[Kevin McCormack]

I have a nearly identical gun/gauge/full-length tube inserts as Bill and Mills described above and in Mill's article. It is an 1897 Damascus AH Grade 16 gauge 0-frame 26" gun. When I bought the gun years ago it was not quite a train wreck yet but had been horribly abused. The barrels had been blued over the Damascus pattern, a terrible VH stock fit to it that the owner had "customized" by drilling an extra hole in the trigger guard, and the words "Invincible Grade" stamped in the left barrel about 3 inches forward of the breech). The VH stock had a truly garish diamond-shaped plate in both cheeks of the stock to hide the through bolt repair, and this was white plastic "aged" to look like ivory. I soon dubbed the gun a "Pimp Grade" and it became somewhat well known in the PGCA community.

By the time I got the gun, the Damascus barrels were so corroded and pitted (.014"RB, .018"LB) they were unsafe to shoot anything out of, so I sent it off to Briley and had ultralight full-length 28 gauge tubes with screw chokes installed. They were billed as a "special" deal at $380 complete, fully removable. (I paid extra for the ultralight tubes and would not do so again; the gun today weighs 6 lbs. 6 oz. and handles as fast as I can move it).

I bought the gun because of its extreme rarity; only 2 Parkers of this exact configuration are known in the records. It was originally ordered by a well-heeled attorney in Norfolk VA to be used in the wonderful turn-of-the-century quail hunting in the VA tidewater of that era. The PGCA letter states that it was returned to Parker Bros. three different times; for restocking, once for a straight grip in place of its original PG, then a second time for a change back to a PG, and a third time for an "extra small" 1/2 PG. All three orders specifying 1/4" cast off. This man obviously knew what he wanted!

The third time the gun went back to Parker, the order stated to restock for yet a third time with an "extra small half pistol grip", and "fit an extra set of Titanic Steel barrels, 5lbs. 14 oz. choked cylinder and close." I have been looking for these barrels for years to no avail and would pay serious money to reunite them with this gun.

Interestingly enough, the original LOP for this gun was 14 1/4"; subsequent orders specified a 13 1/2" LOP. (Perhaps the original length hampered fast handling in the clover and peanut fields!).

After years of procrastinating, in 2019 if finally decided to have the gun totally restored to its original configuration, the dimensions of which fit me well. I can readily recommend full-length sub-gauge tubing allowing us to shoot these old gems again; I consider it rescuing history.