New Parker Just Arrived
 

Picked a new Parker off of the Internet this week ,the description was pretty vague but the Serial # showed a VHE 12 Gauge Vent Rib gun that left the factory with Ejectors , 30" Vent Rib barrel , Single Trigger Capped Pistol Grip Stock and Splinter forend ,and that is pretty much what i got ,Sans the Splinter Forend and fit with a Small Beaver Tail ! There are a couple of oddities about the gun ,the Nose of the Comb is Very Broad and has an odd taper and the stock is thicker than normal ,I am suspecting after market ? The thing odder than that is the Safety ,it has a Selective Miller Single Trigger but the selector is the safety lever ,the safe is in the center ,if you push the safety forward it fires the Right Barrel and is stamped accordingly and if you slide the safety back ,it fires the Left ! The other thing ,both Barrels are Full Choke the gun has 3" Chambers ,Bores are Excellent! The gun is very unique and I am quite pleased with it ,I don't often take a chance on one but it just caught my eye ! I am Posting Pictures ,has anyone else ever seen this safety / Barrel Selector set up before ,it's a new one on me ! Opinions are what this thread is about ,feel free to reply ! Forgot to mention ,this is a Late Remington Era Gun !

Definitely an interesting gun. Never heard of the safety used as the barrel selector, but I am new to Parkers. I'm sure someone will come along and give you some info soon.

I've sort of been hanging around here quite a while and have owned quite a few Parkers over the years but I have never seen this !

Nice gun! What is the frame size? It looks really large in the first photo but likely just the camera lens distortion. I have seen that selector on a friend's Parker with Miller SST. Good find.

The earlier Miller single trigger conversions used the safety button for barrel selection, as in the pic. The later version used a R-L rocker in front of the trigger, inside the trigger guard bow. I’ve owned Fox guns with both types. I’ve heard that the early version was also available on request when the rocker style was current.

Russ, happy days, a nice find. I assume it’s a 1-1/2 frame?

Thank You Gentlemen ! It is in fact a 1 1/2 Frame Gun ! I have had a few Parkers over the years with a Miller Trigger but never had the selector on the safety ,kind of neat though if I can get used to it !

The little I see of the stock suggests it is not original. The safety selector on the miller was the original type used on the miller. What you have there is typical of an after market miller install

I feel the stock is aftermarket also , a job well done but it doesn't appear correct and there is no serial# under the trigger guard ! it is heavier than normal but feels very nice on the gun for some reason !

That sort of safety/selector was similar to an earlier system used by Ithaca on higher grade guns. It worked well and was popular with them but I suspect was found confusing to the average user and finally dropped. They were double trigger guns and selected, I believe, automatic or manual safety reset.

The forend wood is a replacement though it was originally made with a trap style forend. The heavy nose of the comb looks much like a Parker Trap Comb but it may also be a replacement. Nice find in any case Russ!





.

Dean , the serial# is 240216 , it is listed in the Serialization book as a "19 "for the Extras ; Vent Rib ,Ejectors and Single Trigger ! I figure it left the factory with a splinter ? The gun is unique and I think The Forend just sort of fits it , I kind of like it ,it feels really good in hand and the stock does appear as a Trap Comb but I also suspect after market !

Ithaca NID Models used selective single triggers, Miller triggers, like yours on any grade of gun, they later produced their own selective single triggers and it caused some controversy with Miller since it was very similar.
In Walt Snyder’s book (Ithaca From the Beginning), he writes that Ithaca requested that Miller not mark their triggers that were installed on Ithaca guns.

Most of the selective single triggers on NID Ithaca’s that I’ve observed use the safety as the selector, I myself prefer this over having to memorize the slide by the trigger or the rocker selector.

I have a 12 ga VH that I hunt with that came with the same Miller trigger/barrel selector set-up shown in the original post. Because I'm old and rely on muscle memory I considered it a safety issue to have one of my shotguns ready to fire while hunting with the safety in the rear position.
I sent it to Dan May to have him disable the rear position of the safety. At the time I think he said that there were three ways to do the work and recommended doing it in such a way that it could be easily reversed. Now rear is safe and forward is fire. Even on shotguns with traditional selective barrels I have rarely changed the selector to switch choke at the last second. Bottom line Brad did the work for a very reasonable price and it has worked flawlessly since. FWIW- I asked him when he thought it might have been installed and he guessed 50's or 60's but was clear that was just a guess.

I'm concerned about the safety also with myself ,I recently sold an LC Smith Skeet Special that had a similar safety ,Not a Miller like this but I just wasn't comfortable with it ! As I said in my original post ,the description was vague !!!! Probably wouldn't be any kind of an issue for a younger shooter that wasn't so accustomed to back is safe and forward is fire !!!!

Did Remington use the reinforced fore-end lug on guns that came with splinter fore-ends?

That is a Good question David ,the only other Remington Era gun I own at the moment is my CHE 20 with a Beavertail and it has the reinforced lug also ! I hadn't thought of that ,maybe this gun did in fact have the Beavertail or Trap Style forend whichever you prefer !

Does the forearm have the long screw in from the front into the forearm iron?

No it doesn't ,my 20 gauge I mentioned a few posts back does but also lettered with the Beavertail ! I haven't ordered a letter yet for this gun as noted ,just arrived !

I have a DHE 20 with the same safety/selector design. It didn't take long to get comfortable with it in the field and it makes it very easy to quickly select the barrel you want to shoot first.

Yes they did David. They put them on all Parkers after a point…





.

Must have been very late as my December 1940 16-gauge, serial number over 1700 higher than the gun in question, doesn't have a reinforced forearm loop.

We can look it up in TPS as that’s where I got my info.





.

Barrels from old stock Dave?

No. Remington Ilion barrels, plain rib, no vestiges of Meriden markings on the barrel flats.

Once again, never say “never” or “always” when talking about Parkers.

After reading the previous couple of posts ,it hit me this Remington Era gun doesn't have a Plain Rib , it is Stamped Meriden CT.!!!

Other than obvious re-barrels, the lowest serial number gun I've recorded with a plain rib is 240245 which has a barrel date code of RH R = November H = 1939. But Remington certainly wasn't building Parker guns in serial number order, and I've recorded higher serial number guns with date codes back to 1937 with rib legends?!?

I stand corrected and apologize to Dave and others who questioned my statement that Remington Arms used the reinforced, one-piece forend loop on all of their Parker barrels.

We can only presume that Remington continued Parker Bros. policy of using this reinforced loop on guns ordered with a trap (beavertail) forend as well as all higher grade guns with splinter forends

This information found on page 145 of TPS.

Apologies to all for previously misstating what I thought I had read years ago.

Now this begs the question, which “higher grades” received this upgrade? What is the lowest grade beginning in 1918 to have originally included this feature


.