) L bore, .646, choke .621 (25 points) (Note: Between 1927 and 1933 the nominal bore for 16 ga at LCS changed from .650 to .662. See note below) That might explain why the Galazan gauge won't go in.

David Williamson offered the following on the LCS site:

"Of the five 16 ga. I have. All have a bore size of .650 but one, that is a 1939 FW Field with a bore of .662 and with the raised rib and 2 9/16" chambers. A 1927 Specialty Gr. 16 has bores of .651 both barrels. Circa 1910 O Gr. 16 has bores of .643 both barrels. Circa 1919 FW has bores of .650 both barrels. Other gun is an F Gr. 16 with right barrel .651 and left barrel .650."

Enjoy.

I’ve been fortunate to pick up a couple guns so far this year. I bought a Parker GHE 20 ga. at the MAAC show back in April. While not a closet queen I have really come to appreciate the gun and enjoy shooting it. All original except it now sports a Miller SST. Straight stock, SFE w/26” IC/M barrels. What a great set up for MI woodcock and grouse!! I shot about 150 rounds through it at the Bacheldor Memorial Double Nasty shoot two weeks ago. Had a blast!

The second gun I bought is an A.H. Fox Savage era HE/Super with a vent rib. It seems to be the only VR Super Fox ever made. 32” M/F w/original 2 3/4” chambers(as ordered). Wood has been replaced but I am over the top happy to have this gun.

I just won two T Latches and a back action at auction.

I purchased my third gun of 2024 (#1 a BH 12/30 Parker Boston Expo Gun, #2 a Fox XE 12/30 at the Southern). A very nice high condition A grade Fox with second generation engraving. The gun has nice dimensions 1 1/2x 2 5/8x 14 1/8. 30" barrels choked .043/.043. Number #1 weight barrels and a weight of 7lbs 15.2 oz. It is very unusual for a 30" 12ga Fox to weight close to 8lbs. I have bought and sold many A's but this one is a keeper. Still on the hunt at 74 years young LOL!!

Allen, I think you just shoot high. I have 3 Parker Repro's 28, 20 and 12 and I have no problem nailing birds.

If you were so inclined I’d love to see pics of the HE ! Don’t think I’ve ever seen one with a vent rib .

I bought a matched pair of 12 bore Purdey's with 30 inch barrels (chopper lump no less) and not to common for Purdey the forward snap action. The pair is in the original oak and leather case. These date to 1892 so it's amazing to me they have been retained as a pair all these years. Chokes are skeet and IC.
I saw a matched pair of Stephan Grant's at the Southern while buying the pair of Purdey's. There stocked in beautiful French Walnut and in the makers oak and leather case. These are in my favorite gauge 16. This is the only pair of 16ga guns Grant ever made and there total production of 16ga guns is 6 according to Cyril Adams who once owned the company. Needless to say there in the safe right next to the Purdey's.
Along comes Hausmanns and I was determined not to buy anything what with the two recent additions. I love hammer guns and have been casually looking for another 20. I have a Boss thumb break with 30 inch tubes thats tightly choked so in the back of my mind and checkbook I have been looking for a suitable addition. While very, very casually looking over the array of fine guns that August Morris brought I spys a seductive looking hammer gun. Inspection shows it to be a best quality Cogswell & Harrison Island lock gun with 28 inch Sir Joseph Whitworth fluid steel barrels. A straight grip on 15 inches to a leather covered pad. It felt like a dream as it floated to my shoulder. The icing on the cake is it's a 20 bore. August and I made a deal and it shoots great. I even like it a little better than the Boss.
Hopefully my VHE 28 skeet gun will be coming home soon with a new set of barrels and the set from Purdey fitted to it as well.
In the works is a custom Fox Sterlingworth 12 Ga with 32 inch tubes. It's being engraved now. The stock and forearm are finished so all that's left is the engraving and color case hardening.

Rich, tell us about the new barrels for your 28 gauge Parker.

I am a little late to this…I guess I switched to boat mode for the summer. I did pick up a few nice ones at the Southern, a 28ga. Damascus DH and a 16ga Damascus 4 barrel set that is factory. Although I am in boat mode, I couldn’t help myself and just got a well worn 12ga. Bernard CH that falls into the category of I wish they could talk. A nice gun I need to get a letter on and get out and shoot…

Hoping to get all three out in the marsh for a shoot!

Absolutely! If the wall thickness checks out on my 10 gauge backaction, I might do the same thing. That or a turkey

Bill I don't have the new set yet. They will be 28 inches just like the originals and choked skeet/skeet as were the original barrels. The only difference will be that these will be chambered for 2 1/2 inch shells due to where the originals bulged.

Was this the gun you had the Uhm accident at Rock Mountain ?

I’d like to see your XE beside the XE 20 our mutual friend recently acquired :whistle:

I'm very happy for our mutual friend, it was fun being present for the transaction.

Your bottom picture of the mallards coming in makes me wish for something similar on the Eastern Shore but with canvasbacks and shooting my DH 8 or DH 10 :whistle:

Another one
 

Yes, I did add a side by side a couple weeks ago. At Hausmann’s of course.

An August Francotte 12 gauge hammer gun with 28 inch steel barrels with a swamped rib, pictured below.
I had a loving relationship with this gun 10 years ago when it was owned by a very good friend, Bud Zimmerman from Buffalo. Sadly, it got away.
Eventually, it ended up with one of our better PGCA members, Bob J. who had it with him at Ernie’s and showed it to me. And it was for sale. Happy ending and we hope to live happily together ever after.
The 28 inch steel barrels are choked about IC (0.008”) and Full (0.031”). With the swamped rib, the gun weighs a sexy 6 pounds and 4 ounces. That is happily welcomed walking the 1.1 mile on our local clay’s course.

And one more addition but it just has one barrel. A Winchester Model 1898 10 gauge Signal Cannon that shoots black powder blanks that weighs 14 pounds. Not quite as svelte as the Francotte. Also pictured below.
I got this from fellow member Terry Smith who brought it to the Southern Shoot in April. I wasn’t there but my good friend Craig Larter brought it home for me. If you were at Ernie’s a couple weeks ago, you may have heard the old girl do her thing at 12 noon on Thursday at Daryl’s official start of the Bo Whoop firing 3 blanks loaded with 8 drams of black powder. She’ll do it again a week from this Thursday, July 4th – Independence Day. My neighbors will be pleased.

Call me Happy!

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Bill, I have been thinning the herd so to speak, but have bought a couple ,20 ga GH, an SC trap, 2 Sharps 45-70 business rifles, I have been shooting Trap as of late and enjoy it very much,was useing a Ithaca 4E 34" just did not fit me used a friends Parker SC and it fit me perfectly I could not believe the difference! so I bought it from him. Gary