How old was you when you bought your first Parkers ?

[Alan Phillips]

In November of 1976 I was shooting skeet with Bill Williams at the old Winchester trap and skeet club in Long Beach, California. There were a few shooters on station 7 on the field we intended to use. While waiting for them to finish I was drawn to the old gun one of the shooters was using. It looked and sounded like a very small sXs not usually encountered on a skeet field. When the squad finished and was walking off I approached the gentleman and asked about what I could now see was a Parker. He said it was a family gun and he only used it occasionally to shoot a round of skeet. Serial #241081. Straight stock, double triggers, original BT forend, 28" barrels bored ..004 and .003. and about 80% overall condition. I took a deep breath and asked if he would consider selling it. Without hesitation he replied yes but would accept not a penny less than $6000.00 for it and wanted cash. There was a branch of my bank just a few blocks away so off we went to close the deal. Upon returning to the gun club he handed me the Parker and I was astounded when he asked if I had any interest in the original case. Turned out it was a leg-o-mutton marked T.J.B. with the felt stockings. The grade of the little gun was a CHE. Good start to my Parker collection and a very lucky one.