I started with a 12 gauge Trojan when I was about 13. It belonged to my buddy's deceased grandfather and we discovered it in his cellar in it's original canvas case with the leather trim and handles. I really took a shine to that gun and my buddy's Dad let me keep it at my house for a few years. My next and first Parker - one that I really bought - is a beautiful 1899 DH 12/30 Titanic that I still have. I bought that one in about 1998, when I was 50, after I read Ed Muderlak's book "Parker Shotgun, the Old Reliable" and I fell in love all over again - and like Eric said - it's all been downhill since then.
And when I was about 54 I bought an 0-frame GHE 16 gauge with Damascus barrels - the first Parker I took a grouse with - What a proud moment that was!
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"I'm a Setter man.
Not because I think they're better than the other breeds,
but because I'm a romantic - stuck on tradition - and to me, a Setter just "belongs" in the grouse picture."
George King, "That's Ruff", 2010 - a timeless classic.
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