#9 Shot Grouse

[Tom Flanigan]

Thanks for asking. The little 20 bore VH has 28” barrels and unusual high dimensions 1 3/8 DAC with a LOP of 14. It is bored IC and modified. In my unenlightened youth, I had a silvers pad installed to increase the LOP. I wish I hadn’t done this.

I’ve mentioned this before, but the gun has an interesting history. It was owned by an old market hunter named Dee Slocum. He got it in trade for some of his furs. As far as I know he never hunted with the gun. He called it a “toy” and sold it to my grandfather for $50 in 1916. My grandfather liked the gun and used it for all of his grouse and woodcock hunting for many years. My grandfather was proud of all the grouse I took with his little Parker. He saw me and his Parkers as his legacy.

I’ve forgotten the name of the fur trader but he stopped by every few weeks or so to buy Dee’s furs. Barter was part of the process, which is how Dee came into position of the VH. In his market hunting days, Dee used a sawed off ten bore hammer gun with #10 shot. I don’t know the make.

After market hunting was outlawed, he shot a Colt hammerless double for his table grouse. My grandfather always regretting not getting this gun after Dee died. He wanted the gun as a reminder of his friend and fellow grouse partner.

In later years, I recut the checkering which was nearly worn off, blued the barrels and restored the stock finish. The gun was well used but never abused. My grandfather made sure that I fed my bird dog (a two year old finished Brittany that he bought for me) and wiped down the gun down and oiled the bores before I was allowed to sit down to dinner.

The gun is still my go to grouse gun. I play with a 28 bore Holland from time to time but when I want birds for the freezer, the little Parker gets the nod.