Repro. Question
 

Over the years ,I have honestly handled very few of the Parker Repros .I couldn't afford one when they were first available so I didn't follow them ! I am wondering what the difference is on the markings ,99 percent that I have seen are marked ,I believe ,This is probably not worded exact but this is the general idea , Manufactured by Winchester " Made In Japan " which I know they were ,but on occasion you do not see the " Made In Japan " stamping ,I recall seeing two of these unmarked guns " were these guns made else where or by a different manufacturer ,or were some made with this stamping deleted ? A friend and I were discussing this yesterday and I really have no idea of the answer ! Any reasoning on this will be appreciated ! Thanks to All ! Russ

Russ, It is my belief that they were all made in the Kodensha(sic) plant. I don't know if the "Made in Japan" was struck off the barrels at final fitting or if they just escaped the stamping process. Maybe Richard will chime in here and inform us.

Hi Dave ,Have you ever seen any of the guns that weren't stamped ?

Ya Russ...One or two. They are not very common but they are out there.

I believe they were all stamped "Made in Japan", if the subject gun does not have it in the top rib, it'll be about an inch ahead of the hinge pin on the side of the right barrel---if it's in neither location someone has struck it off, which a few of the "upgraded" Repros have had done.

Greg, I know I have seen at least two without the "Made in Japan" legend anywhere. My 28 has it on the right barrel down near the forend close to the breech. I wonder if some of these legends could have been struck off at final finishing.

Hello Greg ,Thank you for the reply .there actually is no " subject gun " ,a friend and I were discussing the Repros . and the stamping came up in conversation ,Dave may be on to something here though as like wise ,I have seen two I believe that had no " Made in Japan " stamping any where on the gun .

Dave and Russ, could those Repros that were sans the "Made in Japan" stamping possibly 16-ga. barrel sets made by Krieghoff or the extremely elusive Galazan produced barrels?

Greg, From what I remember one was a double trigger/beavertail 28 gauge and the other was a 20.

My 2-bbl set NSFL(?) 28ga set has the Made in Japan stamping but it is on the side near the breech, small, and almost under the forend I think and is very hard to find. At first you don't think it's there.

I have a 28 Repro marked like Richard's.

This could be similar to the " Unmarked " Guns I had seen ,possibly ,I just missed the stamping .

Made in Japan
 

I think the unstruck guns you see were early numbered guns. It was a long time since they were madeand memories fade. Hope this helps

Richard ,Thank you for the reply ,it is nice you will get on and reply to these questions about the Repro. Guns , Much appreciated by all ! Russ

Any time I hear the term "repro" I cringe a little, but these Japanese guns are probably fine guns. They do look nice don't they. I own two Miroku Daly O/U's and have been shooting them for decades. Actually my wife likes them better than I do. They are good shooting guns, so I'm sure the Parker Repro is too. Did I just feel the hairs tingle on the back of my neck? Think so.

They are "spendy" as we say here in Oregon.

Steve, the buyer is in charge in any transaction. The better ones sell for more money. Repros are not too spendy once they have a little finish knocked off. Those are the ones to look for.

I have never seen an inexpensive Parker Repro. I've seen some very nice cased ones however. Four grand is not unusual; more?

Repro's are great guns made in Japan by some serouse good gun smiths and craftman.....Just not as warm as the real parkers can be. 80 to 100 years of love does that to em....But for a working gun you can't find a better modern made gun that is so real and close to its roots....Tom Skues did a wonderful job with his Parker repro's. I own several of both and love them repro's....and them little ones 410/28 gauge... I could never afford a real DHE grade or even VH for that matter....sxs ohio...(-:

Richard NSFL stands for National Sporting Fraternity Limited. Its a group of 1000 members started by Jim Rikkoff from Winchester Press. They did a lot of very nice limited edition books much like the old Derrydale Press. They also did hunts and other projects for the limited membership and a run of 1000 Parker Repos was one of these projects.

Unfortunatly they are no longer around. My first plantation style Quail hunt was with this group.

Thank you for the information. Isn't it wonderful that we have such people who make the effort to further the shooting sport and admire old Parker guns!
Some of the happiest moments in my life have been on the other side of a covey rise, or watching a cock bird pheasant as it struggles to gain altitude clucking like mad, or a Mallard as he sticks out his great orange feet to slow for a water landing.

Shooting an old Parker gun just adds to the experience. Nothing much better.

As much as we all have our own preferences, I personally Prefer a Reproduction because of a few optional available features: namely screw in chokes, 3 inch chambers, a barrel strength that will allow steel shot.
Yes, all good guns are "spendy" but I have yet to buy a gun I could afford and I refuse to own a gun I cannot shoot.
IMHO,
Steve Kleist Ely, MN

I know a few guns were made without the made in Japan stamping but I do not know how many. Thanks

SSS
 

Mr. Skeuse, Could you please clear up the confusion on the SSS barrels? Are all the barrels bored to .734 (by my gauge) and choked .007 and .012 with 2 3/4 and 3" chambers Steel Shot Special barrels? Thank you, Tom

In the Gun World, finding a nice, but beat up gun, is my favorite thing to do. Depending, sometimes I leave them 'as is' but it isn't too difficult to gussy them up and bring them back to "minty". Then you pay a little and get a lot. Yes, if one takes the gun to one of the smiths who give them a make over, it is expensive. I usually pay one of those craftsmen more money than I paid for the gun. That's why sometimes I leave them as they are when I buy one.

Being retired, I'm forced by income issues to leave lots of guns on the sales rack. I've passed up a few, but I have about a dozen nice old shotguns and I enjoy them. I'm not sure that I would enjoy the ones I have more by adding to the group, but I'll never get rid of any of them. We are married, those guns and I, and yes, my wife is jealous.

Made in Japan
 

Hi Guys I thought I replied but I dod't see it. There were a few earlie guns that were not stamped. I don't know how many but there are some out there Thanks

A little late, but here's some pix of my 28g 28" straight grip, SST, S/N 00-117x.

The "Made In Japan" mark is on the right side just above the forend wood. If it were a beavertail FE, it might be covered.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...y/DSC_3702.jpg



The left side carries the maker name.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...y/DSC_3705.jpg


The top rib is unmarked.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...y/DSC_3706.jpg

28" straight grip? What does the back end look like? Can you post a picture?

russ , they were all made in kon.plant & some at first & at end made it out without stamp, but they are sweet guns! have a great time! billie

hi richard i believe you are correct as your dad once told me that some early guns missed? granddad says hello! billie

Richard, I also have a NSFL 28 ga 2 barrel set. Below is information I found out in 2006 about the NSFL. This may be more than you ever wanted to know, but here goes.
From 2006
"Your Parker repro is one of 100 guns from The National Sporting Fraternity. I have been a member of this organization for over 20 years. It was started by Jim Rikhoff of New Jersey. He worked for Winchester and Winchester press. The goal of the NSFL is to bring back sporting literature remenisint of the days of Derrydale Press. These guns were the first two bbl sets as I recall produced for the Repo Parker. As memory serves (not something to rely on ) the second set of bbls were made by Krieghoff. These guns were used as a fundraiser for NSFL.
You might be able to gain more information by contacting the NSFL through Amwell Press in Clinton, New Jersey."

From 2006. I then talked to Jim Rikhoff and below is what I found out.

"I talked to Jim Rikhoff today and was given the following information about these Parker Repro’s with the NSFL markings.
He did work for Olin-Winchester for 16 years in the 60’s and early 70’s and at the time these guns were being developed he was friend of the Skeuse family. The NSFL was given the rights to 100 each of the 20 and 28 ga. guns to offer to their members. They were offered by subscription and all 100 of each gauge were sold. They were only offered as 2 barrel sets and were to have upgraded wood. There were no unusual options available and they were only offered in DHE grade.
Mr. Rikhoff was not aware of any special serial numbers being issued, nor does he recall that they were to be given the first 100 of each. However they were offered to the members in early 1984 and since the only serial numbers that I have heard of were below 100 and appear to be in the normal numbering sequence, with no special markings, it seems possible that these are the first 100 of each guage..
If anyone comes up with any additional information on these guns I would be interested in knowing about it."

Gordon

Thanks Gordon. I was aware of that information in general but haven't seen it all put together like this. Mine is certainly no safe queen. I use it for bird hunting and drag it through the brambles and stick it in the snow such as in my avatar. Only thing I've done is to lacquer the receiver in an attempt to protect the case colors a bit and that didn't seem to last long.. it's a shooter in my book. I was a bit surprised when I bought it that the seller had no idea that it was S/N 28-1. They hadn't even looked at the S/N. Hadn't even cleaned the barrels! They had been fired and not cleaned. And this from one of the oldest and most famous dealers in the US.