Thanks for the offer Mills however, all of these evolutionary changes to the Parker Bros shotgun can be found in The Parker Story along with their various patents. The only aspects displayed by Austin's guns and not necessarily covered in The Parker Story is that some of these features overlap any patent date or definitive serial number. The pin in the top of the standing breech I refer to on three or four of these guns is one example. I have noted that one is operational while the others are there but are inoperative (and probably welded in).
Austin was a very special man. He was driven or probably more accurately 'consumed' with the need to know the answers. He was a scientist and a consummate technician..... I, on the other hand, am not that man. I simply do not have the time. I revel in finding an answer but it is usually not because I have dissected every bit of information or even in fact, a gun itself. Austin was an awesome resource while we had him.
I just try to maintain Parker Pages the way he did.
|