Thoughts on this vh 16

[Richard Sheldon]

guns international has a vh-16 gauge "0" frame for sale, does this gun look like a good restoration, or maybe over restored? any thoughts would be welcome, This vh 16 would be a match to my father and grandfathers gun.
Item # 100117944 ,thanks

[Old and Reliable]

First off- I am not a 16 gauge man- so I have no interest in this nice looking older Parker 16-- BUT if I were 35 instead of 70, had a really good grouse dog, and wanted a good using light well balanced grouse gun- this gun would fit my specs to a T-- on the 20 frame, I like 28" and 30" barrels on my field doubles, ejectors are nice but- why leave empties on the ground, even if you don't reload- excellent stock dims, perfect upland chokes and I'd leave the chokes and 2.5" chambers as is and shoot RST 7/8 oz. 2.5" purple shells with No 8 shot- for grouse, quail, woodcock, even doves-

Secondly, George Caswell at Champlin is a very well respected dealer, not the only one extant- he's been in business a long time- does a fine job of description and fotos--and if you have two other 16 Vulcan grade Parkers in the family, why not another?

The only thing I can't comment on is the price-and as I have "no dog in this fight" so to speak, I won't- Just my 2 cents worth, I like All Parkers, even the fine SBT's, and I am NOT a trap or serious clays man.

I favor 12 bores as I mainly hunt waterfowl and pheasants, and I like ejectors for both reloading facility in cold weather and when shooting Tower birds, but that's a minor point-- Let us know if you end up with this Parker, it sure looks like a great bird gun "as is" to me!!

[GH-16]

Richard,
I've looked at this gun at one of the shows last year. It is a fairly nice gun that has been restored and unfortunately not by someone that knows how to do Parkers correctly.

What I'm making reference to is the case hardening process that was used on this gun produced case colors that are not true to original Parker colors. I also see that the wood may have been sanded down & the metal may be proud of the wood in places.

The good news here is the seller is a very reputable stand-up guy & he's had this gun for a while now. If I was interested in it. I would call him and ask a bunch of questions. Then make him an offer at a lower price which would make the few issues with the gun more bearable. The up-side on this one is it is an O-frame 16ga that tips the scales under 6lb. It would make one fine light carrying 16ga shooter.