Dean - I've lurked on this site since becoming a member and your posts and other contributions to this Association have always impressed me. I've learned a lot from your expertise, thanks for sharing it so willingly.
The gun that I referred to as a 20 bore 0 frame was one of my dad's primary upland guns. Sadly, it went to my younger brother. The two parkers I inherited are GH 12 bore guns, 1 frame, 26" barrels. The family heirloom was made in 1907 and had originally Damascus barrels, but my dad had them replaced with modern steel barrels. It needs a little work to get into shooting condition and I will have that done before next hunting season.
The other 12 bore gun, I refer to it as a resurrection rather than a restoration because it has not been restored to exactly correct condition, was made in 1901. It still has its original Damascus barrels, but the trick here is that they've been fitted with Briley 20 gauge tubes, so now it is a 20 gauge gun that can handle modern smokeless ammo. I know this may be perceived negatively by some collectors, but this gun will not be sold. It has become my primary bird hunting gun. With its screw-in chokes...it is very versatile, and it looks great too! Life is too short to hunt with an ugly gun.
Mr. Bachelder refinished the barrels for me last year which completed the resurrection. Prior to that work, it was restocked by a family friend, the receiver and other metal parts have had the case colors restored, and the remaining metal parts have been re-blued. The only info I could find out about who did the case colors is that it was a guy in Ohio who is dead now. Perhaps an outfit called Color Case Co Inc.? I'll post some photos of it when I can get time and figure out how.
Regarding the Snowy Owl...that is my catch and release bird hunting hobby. I am a Federally licensed bird bander and in the wintertime, the focus for me is on raptors. Back in 2014 there was an unprecedented Snowy Owl irruption out of the Arctic into Southern Canada, the US and as far south as Florida and even Bermuda.
Local to me (Saratoga Springs NY) we had one in Washington County NY near Fort Edward, that's the one in my avatar so, yes, I was holding it. The real hot spot near me was Addison County VT. where 25 - 30 of them could be found on any given day for several months. I ended up banding 4 of them.
I am trained to capture and band most species from hummingbirds to large raptors. The birds are captured using various safe trapping methods and then fitted with an aluminum leg band supplied to me by the BBL. I record information about each bird and the data I gather is reported to the Bird Banding Laboratory. I collect data for my own studies as well. Sorry for the lengthy reply.
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