New to site. GH 20 ga.

David Borrowman · 01-08-2010, 04:39 PM

Hello everyone. I've been coming to the site for a while for info, and finally decided to join. I've got a pretty rough GH 20 ga my grandfather gave me as payment for working for him one summer (probably '97) I always thought the gun was too old to shoot, but after some research decided to load up some bp all brass shells and take her after some ringnecks. I ended up taking one and didn't get to carry the gun after that, because everyone else in the party wanted a crack at it.

Cheers!

Autumn Daze · 01-08-2010, 04:48 PM

Dave,Welcome aboard! Looks like a great hunt! How about some pictures of that 20 bore!

John D. · 01-08-2010, 07:32 PM

Hi David!

Great pics - terrific story on your GH - and as well - WELCOME!!

Looks like you have the pictures figured out already, so of course - we'll be asking for detailed pics of your GH 20..!

Looking forward to seeing more posts from you in the future....

Best to you!

John

David Borrowman · 01-11-2010, 09:53 AM

Thanks for kind words gentlemen. Here are some pics I took over the weekend, but it looks like I neglected to get one of the barrel lug and flats. Like I said she is pretty rough, but at 97, I'll probably look pretty rough too.

Due to the condition of the bbls I'm only shooting bp through it at the recommendation of a gunsmith.

I'd like to get her restored to at least a portion of her former glory. Do you all think she is too far gone?

The old stock with a Browning butt pad and all of the checkering wore off.

Right bbl with some, what I would call scoring, right after the forcing cone.

Left bbl with some pitting.

Dent in the left bbl. The old girl definitely didn't sit in a closet for most of her life.

Harry Collins · 01-11-2010, 11:47 AM

David,

All in all you have a very well taken care of Parker. It is well used and all that wear was with your grandfathers hands. I would not do a thing to it other than have the dent in the barrel removed (if that is what I saw in the picture). Much more than that and it would detract from the value of the gun. Most everyone on this site has seen my fathers Parker and I will never refinish what my fathers hands wore off. Here is a picture and he received the gun new when he was a boy.

I would bet heavy coin that the barrels on your Parker have never been messed with. That is no one has skimmed the bores and taken away precious metal. With that in mind I would shoot smokeless loads with appropriate velocity and pressure. If you keep it around 8000 psi you should be fine. I would also bet your grandfather shot smokeless powder though it for years.

Kindest, Harry

Opening Day · 01-11-2010, 01:06 PM

What Harry said, and I am not sure if I would have the dent removed unless I could be seen from inside the bores. RST makes some great shells that are low pressure loads, alot easier to clean up after the shooting.....

David Borrowman · 01-11-2010, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric Eis

RST makes some great shells that are low pressure loads, alot easier to clean up after the shooting.....

I like shooting the all brass hulls, but I do worry I'll miss some bp and the bore will deteriorate even more. I emailed them last week about buying some 20ga paper hulls, no luck, but Alex sent me a very prompt email back with their 2.5 in 20ga pressures. 7/8 oz, 7200, 3/4 oz 5800. I will probably go with these.

Is there a way to tighten up the stock without devaluing the gun? It has quite a bit of play in it.

David Borrowman · 01-11-2010, 02:00 PM

Kansas City, MO

Opening Day · 01-11-2010, 02:12 PM

pm Bruce Day I am sure he knows a good smith in your area.

Richard Flanders · 01-12-2010, 09:26 AM

Nice pics David. Guns with that much wear never cease to amaze me. The amount you'd have to carry a gun to wear the stock that much is unfathomable. I'd shoot low pressure smokeless powder over the BP just to ensure not corroding the barrels any further. If you've been reading the forum for a while I'm sure you've seen that many of us prefer to shoot our damascus guns and mostly shoot smokeless powder loads that we either reload or buy. Stick around and be sure to keep posting pics of your hunting with that gun. One of my two 20ga Parkers is a 1932 VHE20 that was my mothers so is pretty precious to me.