[Big Friend Ten (BFT)]

Ray,

Don't I wish a letter would an upgrade! The research letter will tell of it's original configuration and perhaps what person or in the case of a simple GH, what store ordered it. A later upgrade would be on the repair record book for which none is listed for this gun.

I ponder your second question of would Parker do an upgrade such as this? The wood is correct and the receiver engraving looks like that of a Parker engraver but with some C Grade art mixed in with the AH engraving.

Returned in trade and then upgraded? Maybe. I once owned a documented Remington era Parker Skeet gun for which the receiver was made as a Parker Bros VHE but sold as a GHE. This is part of the research from the PGCA. Since I sold the gun I x'ed out the serial number.

"We Found It"

I received a research letter request on serial number 238xxx in February and it looked like a routine letter request. We had a stock book entry and a Remington IBM card. I checked the IBM card first and found a OBE 12 gauge with a single trigger and 26 inch barrels ordered by Abercrombie and Fitch on February 7, 1936. I then pulled the stock book and found the gun was completed in December 1935 or two months prior to the order being received. It is listed in stock book 82 as a VBE 12 gauge with a single trigger and 26 inch barrels.

There has been much speculation on whether Remington upgraded guns to higher grades. Austin has found examples of Remington converting existing guns in inventory to skeet guns. We now have an example of a VHE being upgraded to a higher grade.

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Okay, I'm going to call the attention of our researcher to this thread.

Ray, thanks fo much for sharing your thoughts!

Mark