1930 Parker VHE
 

Attached a couple of photos of a recent acquisition. The gun was originally purchased in 1930, the stock was broken shortly after. The gun has been under beds, in closets and under couches for 82 years with the broken stock. The case colors are 100%, blue 100%, mechanicals 100%. Screws indexed and untouched except for the top screw under the lever. It looks like a screwdriver was in the slot at least once.

The gun appears to be unfired. There is no evidence of gun solvent or oil at the head of or on the interior wood of the stock which would indicate cleaning after firing. The ejectors throw hulls 15 feet into a 2' circle. It goes off to the stock maker today.

More photos follow. JF

Great find John, what is the gauge and barrel length? Is there any chance the original stock could be repaired? If not I hope your stocker is really good as this gun deserve the best.

1930 Parker VHE
 

The gun is 12 gauge. The 28" barrels are choked F&F. I thought long and hard about whether to repair the stock or have a new one made. The broken stock will always be with the gun. The new stock will be what it is. I've had quite a learning experience talking to people that want the job of building a stock for the gun.

I was concerned about someone firing heavy loads in the gun after the repair, shattering the repaired stock and suffering facial or eye sight injuries. While I will be resting comfortably in my urn, if it happened and someone told me about it, I would feel bad. It's enough to take up residence in the urn without also having a guilty concience because someone forgot to tell the injured person about using only light loads. :whistle:

1930 Parker
 

Another photo

Wow, great pictures (and gun) John. Nice find!

I can't see the break but I would seriously consider a stock repair if all the pieces are there. A spline or biscuit can be put in under the trigger guard so it isn't visible and it would make it much stronger than original wood ever was.

Sorry about stretching this out, seems my dial up service will not handle more than one job at a time.

1930 Parker
 

Sorry about stretching this out, seems my dial up service will not handle more than one job at a time.

John: You might want to do further inquiry into the originality of the case colors. They look like cyanide colors, which could possibly be from the later 30's after Remington took over, or from restorers such as DelGrego. Don't mean to dampen your spirits, its still a nice gun. JMHO.

1930 Parker
 

I couldn't delete the redundant thread above so thought I would post one more photo of the gun.

John..Great looking gun and well worth the restoration effort..do you know what caused the stock break?

From the way the lower tang is twisted, I would bet it was leaned against a car bumper and when the car was moved, the heel dug into the ground and the upper half of the gun (in its case) was moved forward against a stop of some kind, snapped the stock and bent the tang at the odd angle. I saw the same thing happen about 30 years ago a Win Mod 70 was leaned against the front bumper of a pickup.

You have to remember that back in those days the front fenders were like a bowl with the inner edge connecting to the body under the headlight which was attached to the car by a horizontal bar. I can see the gun being pushed forward and up against the bar and the stock snapping. The angle of the twisted tang and the missing piece of wood at the top left of the stock points to a violent action.

Mike -thanks for your suggestions. I am the kind of person that is able to see beyond the immediate situation and analyze things pretty well. Believe me, when I say, I am not being a pollyanna; (A person regarded as being foolishly or blindly optimistic) but there are details about the gun that I researched which substantiate the provenance of the gun and its history. My professional life over the past 35 years has hardened me against accepting anything as fact until I determine for myself what the facts are.

The intimate details of the original owner of the gun, as described to me by the seller, check out completely with research from historic records of the time and region in which the owner lived. The last surviving offspring of the original owner, the seller of the gun to my seller, is still alive in Minnesota.

This is a 1930 gun. Looking at the edge engraving around the receiver with a 8X loupe shows the edges to be sharp with no evidence of rework during a rehab or renovation. The screws are indexed and untouched. The screws and triggers are 100% case colored

There is no oil staining or solvent seepage in the wood or any other evidence that the gun underwent any cleaning in its lifetime. The barrel steel is undinged and there are no burrs or dents in the rib. Looking at the face of the receiver, the factory burnish is still apparent and no evidence of polishing out shell case deposits are evident.

If the gun was renovated by either Larry Del Grego or Remington, their mark would be on the receiver flats. I know that to be the case. Lastly, who in his right mind would go to the trouble of renovating a 1930 VH gun? The expense would exceed any amount one might dream of getting for a 1930 gun. So, in the case of this Parker, I do not believe the mine was salted.

Rather, the history, condition of the gun and intelligence of the seller (duh!!) are all harbingers of support that the gun has been in the closet(s) for 82 years and when it came out, I was there.

Your suggestion is not discarded out of hand, and I thank you for the thought. JF

What is the serial number, John? Nice gun.

I have been in the left side of my mind and had a 1900 VH restored (3 frame 12).

Camera's can play tricks with colors.

Were the triggers of a VH cc'd or blued, probably a dumb question but I guess I have never seen a VH in new enough condition know or notice, I thought they were normally blued.

Is there any other damage to the gun? I would expect at least some marred bluing somewhere from a gun that took a fall hard enough to snap the stock off.

Still a great find and worth fixing up.

Restocked to your deminsions and it will provide a lifetime of shooting pleasure. You won't get the investment back in terms of dollars but the joy of restoring this to shooting status and the use you will enjoy from it is priceless.

My choice would be to have one of the talented people out there put that stock back together. The king of broken stocks is Dave Wolf in Waco, but there are others. I am going to contact Dave about the CH I have written about. It is broken and repaired poorly at the grip and is way more complicated a repair than the stock being discussed here. What is your serial number?

John;
Very nice gun. I also would opt to have the original stock repaired. Over all you'll spend less on a repair than a restock and there are guys out there who can repair a stock and you will not be able to tell. I know as I had a beautiful straight grip DHE 20 that was cracked in half at the wrist. Had it repaired and I defy anyone to see the repair. PM me if you would like to see the before and after. Also, Delgrago did'nt always stamp his work on the frame if he refinished a gun. Your gun does look as if it has been fired. The circular marks on the standing breach are a telltale sign. Put the old girl back together and enjoy shooting her.

John, please tell us the serial number of your Parker.

Del Grego did not necessarily mark all of the guns they worked on.

It has clearly been fired as is evidenced by the primer impact circles on the breech faces.

The stock checkering and the "nose of the comb" look suspiciously like Remington work (which is not a bad thing) and I have a feeling there is a Remington stamp on the left barrel flat close to the lug. Incidentally, the barrel blueing looks like Remington work too... a tad 'frostier' than Parker Bros. rust blueing.

This gun asks some questions and the answers lie in the gun itself through thorough examination.

It looks like a very nice gun and deserves the best stocker you can find.

As far as the question of who would restore a VH. If I recall correctly in a discussion I had with Babe DelGrego a few years back he talked about busy times in the shop during the old days. I think they were buying tired guns, restoring them and reselling them for a profit since most of the cost was in their labor. Even recasing receivers was costing them very little due to connections at Remington. I suspect there are more restored VH's out there then people think.

I also don't think I have ever seen a marking on a gun indicating their work except for DelGrego & Son recoil pads and the polishing line indicative of some their work on the receiver.

1930 Parker VHE
 

In reply to several questions posed by PGCA members.

The serial number is 235XXX. I previously stated the gun had 28" barrels. The correct length is 30". They are choked F&F.

At almost 81 I really don't need another Parker gun to shoot. I have enough of them now that I don't use. My intention is to put it in the safe with the others and let history determine its ultimate fate.

I am going to put new wood on it for the reasons stated in previous posts. I am concerned about someone loading it up with magnum loads in the future and breaking the stock with potential injuries to the user. As we all know, things get lost in transmission during the heat of making a sale.

A commissioned research of the person the seller described as the original owner came back substantially affirming the verbal history of the owner (and his descendants) that was given to me during conversations with the seller.

The Parker letter I received does not disclose where or to whom the gun was originally shipped. That would be icing on the cake. I was hoping that information would be included in the letter, but it is what it is.

So until later . . .

Thanks John, that serial number range, in itself, answers some questions.

What's the kicker is no one in the 1930's sent it back to Parker to have it restocked, when you could still do that sort of thing. But I guess if it had been fixed it might just be another worn out VH by now.

Good point.

I have used the Del Gregos for repair work since 1972, forty years, and I have never seen their mark on one of my guns.

The ultimate mystery is - if the gun had been used, and cleaned, there would be some residue of gun oil or cleaning solvent somewhere in the stock (or forend), either at the head of the stock, in the area of the trigger assembly, near the safety etc. I never saw anyone standing guns on the muzzles until sometime in the 80's when I first started collecting Parker guns. So sometime in its life the gun must have been stood in the corner after cleaning and Hoppe's or other solvent or oil would seep into the wood. The sharpness of the engraving around the periphery of the sides of the receiver also indicates little use. The forend is also without evidence of oil or solvents.

I don't know the answer to this question. If the gun was re-case colored or reblued sometime in the past, would the iron parts of the forend be disassembled and case colored or reblued? Hmmmm !!

Finally - the cost of renovating the gun to its present condition brings up the question of who would spend that kind of money for a VHE gun? According to the PGCA research letter, in 1935 the cost of a VHE was $100.40. The initial research into the name of the original owner comes back with the info that he was a banker. Would the banker simply purchase another gun instead of sending the gun back to Parker for a new stock? And stick the broken gun in the closet, as reported?

As conspiracy theorists say, there are many unanswered questions. JF

I do not know the exact costs, but the cost to restock a gun if sent back to Parker was not all that much, or at least it seems that way. Might have been like $25 or something at the time. A good chunk of change, but not more than the gun cost. I know TPS lists some examples in a few spots of where restock work is listed as well as the cost related to the work.

I suspect the gun was restored. I suspect the stock was broken not long after the restoration and it was either stood on it's muzzles or laid flat in it's case,

If it was properly restored the forend parts would have been recased and reblued.

People spend their money to do things because they want to, from ideas about making a profit from it (sometimes by an unscrupulous person taking advantage of someone), to wanting a pretty gun, to salvage a family heirloom, to be sold on the idea by the restorer, to simply a favored gun being brought back from the brink of being junk.

As I said earlier DelGrego & Son and I am sure others, bought tired guns and restored them at a price way below what they would charge a customer and then sell the restored gun at a profit.

I have no idea what the facts are behind your gun. You thought it was new and unfired. Others here think it is definitely been fired and most likely a restoration. I think the "others" are correct myself but I don't know for sure. For all of us, our perception is our reality. Sometimes we perceive things differently from others. The facts about this gun will most likely always remain a mystery.

Good luck with your gun and enjoy it as much as you can as often as you can!

Well, all I know is there is a 50 Ford sitting across the street that the owner has spent over 20,000 on getting restored because it was a family "pet" many years ago.No way anyone will ever pay him anything like that for a plain old car.The bill for the correct seat covering would have been enough for me to call it quits.He has everything just the way it was when new as near as possible and damn the cost.