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Well, after sending the CHE back that I was looking at I decided to investigate more closely a gun that was for sale in the members forum. If 3 years or so ago when I first got here you would have asked me for my custom gun from parker this one would come fairly close to what I would have said.
It is a 3 frame 2 barrel set of 10 ga and 12 ga barrels DH. 10 gauge barrels are 32" and the 12 gauge barrels are 30". Weight wise the gun is the same with either set, a beefy 9lbs even. It is a damascus barreled set made in 1890. It is a 3 dog DH having the typical pointer setter combo on the side but also having a 3rd dog on the floor plate. I am apparently collecting 3 dog Ds as this is my 3rd in the kennel.
The engraving is in nice shape and it has some fairly nice case colors remaining on the gun. In addition the barrels still show a great deal of pattern to them. It was ordered by M.E. Haight through his Mercantile Company in Crete, NE, specifying that the 10 gauge barrels "Must shoot 4 shot close". It patterned putting 80 pellets of No 4 shot in a 24" circle out of each barrel at 45 yards. Mr. Haight sent it back to parker in 1895 to tighten it up and reblue the barrels. In 1913, Julian (Julius) Buck, Mr. Haight's oldest son-in-law, sent the gun back to have a set of 12 gauge 30 inch damascus barrels fitted to it and a combination bolt installed. The barrels were required to "shoot 7 1/2s close." Sadly the patterning was not included in the order apparently. It was also specified the gun weigh the same with the 12s as it did with the 10s.
According to the letter the gun came with a capped pistol grip, but from looking at it and comparing it to pictures on here, I almost have to believe that on one of the trips back to Conn, the stock was changed to a ball or half pistol grip. Nothing in the records to state that, but it looks like factory work. I really like the ball grip as I have always wished the brothers P had kept that grip instead of the capped pistol grip. It has a far more ergonomic feel to my hands and I find it much more graceful looking on the stock, but I could be wrong.
As I understand it from the member I purchased it from, he acquired it from one of the direct descendants still living in the Crete, NE area. M.E. Haight seemed to be an involved businessman living in New York, Illinois, Nebraska, and then retiring with his 2nd wife to Oklahoma late in life. He had 5 kids, 2 by his first wife who is buried in Illinois and 3 by his 2nd wife in Crete. I have never been to Crete, but his Mercantile building later became the JC Penny building in downtown Crete have read. In addition he was on the Athletic Board for Doane College in 1900. He was also a Mason and a Modern Woodman of the World. Found no records of what became of his sons, but his daughters seemed to marry well, in addition to Mr. Buck, another daughter married Fred W. Christner who was prominent in Shawnee OK and another married Dr. Allan Conrad of Crete. Neither of these two men mean a lot to me, but some of the limited writings I found on them they appear to have been fairly prominent.
Have several pictures I took yesterday in one of the pecan orchards. Hope ya'll enjoy it.
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"The Parker gun was the first and the greatest ever." Theophilus Nash Buckingham
The Following 20 Users Say Thank You to Bill Holcombe For Your Post:
Bill... If I'm correct, the serial number is 58963.
In the ID & Ser. book it shows as being a D3, H, 0, P, 10, 32
That indicates it is a Damascus barreled Grade 3, hammerless, with 0 options (when it left the factory), Pistol grip stock (if it was a capped pistol grip the letter would be a "C" instead of the "P"), 10-gauge, with thirty-two inch barrels....
So... the 'round knob' pistol grip is correct, according to the records on the gun.
.
__________________
"I'm a Setter man.
Not because I think they're better than the other breeds,
but because I'm a romantic - stuck on tradition - and to me, a Setter just "belongs" in the grouse picture."
George King, "That's Ruff", 2010 - a timeless classic.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Dean Romig For Your Post:
Far be it from me to argue with a PGCA Research Letter but I would ask Chuck Bishop to check more closely. Both the physical appearance of the gun and the ID & Ser. book show differently.... just sayin'
.
__________________
"I'm a Setter man.
Not because I think they're better than the other breeds,
but because I'm a romantic - stuck on tradition - and to me, a Setter just "belongs" in the grouse picture."
George King, "That's Ruff", 2010 - a timeless classic.
The Following User Says Thank You to Dean Romig For Your Post:
08-09-2016, 05:58 PM
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