Interesting "C" on Gunbroker
 

Here's an interesting Parker...

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=251798327

Those who attended the Annual Meeting & Banquet will remember Charlie Green's 99+% original condition 25" 28 ga. CH on the table next to his BIG 38" 10 ga. CH.

"Restored" means returned to original condition. A better description would have been "restored as altered".
Most restorations are not true restorations.
I like the case color job that was done on it, but its always so hard to look at case colors in photos. A C 20ga 24" is indeed a rare gun, I don't know whether it is the only one, but this gun is certainly interesting. I own a DHE 20ga 24", also a rare gun, and it is a wonderful little hunting gun and nothing to carry at under 6 lbs.
I think if I had to publicly sell an expensive gun, Gunbroker would not be my choice. There are other venues that can better present such a gun to the right audience.

[QUOTE=Bruce Day;50279I think if I had to publicly sell an expensive gun, Gunbroker would not be my choice. There are other venues that can better present such a gun to the right audience.[/QUOTE]

I agree Bruce. My choice would be to place it with one of the better gun auction houses or consign it with a major gun dealer like Puglisi or Ivory Beads... there are other avenues as well.

It looks at first glance like a Repro, especially the wood. There's a gun on the Julia site that looks very similar. There's a gorgeous 24" DHE28 in Anchorage.

Looks to me like the barrel rib matting goes all the way to the end of the muzzles, but what do I know! Lee.:)

As Bruce says restored or altered gotta love that check piece on a "Restored Parker". Now the case colors are very nice though. I also aggree Gunbroker would not be where I would try to sell it.

Strange that those two muzzle pictures are the only ones that are too blurred to really see what you are talking about.
The serial number along with the tables from TPS pretty well say it all concerning originality of the barrel length.
I have a 24" Parker which letters with 24" barrels and the rib matting runs right off the end of the rib, so the one on Gunbroker is apparently what TPS says it is regardless of whether the rib matting stops short of the end of the rib or runs off the end.

The Parker Schuetzen cheek piece stock was a rare option on later C grades and was intended to help the shooter hold aim on the target.

Dean and Bruce ,I sell on Gun Broker but I would agree , A few years back I had a beautiful 20 Ga. VHE and a 12 Ga. VHE ,both were excellent original condition , there are costs involved with consigning guns ,but Jim Thinney at Ivory Beads ,sold the pair of them easily and I couldn't have been happier , The 20 was very high condition but the 12 Ga. was such high condition ,I wouldn't carry it and it wouldn't suprise me if the next owner didn't carry it as well , The lower grades in high 90 percent plus condition really are rare guns and the " Better Dealers " already have folks waiting in the wings for these " Cream Puff Guns " ! With that said ,Gun Broker has some good guns on it and also some Good People selling , I have bought many nice guns on there ! Russ

For $52,000, I would rather see a picture of the PGCA letter before I bother to look at a picture of the gun. I can put up with a few warts on the gun better than I can put up with a letter that shows that the gun is a fake.

Interesting CHE
 

The letter, and pertinent tables from TPS are shuffled into the photos.

There are four pertinent points of decision relative to this Parker:

1 28 ga
2 24 inch barrels
3 CHE - only 24 inch 28 ga CHE archived.
4 Fully restored

Relative to 1; were this 410 ga several bids would be noted

Relative to 3; there are many thousand un archived twentieth century Parkers - would discovery of another 28ga/24 inch/ CHE destroy the uniqueness of this gun?

Best, Austin

Anyone else notice that the rolled inscription on the rib is not centered?

On a previous thread I posted about recolored case colors and how the straw is most noticable around sharp edges of the frame. This is a good example of what I was talking about.

I think if that turned out to be the case the value (not the asking price) of the gun might be reduced by 10 - 15 percent.

Chuck, from my experience there is nothing especially unusual about the centering of the inscription.

Here's something close. A documented DHE 20ga/24". Barrels reblacked, stock top coat hand rubbed in. I know its a D and a 20, not a C 28 but it was made for 3/4oz at 2 drams , wt is 5lbs 11oz, so not much functional difference between this and a 28. It is a one of a kind in a couple ways. It's kinda restored but only lightly, so I hope that doesn't devalue the gun. Maybe I should have sent it off for the full treatment.

SO..... since the C 28 is worth a minimum of $52,000, this would be a steal at only $45,000. I'd even throw in an unframed Muderlak squirrel poster as a deal sweetener. It is one of only a hundred he had left.

Bruce Day, unaccomplished Parker collector.

Thanks, Austin. I didn't scroll down far enough to see the letter. Wow, the cheekpiece is documented. Maybe for another five or six grand, this gun could be properly restored.

I actually liked the re-case colors, not exactly on, but close. I wonder what this one will sell for and will watch with interest. The only other C 28 I know about was significantly less, and had much longer barrels. This one has particularly nice engraving and is in the heart of what many people consider some particularly good years for well engraved Parkers.

I'm still amazed about the rare cheekpiece on such a small gun, highly unusual, and more often seen on rifles than shotguns, particularly those of Germanic influence. There are a few target shotguns with cheekpieces.

The short barreled guns, the 24's and 25's, I like my little D 24", but I've found that some people don't like them at all, and long barrels seem to be in for the time. I think these little guns make excellent fast grouse and quail guns.

I did the same thing Bill and didn't scroll down to see that the cheekpiece was factory...

Some of you are posting comments that imply that the gunbroker gun is a 28 gauge. It is a 20 gauge. The Parker Brothers records post WW1 are full of Abercrombie and Fitch 24" guns, many of them 20 and 28 gauge. If research projects in the PGCA order book copies were allowed, a comparison between the Parker records and the A&F records would result in some very interesting information.

Bill, one of the some includes me. I thought it was a 28ga and somehow I missed that it was a 20ga.

In all respect for your Parker knowledge, I question whether you exagerate when you say that the Parker A&F records are "full" of 24's . I don't think there are that many PArker 24"'s . There is a TPS list of 24" guns, although that is incomplete, and even if the number is double the TPS list, its not that many.

Boy, if that gun sells for anywhere close to $52,000, I wonder if I should send my DHE 20ga 24" to Brad B. to get re-case colored? This is a serious question, I had not considered it before, and comments from collectors are appreciated.

"Boy, if that gun sells for anywhere close to $52,000, I wonder if I should send my DHE 20ga 24" to Brad B. to get re-case colored? This is a serious question, I had not considered it before."

Leave it alone Bruce the gun is outstanding as it is.... So the answer is "NO" :nono:

Well ,I thought since we were posting some pics. of short barreled rare featured guns ,I would toss this one in the ring . This gun according to TPS is the only Factory Built ,25" Barreled 28 Gauge in DH Grade . Notice the English Drop Points ,According to the letter the gun was sent back by Kirkwood Bros. Boston Mass. ,to Parker to be restocked same as original . and when you pull the Trigger guard sure enough the stock is stamped Kirkwood Bros. under the Guard ! By the way ," Not For Sale Yet " :) Russ

Nice gun Russ. It looks like an early example. Is it on an O frame like most of the early 28's?

I don't know where you find those remarkable small bore Parkers Russ. Maybe you and me should go shoppin' together sometime :whistle:

Larry ,Thank you ! Yes it is early ,106312 ,It is on an O Frame and weighs about 5Lb. 12 Oz. ,I probably shouldn't use it as much as I do but it is my early season Woodcock gun !

Dean ,I would enjoy that shopping spree ,Maybe we could stop up and see Mr. Dunkle ,I have a feeling he could fix us up !:corn:

I've enjoyed reading this discussion, and thought you might enjoy a few pics of my original finish GHE 24" 12 gauge, serial no. 213462 (documented). I had the camera out for a walk today and snapped a few pictures. Not sure what this is worth, but the dog's not for sale!

thats one nice short barreled gun.... charlie

I'll say it is!!