My long time hunting partner, Chuck (also a long time PGCA member) has been working on his perfect field gun idea for a few years now.
The formula is simple: It had to be a Parker, preferably a D or above in grade. 1 1/2 frame 12ga, with at least 28" BBLS. Oh, and a recoil pad.
He is the same guy who won the Raffle Gun a couple of years back. The DHE 12 ga, single trigger SSBP gun.
I have watched as various good honest guns rotated through his possession, all with a couple of sought after features, but always with something that needed to be modified. Every time I would practically scream "DON'T DO IT" when it came to permanently modifying an otherwise beautiful and original gun.
Finally, it came down to sending a set of Parker BBLs to Brileys.
NO! STOP! DON'T DO IT!!!
I told him that choke tubing an original Parker is the fastest way to turn it into a parts gun, value wise.
Finally a solution. A sweet little Repro DHE comes along. Everything he wants in a gun, without all of the historical significance of an original graded gun.
The repro now sports double triggers, and a modern recoil pad.
(the SSBP in the for sale forum came from this gun)
The BBLs were sent to Briley's for choke tubes, but the decision to choke tube this gun was scrapped, in favor of opening the constrictions a tad.
My buddy is totally computer/Internet illiterate, so any reporting has to come from me. I'll post some pics, when the gun is completed.
So now you know that I did not cut the end of the buttstock on that DHE that we sold
Building a field gun
Threaded Mode