Has the market for average Parkers bottomed???

[King Brown]

One 7 X 57 will handle anything in North America.

[C.O.B.]

Originally Posted by King Brown

One 7 X 57 will handle anything in North America.

But three will do it better. Mine are a pre 64 M70 carbine a custom 7x57 Improved and another custom in 275 Rigby.

I can hunt anything that walks the earth with a rifle lol

[Craig Larter]

So no problem Reggie your theme is quail, doves crows and rabbits. Just like waterfowl guns, little early season ducks (teal), mid season ducks Gadwalls and Widgeon and late season Mallards and Blacks----let's not forget Geese. Leaves me plenty of room!!!

[Spin Drift]

In Sweden only 6 guns, sheesh, I'd have trouble once I hit 6 gun safes.

[Bill Murphy]

I live hundreds of miles from Craig Larter, but I am well acquainted with all the collectors he mentions.

[Joe from MO]

New guy digging up old threads again...

I just read through this, very interesting discussion as I just started getting into SxS's about 8 years ago, or about the time I turned 50.....

The interest in SxS's seems to be an ebb and flow sort of thing, although I do think those ebbs and flows are getting smaller as time passes.

A couple of reasons for this, IMHO... In my home state, hunting is still very popular, but most of the hunting today is Deer, Turkeys, and waterfowl. Hunting for small game like rabbits, squirrel is down, and upland bird hunting outside of preserves, seems to be dissapearing, unless you are able to own your own land and manage for the birds. For turkey and waterfowl hunting, the old SxS is a long way from the shotgun of choice, because for waterfowl, you have to use steel/nontoxic shot, and for Turkeys, everyone is wanting to use 3.5" high velocity shells, with TSS being the rage now. For some reason, these guys think you can't kill a turkey with #6 pheasant load....

I will say, and do hope that many of todays younger hunters get to a stage in their life, where using guns like this becomes desireable to them. I bough my son a 16ga Lefever Nitro when he graduated his Nuke Trainging with the Navy, to sort of introduce him to SxS's.

In the last 6 weeks, I have bought my first 2 Parkers, at prices I didn't think I would ever buy a nice Parker for. I had been looking for a long time, and just never saw a gun I couldn't live without for a price I felt comfortable with.

First was a very clean Parker Trojan, that I had been watching on GB for $699. Late one Saturday night after a few patio cocktails with my wife, it was getting down to end of Auction and still no bids, so I bid $700 just for kicks. Went to bed and next morning was surprised to see I had got it for that price. It's a very nice gun, although pretty heavy, and I plan to use it on some duck hunts, and shooting trap.

Getting that Trojan only made my desire to pick up a VH or nicer even more. Ran across a nice VH12ga on GI, that the guy originally had been asking $1800 for, then he dropped to $1500, and I offered him $1400 and he accepted. Will I lose money on this gun? I don't know, and don't really worry bout it that much, as I intend for it to be my primary upland gun, and have no intention to ever sell it. Some day, my son will get this one.

I am not really a collector like many of you, I am just fascinated by these old guns and wanted to own at least one each of the American made SxS's. I don't have a real Lefever or Win21 right now, and may never own those unless prices on 21's come down, or I find just the right lefever for me.

I joined PGCA because I love the fact that with Parker guns there is a group of people out there that are keeping the history of them alive, and hopefully future generations will learn to enjoy these guns as much as we have.

Ordered the Letter for my VH yesterday, and can't wait to get it.

[Ronald Moore]

I said I would stop at 50. 100. and now 150, I just bought three yesterday, someone asked why do you need so many guns, I always answer need and want have no correlation want always wins.

Ron Moore

[Bill Murphy]

Finally, one of us who admits to owning 150. Who will raise that figure and admit to 200 or 250? I remember 40 or 45 years ago, thinking I owned too many Winchester pump guns and that I needed to play catchup with double guns. I took immediate action and haven't entertained such thoughts again.

[Milton C Starr]

Originally Posted by Bill Murphy

Finally, one of us who admits to owning 150. Who will raise that figure and admit to 200 or 250? I remember 40 or 45 years ago, thinking I owned too many Winchester pump guns and that I needed to play catchup with double guns. I took immediate action and haven't entertained such thoughts again.

When I was at my FFL about a week or so ago they had a Winchester Model 12 in 16 gauge , I didnt look at the serial number but it had the early slender style stock on it . The previous owner apparently had screw in choke tubes installed and it had one that extended about 2" past the muzzle . The gun itself looked nice but once you got to the muzzle it looked kind of out of place haha .

[charlie cleveland]

I don't buy a gun for an investment thing or an old antique car I buy them because I wont it if I can afford it...if not I may sell something cheap to be able to get it...its all about want for me....charlie