Interesting VHE 20 Gauge
 

Saw this VHE 20 gauge serial# 203160 28"barrels with beavertail forend, but the kicker is a 13"LOP to the end of the pad and a Montecarlo stock. First question is that stock original? Do you guys have any suggestions on the stock ? Interested in any comments ? The guns price tag is $2700, but I definitely think I can weasel a lower price. Probably not the greatest pictures I was trying to be fast , just happy they let me take photos

Not even close.

Nor is the forend.

If you think it’s original, a PGCA research letter would certainly address it.



.

There’s no code for a Monte Carlo stock, but there is for ‘wide’ (beaver tail) fore end. Had that been original the gun would have optioned code 11. It’s listed as a 2, so was a conventional splinter fore end ejector gun, far more desirable than it is now. That butt stock would be destined for the wood stove if it were mine.

If the Parker Gun Identification & Serialization Book is correct, it is listed as having a capped pistol grip. No mention of a Monte Carlo type stock.

Other information listed are V grade; 20 gauge; ejectors; 28" barrels.

The stock certainly meant something to STG...

The serial number on the forend match the receiver and barrel, and totally agree on burning the stock. What $$$ should I offer gunshop, and where do I get stock?

That has to be one of the poorest restocks on a doublegun that I have seen. Barf…


Thats a $500 barreled action if I ever seen one.

Bingo--We have a winner!

I classify this type of gun as a run-don't walk gun. Keep your money in your pocket and run from it as fast as you can. I don't want to pop a member's bubble, but I also feel the need to tell it like it is. There's just too many nice ones out there in this price range to be taking on someone else's train wreck of a restock. Bottom line--Don't make their problem, your problem!

I honestly don’t believe the seller would ever accept an offer for what that gun is truly worth. He’s probably into it for a lot more than it’s true value.





.

Tough crowd here, but I've always focused on the finish line, not the race (as Brian well knows :rotf:)

A 28" 0 frame 20 is a joy to hunt with, and shoot. If someone offered me a barreled action, such as this, for $500, I'd be delighted.

r also would be interested in a bbl and action like that for 1000-1500$ providing everything is fine
a candidate for a restock with nice wood and you end up with a very nice hunting gun

That's what I'm thinking

The reason that the numbers match the forend is that they used the original forend parts when re-stocking the gun and adding a Beavertail style.

Like others have said, the price is way too high. The problem is, they will probably only haggle minimal because the shop paid too much for it themselves. They saw Parker, 20 gauge, and O frame and probably knew they had gold. Even a couple hundred bucks off is still too high a price for this gun.

Be patient and keep looking.

Sorry fella's--I've been down this road too many times before. These type of project guns start out with great intentions & dreams, but in most cases, they either end up years down the road for getting the work completed or stuffed in the back of the safe & forgotten. Then if you do get after it for the getting the work done, more than likely you'll be buried in the gun financially when it's all said and done.

After getting my grad degree from the school of hard knocks for project guns. I've came to the conclusion that if you can't live with a gun the way it is, it's simply better to walk away from it & keep looking until you find the right gun at the right price. There's plenty of them out there that don't need much more than maybe a good cleaning. The best value money wise is finding a good solid condition gun that you can live with just the way it is. The gun in this thread simply wouldn't fit that bill for me.

A casual stroll down Guns International Lane will tell you, the days of the $2500 small bore ejector gun are long gone. It's pretty common to see such gunss well over the $5k mark.
As a collector society, we all expound on the virtues of saving them all. I'd be talking out both sides of my mouth, as more than a few do here, if I said none should be parted out, and clearly here, the sum of the parts is worth more than the whole. I've seen more than a few 0 frame ejector fore ends , here, and elsewhere, going (not asking) for over $500. Ejector barrels, $1500 an up. So saying it's a $500 barreled action is a bit much to accept.
I get the fact that there are plenty of people out there who don't even know which end of a screwdriver to hold onto, let alone tackle a project such as this. I'm not one of them.
You might wait a while to find the perfect butt stock, but it doesn't take perfect to beat the one on the subject gun. Fore end wood is out there.
A matching number 28" 0 frame small bore is a great starting point for my kind of project. I'm glad for all the people who prefer to pay retail. They sleep at night, instead of dreaming of the next step in a project, and they also elevate the value of the marque.
When you consider it's been nearly a century since the last Parker was made, there are an awful lot of them them have been 'tinkered with'.
Hell, someone's got to keep the stock makers and gunsmiths in pocket money.

The only good thing about that stock is the amount of wood left in it. I can see it now as a straight grip, new checkering, with a much diminished Monte Carlo cheek and the cheeks around the action put on a diet, plus a black spacer and a solid red pad. A salvaged splinter forend from a donor gun and then a gun to enjoy.

Responding to make it a straight stock: there's not enough wood behind the pistol grip to do this.

Also, if you can't live with it the way it is, or you're a stock maker wanting a to upgrade or restore, then move on. To have someone restock it (price of wood & labor), then color case harden, bluing, you'll be waiting years to get it back & probably be into it 2-3 times more than it's worth. Use your money wisely & buy one that's in nice original condition. There's lots of them out there.

Here's some photos of a project VHE that I upgraded to a AHE. But I had the wood & I'm a stockmaker & had a working relationship with the engraver. But in ordered to make it worthwhile you need to be either the engraver or stockmaker.
https://parkerguns.org/forums/pictur...ictureid=15009
https://parkerguns.org/forums/pictur...ictureid=15013

Well said David!

This would be one of the caveat's I didn't add to my postings here. There is a something to be said if you have the abilities & correct tools to perform the needed work yourself.

By the way, that is one super nice upgrade gun you shared with us--Thanks!!

Yes, the upgrade pictured is a great gun, a great project. However, the gun in question is best purchased at a bit lower price by someone who has access to a stockmaker who will build a new stock and forend for less than a grand. I don't have access to such a stockmaker.

VHE 20 gauge
 

A quick look at the Parker VHE 20 gauges on GI shows 9 guns that range from $4 K to $19 K. If we throw out the top and the bottom guns and just look at the rest that are more reasonably priced there are 7 guns that average about $6350. Draw your on conclusions as to what the market is offering and what the value of the subject gun is.

That's a great piece of wood!!!

Neither does anyone else because they're are'nt any!

I am going to take this thread into the gunshop , and see what kind of deal I can get. This particular gunshop is know for buying used guns cheap, so maybe they don't have much into gun.

That was my $100 bargain. I knew the supplier & could hand pick my wood.

Information on a couple of Parkers
 

Good evening, I am recently retired and now have more time , does anyone have any information on a Parked # 51358 3 grade hammer 12 gauge and a DHE 28 gauge # 191147? Any information would be highly appreciated, thank you.

Hello Mr. Caryaparker -
You should join our Parker Gun Collectors Association as an annual member ($40 annually) and order factory letters on each of your Parkers… at $40 each.
Can’t say much about the 51358 but the 28 gauge DHE, if in good condition, is a desirable and quite vatuable Parker.





.

Cary, you should not make a request about a personal gun on someone else's thread.
You should have started a new thread, but being a new visitor to the site we'll give you a bit of leeway. Since you apparently own these guns, you know how they are currently outfitted and the condition. The only one I can help you on is the # 51358 grade 3 hammer 12 gauge. It is listed as a grade 3 damascus barreled top lever gun with a capped pistol grip and 30 inch barrels. The gun was made in 1887 and there are existing factory records to get a letter.
The Grade 3 28ga is not listed in the serialization and identification book. Depending on condition and configuration as well as remaining blue and case colors it could be a valuable gun. Unfortunately the PGCA does not show factory records available in their library for this serial number, however it was made in 1920.
I suggest you start a new tread in a day or two, after the site developer gets the photo posting mechanism working again, and post detailed pictures of the guns, a bit about how you came to own them, and of course any questions you may have.
And spend the $40 bucks to join the PGCA. It is well worth the money in knowledge you can gleam from the members here, as well as saving $60 on a PGCA letter confirming the way it left the factory, the date it was ordered and possibly who the original purchaser was, as well as any factory repair or refinishing that it may have received. The letters cost $100 for non members, but only $40 for PGCA members. On top of all that, you'll receive the quarterly Parker Pages magazine (at no extra cost) that each have hours of good reading and informative stories and pictures of Parker Bros guns by members of the PGCA!
Welcome to the forums!

I don't know if you ended up buying that gun, but I would have, especially if the price was a bit negotiable. Yes it's got an ugly stock and forearm but it could be used as a loaner gun to a friend, or for a young shooter.
I would not have bought it to spend a couple of thousand extra dollars on though. But I believe an original stock and forearm of proper configuration would have been not too hard to find at a reasonable cost. There would still be fitting involved, but.
Just my opinion.