Los Angeles c. 1889

[Mills]

The members here have always been very helpful when researching Parkers, so here I am again asking for assistance.

A little background . . . I have a BH shipped to Tufts Lyons Arms Co. in LA in 1889. It is one of the first BH hammerless Parkers made. The order was placed by S. A. Tucker. I see John Q. Tufts founded Tufts Lyons Hardware and I suppose he ordered this Parker for a wealthy customer.

I am interested in what this Parker would have been used for in 1889 LA. What was there to shoot / hunt around LA back then? I assume hunting with a 12 gauge with 30 inch barrels would have been duck hunting. Was there trap shooting or anything else then?

Thanks

[mobirdhunter]

LA in 1889 boasted a population of about 50,000 (for reference, Charleston, SC had a population of about 54,000). There was a goodly amount of land surrounding it that held game of many types. The gun's weight and dimensions probably give a good clue, but placing it in its time would be necessary to help determine what type(s) of game the gun might have been built for (unless, of course, it was a trap/pigeon gun).

I love the B grade guns. I think they are perhaps the best combination of features and price among the higher grade guns. I hope you find some definite clues to your gun.

[Mills]

7 3/4 pounds. The SSBP had been removed and an angled spacer installed which indicates someone wanted the gun to really fit him. That would suggest trap or competitive shooting, but maybe not.

[Researcher]

In one of the earlier Double Gun Journals there was an article about a railroad employee in California who had a side-line of marketing Parker Bros. guns who over the years received three Quality BH guns. Probably before Gaucho settled into California. The Pacific Flyway provided plenty of waterfowl and California was lousy with quail back in the day.

California Quail, cock bird.jpg

Wonder if back then these little runners would hold for a dog?

I'm sure that pigeon shoots and inanimate target shoots were held as well.

[Pay Dirt]

The State bird of California.

[Kevin McCormack]

Researcher wrote: "In one of the earlier Double Gun Journals there was an article about a railroad employee in California who had a side-line of marketing Parker Bros. guns who over the years received three Quality BH guns. Probably before Gaucho settled into California."

The article appears in Vol. 3 Issue 3 (Autumn 1992) of the DGJ; "Mr. Perris' Parker Papers" by Wayne Cowette. The 28 gauge is a real heartbreaker!

[todd allen]

I can only imagine what LA was like in the 1880s, but an old family friend, now long gone, told me that LA was a paradise in the 1940s.

[Mills]

I think that was what Don Henley was talking about when he said call a place paradise and you can kiss it goodbye

[Bill Murphy]

Mills please give us the date of the order and delivery. In December of 1889, preparations were being made for the U.S. Cartridge Company tour, an East versus West competition with two teams of top pro and amateur shooters. A good percentage of the shooters were Parker shooters and it is possible that your gun was ordered for one of these competitors. The tour would take off for various parts of the country on January 27 of 1890. There was to be a flyer shoot in LA as part of the tour. Parker company shooters participating included T.K. Keller, J.R. Stice, S.A. Tucker, W.S. Perry, Charles Budd, and others. There were to be about 38 stops, with shoots at each stop. All of the Parker team shooters were furnished the new hammerless guns, in my opinion. Perry retired his C Grade hammer gun in 1889 and was issued a ten gauge DH hammerless. Other Parker shooters were probably treated the same. Too bad no name is attached to your gun.

[Mills]

Ordered March 29, 1880 and shipped September 25