Curiouse ?

[charlie cleveland]

bill would you like to go back and ask that fellow why he built a 3 frame 16 with such short barrels and all..if i could have ordered this 16 ga it would have had 36 inch barrels at the least...charlie

[Bill Murphy]

You got that right, Charlie. Years ago, the Shenendoah Gun Shop in Berryville, VA had a 40" GH 16 gauge. I think it was part of the General Billy Mitchell collection which they were selling at the time.

[Kevin McCormack]

Originally Posted by Bill Murphy

You got that right, Charlie. Years ago, the Shenendoah Gun Shop in Berryville, VA had a 40" GH 16 gauge. I think it was part of the General Billy Mitchell collection which they were selling at the time.

Some 25 or more years ago Clark Brothers gunshop in Warrenton, VA had a 40-inch barreled 12 ga. Parker (forget the grade but it was at least a D, maybe a C). The gun was purported to have been made for Walter Chrysler. The stock had a most curious, perfectly round, circular depression in one side just about the size and shape of a shooting marble. It came to be referred to as the "melon ball" gun, since it looked like someone had scooped out the sphere of wood similar to the way one would a melon. The gun eventually sold after languishing for weeks in the shop; I have no idea who purchased it or where it wound up.

[6pt-Sika]

Originally Posted by Kevin McCormack

Some 25 or more years ago Clark Brothers gunshop in Warrenton, VA had a 40-inch barreled 12 ga. Parker (forget the grade but it was at least a D, maybe a C). The gun was purported to have been made for Walter Chrysler. The stock had a most curious, perfectly round, circular depression in one side just about the size and shape of a shooting marble. It came to be referred to as the "melon ball" gun, since it looked like someone had scooped out the sphere of wood similar to the way one would a melon. The gun eventually sold after languishing for weeks in the shop; I have no idea who purchased it or where it wound up.

My pop used to work with a fellow named Jerry Amos about 30 years ago and Amos collected Parker and Fox guns . John Clark would call Amos anytime he got something in before it came out of the back room . Anyway I remember Amos telling me about a 32 or 34 inch 20 gauge Parker they had . Think it stayed there two days before it headed south to Chadicks .

[Bill Murphy]

I knew Mr. Amos from the days when we all exhibited at George Mason University. His tables were right across from mine. I believe the Whelen connection with Shenendoah Guns was through one of the gunsmiths at Parker Whelen in DC. I believe it was Bill Humphrey. Humphrey came to work with Ben Toxvard at the gun shop. When he retired and sold out to Ben, he moved up on the mountain behind the shop. I bought my Curtis try gun from Ben. It was originally owned by Townsend Whelen who, along with Humphrey, used it at the DC store. I tried to buy the Curtis gun from Ben Toxvard for at least 20 years before he broke down and sold it to me.

[6pt-Sika]

Originally Posted by Bill Murphy

I knew Mr. Amos from the days when we all exhibited at George Mason University. His tables were right across from mine. I believe the Whelen connection with Shenendoah Guns was through one of the gunsmiths at Parker Whelen in DC. I believe it was Bill Humphrey. Humphrey came to work with Ben Toxvard at the gun shop. When he retired and sold out to Ben, he moved up on the mountain behind the shop. I bought my Curtis try gun from Ben. It was originally owned by Townsend Whelen who, along with Humphrey, used it at the DC store. I tried to buy the Curtis gun from Ben Toxvard for at least 20 years before he broke down and sold it to me.

I think about 1988 or so I bought a Parker Trogan 16 gauge and a Parker VH 16 30" English stock from Amos both on the same day .

The VHE 12 we've had for 35 years came from him as well .

[Bill Murphy]

There is another gunsmith, other than Bill Humphrey, who worked for Townsend Whelen at Parker-Whelen on 14th Street in DC, but I don't recall his name right now. Humphrey, Whelen, General Billy Mitchell, Ben Toxvard, and many other Parker and custom rifle guys in the DC area owned many weird and wonderful Parkers, including Colonel Whelen's Curtis try gun, which I now own. As Kevin McCormack mentions, Walter Chrysler was also a prolific shotgun collector, and probably had local connections with the other names mentioned.

[6pt-Sika]

Originally Posted by Bill Murphy

You got that right, Charlie. Years ago, the Shenendoah Gun Shop in Berryville, VA had a 40" GH 16 gauge. I think it was part of the General Billy Mitchell collection which they were selling at the time.

I only went in that place two times . I was told Townsend Whelen was a part owner at some point . An old guy who's gone now at one point had an 1878 Sharps that Whelen had rebarreled to 22 Bluestreak if memory serves that was the 22 Savage HiPower necked down to .224 from .228 and the shoulder blown out . I tried to buy that rifle several times but never did .