| Rich Anderson |
08-12-2012 07:44 PM |
"Gunner's" Parker
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Last year at the Upper pennisula SXS shoot a thought crawled into my head. I try hard not to let these things happen as they are usually detrimental to my fiscall wellbeing.
I had seen some nice Fox guns that were custom engraved and restocked and thought that while I have several custom built rifles I never have had a shotgun built just the way I wanted. Well once I recognized the flaw in Fun Schwe of the safe I talked to bob Strosin of RES Engraveing who had done the work on the Fox's and a plan began to take shape.
I needed a canvas for my project and a theme. i considered a Fox but at the end of the day I knew it had to be a Parker. I wanted either a 16 on an 0 frame or a 20 and as I have more than a few 16's I really leaned toward the 20. A VH or VHE that was mechanically sound with no pits in the barrels, no major flaws in any of the metal surfaces was a must. The theme part was easy I'd dedicate the gun to my little buddy Gunner. At the time this started he was 13 and dealing with some health issues. I hoped he'd make it through the winter last year so the ground would be softer digging, then he rallied for a while and in June I didn't think I'd make Hausmanns. While at the U.P. shoot this June I had called home and he wasn't well. I'm happy to report he is holding his own and with the grace of God will make it out for some birds with "his" gun this fall.
The gun part actually came about as a referral from a friend about a member who had a VH 20 for sale. I contacted the gentalman and told him what I was looking for and why. He was somewhat hesitant about a perfectly good original Parker going for a project. The deal was made and I bought the gun sight unseen. I hope he approves of the transformation to Gunner's Parker.
It was a typical VH with a PG, DT. I much prefer a straight grip so I purchased a trigger guard from Galazans. They also provided the twin Ivory beads that replaced the metal bead and the heel and toe plates.
I'll include a picture of Gunner in this post but Marc Ouellette graciously took over 100 pictures of Gunner's parker and he has picked out a few to share with you and will add them to this post.
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