first Parker

[Bill Ericksen]

Hi,
I recently got a ph 12 ga 30" sn. 2154xx Parker. It has mounts for sling swivels and I would like to know if these were a factory potion or after marker additions?
It is in fine shape the bbls. are missing bluing at the carring point but no scraches or rust or dents. The bores are perfect rt. 20 thou. choke left 30 thou. choke. The stock is uncut but the comb and belly are varnish free and very dark compared to the rest of the stock. The checkering is worn down to flat tipped diamonds , are flat top checkering the correct factory method for this period shotgun?
This is my first Parker and this site is great.

Thank you
Bill E.

[Double Play]

Bill,
If the swivels look like the ones shown below it's a good bet they are original because this gun lettered with sling swivels. You should check on the home page to see if the PGCA has records on your gun and if so a letter may answer your question. As for the flat top checkering on a P grade I believe that would be correct but someone else can verify that for you.

[Brush Buster]

Larry; Great Pic. and very good info. ,I have seen a couple Parkers w/sling swivels ,but just always figured they were an after market add on ,Stupid question maybe ,but does the butt end have a tapped swivel or a slip on affair to add the sling to ? Russ

[Bill Murphy]

Yeah, Larry, let's see a picture of the read swivels.

[Double Play]

Bill & Russ,
Here is a pic of the butt stock with the stud but without the swivel attached. It's on a DHE 20 with 28" barrels and a 15 1/4" LOP.

[Brush Buster]

Larry ; Thanks again ,next time I see a Parker with sling swivels ,I will definately pay more attention ! Don't you have to wonder , Why ,would you order sling swivels on a 20 Ga. gun ?

[MarketHunter]

Probably somebody that bird hunted with dogs. You don't really need your gun in your hands till there's a point. My uncle shot a little 20 gauge automatic on quail and carried it slung a lot of the time.

Destry

[Charlie Price]

My grandfather was a German immigrant and he had a german made double with sling swivels (as many of their guns have). The story my father told was that Papa said that swivels made the gun easy to carry to the field when riding a bicycle out to hunt. Maybe a slung gun was handy on horseback also. Charlie

[Ben Yarian]

That is an interesting thought, about riding the bike. When I was having a lot of problems with my knees, I used a sled to ride out of the woods at the end of the day. I climed the mountain in the morning to my favorite grouse cover. My large yellow lab pulled the sauser/sled on a rope attacted to his collar. I stashed the sled behind a large stump. by the end of the day my kneees would give out and cause me horrible pain when stepping down hill. so I would break down my gun put it in a soft case for a broken down gun put the case in my game poutch(it stuck out a little on each side). I then sat on the sled and carfully slid down the mountain useing a tree lim to guide and keep sled from going to fast. I could see where a sling would have been handy then.

Ben

[Autumn Daze]

Ben,After reading what you went through to get to the grouse covers I will never complain about my sore old knees when out hunting again. I swear..