Widgeon Duck Club guns

[Pa SxS]

I went through the research letter archives, reviewed the order books for these guns, and looked at TPS. Here is what I've found.

1. We have research letters for 4 of the guns so we know how many are known. They are 159076, 159077, 159093, and 163962.

2. TPS has a mistake in the table. 159092 has the name of L.J Foris, the correct name is L.J. Foin.

3. A research letter was written in 2011 and the name of the guy ordering the gun was misspelled. It was written as H.T. Willis when it should be H.T. Miller. I'll contact the research letter requester and see if he want's a corrected copy.

Sorry, I can't give you the names of those individuals that ordered the research letters.

[James Palmer]

Not a Widgeon but close and pretty cool configuration...

159089 is a 16 ga VH with 32 inch barrels, Straight Stock, No Safety and a 1 1/2 Frame.

[Mark Kircher]

Thanks Chuck, that is great information and much appreciated.

[Craig Larter]

There's not a better Parker enthusiast who could care for this special Parker than Mark. He is a good friend and he will be sure to use this gun as it was intended. I am so happy he is the caretaker. Great purchase my friend!!!!!

[charlie cleveland]

what a great story this makes...charlie

[Phil C]

I have always wondered since acquiring this gun if the owner was some how influenced by the Widgeon gun shooters or stories.

[Mills]

A year or so back, there was discussion about some other California clubs with similar orders. Hanford club, I believe

[edgarspencer]

Back in the late 70s, Possibly early 80s, my dad bought a VHE 20ga which was chambered for the 3 " shell, and had 32" barrels. He bought the gun from Gary Herman, at Safari Outftters, when they were still in Ridgefield, CT. The gun came with a LOM, and numerous pieces of documentation, indicating it belonged to a member of the Widgeon Club. I don't know what he did with the gun, but it was not in his collection when he died, in 1985.

[Pay Dirt]

Originally Posted by Mills Morrison

A year or so back, there was discussion about some other California clubs with similar orders. Hanford club, I believe

Please allow me to drag up an old post.

Here's a Tulare Duck Club (Hanford) Gun


Kasper Eisenlauer was a young man in Germany in the late 1800's. Like many eastern Europeans, he knew his future lay in America.
Of all the classes he could have chosen to travel aboard that ship, "stowaway" was not his first choice, it was his only choice.
Upon discovery, Kasper was made to work in the galley for the duration of his cruise. It was there that he learned to cut meat. They called it "swinging beef".

Not much is known of his first years in America but in 1897 Kasper finds himself ascending the Chilkoot Pass.
He'll make a small fortune in the Klondike. When he returns to the lower 45, he settles in central California.

He begins buying tracts of land, rectangular in shape. His cattle's journey begins on the southern boarders of his property and he grazes them north, where at the top, he's built a meat packing plant. Along with two partners, the wholesale butcher company of Cadwell, Kelly & Eisenlauer was formed. Kasper sells his beef from Santa Barbara to San Francisco. Together with his brother Lawerence, the family accumulates cattle under one of their registered brands, the "Christmas Tree".
The meat packing business was a success. Like Grandma said,"they gotta eat".

Kasper likes to hunt ducks in his spare time. A founding member of the Hanford Duck Club (same longitude and latitude as the Wigeon Duck Club), he and his buddies are fortunate to be shooting in the middle of the largest duck flyaway in North America.
Bagging birds was easy. 12 gauge was no longer a challenge.

In April 1911, Hugh Poston, a Remington executive, orders 10 Parker DHE's for the Hanford members. 20 gauge, 32" barrels, no safeties. 2 5/8" chambers, 4 lb trigger pulls, "Must be good shooters". These guns pre-date the Wigeon guns by 1 year.
Kasper receives Parker 156168, the only 1 of the 10 with surviving information.








Acre for acre, the Central Valley of California supports more wintering waterfowl than anywhere else in North America.
At peak times, this region hosts 5 to 7 million wintering waterfowl—more than 60 percent of the Pacific Flyway’s ducks and geese.
As you would expect, the high ratio of birds to habitat results in some superb waterfowl hunting.
After a few years, the Hanford clubs members contemplated long barreled Parker .410's.

[Big D]

One of our members recently showed me a VHE 20 with straight grip and 32" barrels. Don't remember if it had a safety or not, but it is choked .041 in both barrels! Tight for a 20, I'd say.