New forum member shooting a SC
 

Been shooting a friends Parker, thought you would like to see some photos

http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/r...5/DSC_2815.jpg

http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/r...5/DSC_2823.jpg

Here it is next to my LC Smith Field you can see how much higher the comb is

http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/r...5/DSC_2821.jpg

Nice gun, not stocked or ribbed as dramatic as a modern SBT suits me better

http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/r...5/DSC_2819.jpg

Bill

Bill,

Other than a buggered screw on the floor plate and a slightly misaligned screw also on the floor plate, looks like a nice SC SBT with a replacement Pachmayr recoil pad and front bead.

Tell us the barrel length and choke. You may also find that there are factory records available by going to the Home page, then the link to Research Letters. Type in the S/N and it will tell you if there are surviving records. Be aware that some books are missing so 100% of the records are not available.

It's 32 inch have to guess at the choke hits them hard so must be full. A few of the screws are Buggered. I looked at it's near twin for sale this week down at Mid South in Wagram NC. One Phillip has is at least 10 or 15 % better condition than this SC hardly fired at all tight as the day it left the factory. This one has seen active use, other than the screws, not abused.

It's my first experence with a Vintage Trap gun or any dedicated Trap gun for that matter. Never had an eye for the space ship looking high rib guns. It's going to spoil me.

Will try that number look up.

Bill

From one Bill Davis to another--a very nice SC you have there! Shoot well!!

Good tip records do exisit for this gun. Will pass along to the owner see if he wants to order the letter.

Bill

What is the serial number of your gun? After about 1919, a PGCA letter is not likely to tell you anything except that it has a 32" barrel and is a C Grade. Earlier guns' letters may give information about the original owner.

PARKER SC
 

Very nice looking SC - many of them recieved a lot of use. Annie Oakley is pictured shooting 100 straight with an SC on her 60th birthday.
I shot our club trap league with a 34 inch SC for many years. It appeared to be choked IM.
Parker had a much more artistic method of putting the rib high with respect to the trigger.

Best, Austin

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...hotguns139.jpg

Here is my SBT SC. Your guns is in better shape then mine. Mine was well shot. When I go to the trap club guys with modern ray gun shotguns turn their noses up at my gun, but I shoot as well as they do. Isn't it nice not to have to mess with a safety. Annie Oakley used a Parker SBT. So do I. Move over Annie.

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...hotguns147.jpg

A detail of the engraving of my SC. I have never seen a bird like the one on your gun. It is very nice.

Steve, the trigger plate engraving on your SC is typical of the early engraving style. The pigeon on Bill's SC is typical for most SC's. Also very early Parker SBT's had a screw on the side of the receiver (don't remember which side) that allowed for access to the firing pin. I'm guessing at the moment without looking it up but Parker SBT's of that early vintage probably had a separate firing pin instead of the firing pin as part of the hammer.

Steve, to whom was your gun originally sold? Many of the first singles were sold to known competition shooters.

I know the heritage of my Parker. The original owner was a well known industrialist in the early 20th Century living around San Francisco. It has a straight grip with a pretty good chunk missing from the wrist along the left side of the lower tang. I bought the gun from the fellow's son-in-law who was in his 80's. I think the S# is 123855...not sure, gun is in safe. The original owner, he was in the coffee biz...big time, was quite a hunter and he gave a bunch of guns to his son-in-law. They were all stolen except for this Parker and a little 08 Colt .380. I bought them both. Interestingly the owner had used the little Colt to kill an intruder who was trying to break into his house. So that gun has a history too.

Huge article on the SBT in this latest, Winter issue 2011 of Double Gun Mag. It covers the subject pretty well. Great pics too. Come to find out there were six made in 20 gauge and they got one to write the article. Almost all have 32 inch tubes, but not all are full choke. Trap shooting in the teens was quite the deal. People showed up dressed to the 9's. It was very popular. Women shot too. Apparently it was the advent of the clay skeet that made the difference. Live pigeon shooting was expensive (they charged the shooter a $1 a bird and usually shot 50.) They specially raised the birds. Not all of them flew when they opened the "traps" they had to be trained to do so. I guess birds that were missed flew back home. Don't pigeons do that?

They often times used a baseball diamond to shoot in. The PETA folks of the time made a big stink about it and shooting live birds became less and less popular. Clay birds don't bleed and shooting them removed any stigma.

Now, I have killed a great many birds and the thought of shooting live birds doesn't matter much to me. I think pigeon shooting, the way they did it way back then, sounds like a ball. Just think, go to Central Park in New York, toss out some corn and have at it. You could shoot pigeons until your arms fall off. In NY they complain about the little beasties, calling them flying rats. The simple solution would be to shoot them; great fun! Never happen tho.

Ray Folger

Here's another interesting tidbit from the DGJ in the Winter 2011 article. All of the SBT chambers measured came to 2 5/8. It goes on to state that Sherman Bell has written that shooting 2 3/4 inch shells in the shorter chamber doesn't raise pressures enought to worry about it. But it is interesting.

I wonder if they were applying the "slower shot, tighter pattern" theory. Also trap matches can be long - many shots. No need to launch magnum loads. Therefore, if one wants to do it right one must shoot 2.5 inch shells. I shoot standard trap loads in my gun and do just fine.

Parker SBT
 

Mis post wrong thread

Parker SC
 

Afraid it's back with it's owner now. Was just on loan to me.

Enjoyed using it last two months at weekly club trap shoots. I am a bit afraid of shooting much with a different gun so back to my Beretta Sporting O/U and more Clays than Trap. Never thought about it much but seems to older Single Barrel Trap guns don't throw as high as new high rib guns. The Parker prints on paper about the same as my Beretta SP II

SBT bug has bitten me though, looking around, My SxS doubles are LC Smiths so looking at LC SBT's That Parker is nice though

Boats

My SBT takes a lot of "air". The bird is well above the line of sight when they break due, I think, to the high comb. This makes my hardest shot, the directly going away bird, much easier. I find the gun a natural follower, it swings easily and I'm not really aware of the muzzle. It makes me a much better shooter. I'm easily a three bird better shooter, but I seldom break 25. I need to shoot more.

My SBT seems to pick up 2-3 more birds also. Best trap gun I have shot so far and I've owned quite a few. Shooting buddy has me looking for him one now. Original, unaltered seems tougher to find. Glad I have mine. Dave

Unaltered trap guns are rarer than chicken lips. Trap shooters never miss the bird. it's always the gun's fault.

Seems like I saw one for sale in "our" magazine.

Every year in LA they have a Parker vs. Elsie SBT competition. During the past four years the Elsie won the first three and the Parker won this last one.

They report the event as if the guns are shooting themselves and don't emphasize the shooter, who, after all has considerable input.

Anybody have a link to the Annie Oakley Parker SBT photo ? Like to look at it. Real good documentary on Annie is in the PBS American Experience Series. Watched it few weeks ago, was in Netflix.

Bill

Steve, seems that SBT guns are always for sale if money means nothing to ya. But seems everything is for sale at the right price. He doesn't want to pay 6500 - 7500. for an SC. He is wanting my approval and I said just be patient and we will find the right one.

Gosh, I just saw it. I've got a stack of gun related/hunting books here and it is in one of them. The pic I saw was taken when she was 65, according to the caption. It is a close up. Looks like the camera is right next to her. All you see is her shooting hand, the receiver and her face mostly convered by the stock and her hand.

Towards the end of her life her hair turned snow white. She was badly burned in a fire. I think she lived to 67. She stood just shy of 5'. When she was at her peek, she would shoot from standing on the back of a running horse. Annie Oakley was the real deal!

Time fly's posted this nearly 4 years ago. At the time owned a couple of other SxS no Parkers, since have converted to all most all Parker's and am a PGCA Member.

The SBT pictured belonged to a Schuetzen Shooting friend of mine who got it from the widow of one of his old friends. Monthly rifle matches he always asked me if I wanted it. I did but was after other Parker's first. Anyhow brought it home yesterday now a SBT owner. Like to shoot it at the Fall Southern Trap Challenge.

It needs a fresh pad that's all. Excepting the pad I can see no changes from the factory. Will start looking for correct. One on the gun is a Pachmyer, very hard and slick. Choke starts about 5 inches out drops to .040 just like it should. Question I do have, penciled inside the forearm is " 5-1927" Old mark, does not appear as old as the gun. Was the date inside the wood common on Parker's, none of my other guns have it.

Ordering a letter today.

William

William, I'll be looking for your request. FYI the front bead is not original. Looks like a Bradley sight, not a Lyman which is what Parker used. Both front and rear sights should be just a round ivory ball mounted on a post. I would think originals or a r5epro shouldn't be hard to find. A Hawkins pad would look nice.

Awesome! I haven't been to the club all year; it's been either raining or bloody hot every weekend. Makes me want to get my SC out there, chopped barrel and all!

Chuck

You are right the beads are not Ivory. I was thinking it's not possible to replace with proper Ivory. If you have a contact please let me know via PMail. I have some small broken Ivory Jewelry that could be used to make a couple

Zapping the letter request to you right now

William

A little late on the draw but here's Annie with her SBT giving shooting instructions to a young girl.



Nope... I just took a closer look and that's not a Parker SBT at all... looks more like an Ithaca SXS... Sorry.




.

That's OK just wanted it for my screen saver, lot of Annie pictures on Google Images. Sort through them now.

William

Screen saver of Annie you say??

How's this?




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Brownells has some made from mammoth ivory which are legal with the government restrictions; you can get them from NEG too. They are kinda big but I have had good luck chucking them in my Dremel and turning them down against a fine file or fine sandpaper to get them to the size I want.

I had a mammoth ivory bead installed on my 28 ga. VHE

It is quite white but can be stained to appear older.

The mid bead on my SC is black or blued-looking metal, but the front bead is ivory. Guess the mid bead has been replaced?

Thanks Dean

Annie is on my home screen now, My wife might get jealous,

Will run down those bead tips

William

William, I measured the front Lyman sight on my SC, it measures .150" in diameter and about the same in height if measured from the rib to top of bead. It looks like Lyman sells a vintage style white front sight but it doesn't give dimensions. Most Bradley sights were threaded sights, Lyman sights were a press fit if I remember correctly. Lyman sells both types.

I believe it was standard for all Parker SBT's to have dual ivory sights.

My SC, an early gun, does not have a mid-bead. The bead at the muzzle looks like ivory and is of standard size. The gun has a beaver tail forearm. The wood doesn't match the stock very well, so I think it was an add on. I patterned it the other day. It shoots high as a cat's back. It is darn near a "100 percenter". It only dropped 4 pellets below the POA at 30 yds.

Steve, the true trap guns, especially the SC's, are designed to shoot high for a rising clay at the traps. Your POI is not unusual for a SC.

Lady Club member who was a champion Trap shooter is going to give me a lesson Monday. She's going to start with POI test said it ought to throw 70/30 at 16 yards. Will see

William

The current Lyman sights are white plastic I believe. At least the last ones I got from them were.