Parker Double Trap.

[Jeff K.]

Russ,
Your HD Folsum gun appears to be in better condition than most you find. They usually had the hell shot out of them.

[Bruce Day]

Pete, I'm assuming that the 1937 Parker Double Barrel Trap Gun ( and I probably should have been more precise when I called it a Double Trap) was for shooting trap doubles. I shoot some trap , not much, but would these shooters buy a double barreled gun over a single barreled trap gun if they are shooting singles trap?

I don't know, I'm asking.

[John Truitt]

We are hitting all around the answer. I agree with Mr. Romig that the terminology is most likely a marketing strategy.
Mr. Day also brings up a great point in that we now must factor in the single barrel trap gun. So how would Parker market its products/ keep up with the competition/ etc offer a gun for skeet, double trap, american (singles) trap.
The name just designates some features. Certainly does not define what one would need or have to have to compete. (look how the guns/ features changed from 1890's to 1920's, etc. Compare to todays o/u's. Everyone wants these tall ribs for "upright posture". Always a fade or new thing to continue to sell products)

As far as the beavertail fore end goes. They were being fitted/ made much earlier than they were cataloged. I have one that letters correct in 1917. (the gun was certainly used for doubles trap, she has provenance to prove such. 34" barrels, raised solid rib, no saftey, large fore end, pistol grip, monte carlo stock, specific chokes in each tube, 2 7/8" chambers, lots of special requests on this gun)

The repeating theme for Parkers is you cant say never/ no way. They always seem to suprise us.

[J.B. Books]

Originally Posted by Bruce Day

Pete, I'm assuming that the 1937 Parker Double Barrel Trap Gun ( and I probably should have been more precise when I called it a Double Trap) was for shooting trap doubles. I shoot some trap , not much, but would these shooters buy a double barreled gun over a single barreled trap gun if they are shooting singles trap?

I don't know, I'm asking.

I don't know Bruce other than it is personal preference. Why do many of today's shooters buy Perazzi and Kreighoff over and unders to shoot 16yd and handicap, and the same shooter never shoots a round of doubles? Both gunmakers make singles. Go to any ATA shoot, O/U's are the most popular gun in the gun racks. Then look at the number of squads for each event. Generally the number of shooters participating in the doubles event will be 1/3 or less then participate in the singles, yet the O/U is the most popular.

One reason to buy a double barrel trap gun over a single barrel would be the ability to use the double barrel trap gun for hunting.

Another reason to buy a double barrel trap over the SBT is the shooter wants to shoot all three games; singles, handicap and doubles and they want to stick with the same gun. Or the buyer thinks someday they might try shooting doubles.

The SBT of any make is a very specialized gun with limited applications and has not been as popular as O/U's and Semi's at ATA shoots. The Parker was even more specialized in that it was built in A, B. and C grade whereas the Remington double barrel trap came in the more pedestrian offerings of V and G grade. I'll bet a Remington VHE Double Barrel trap gun was less $ than an SC SBT, so price could have been a factor in purchasing a double barrel trap for singles and caps shooters too.

The SBT predates the Remington Double Barrel Trap. Double Barrel's purpose built for trap shooting predate the introduction of the SBT. Like the "Skeet" gun the Remington/Parker Trap Gun was purpose built with features appealing to a trapshooter and purpose marketed to trapshooters. It was 1937, the Parker Gun was on the ropes. They were trying to sell guns.

The two most important features for a doublegun to be better for trap doubles, aside from the customary long barrels, tight chokes and straight dimensions, is the BTFE and SST. Barrels really get hot in doubles and the SST does make for a faster second shot in that game IMO. Those features existed long before this gun came out.

There is nothing special about a shotgun used for shooting trap doubles other than some shooters like a little more open choke on the first shot (and it needs to fire two shots). This gun was marketed to the trapshooter who wanted to use a Parker side by side, whether the game was singles, caps or doubles IMO.

This debate would be so much easier if they stamped the barrels "Trap 1" and "Trap 2" or "Trap Close" and "Trap Far"

[Double Play]

Originally Posted by John Truitt

We are hitting all around the answer. I agree with Mr. Roming

Please be careful John, Mr. Romig gets very sensitive about his last name.

[Holeshot]

I'm curious when the game of trap doubles originated. Assuming it was later then the game of trap itself. Any idea on the date of trap doubles.

[Autumn Daze]

David, I'm not sure when it originated.I know it has been an Olympic event since 1996.

[John Truitt]

No offense meant. Just sloppy typing.
Sorry about that.

[Frank Allegra]

Again, thanks to all for posting. My initial posting was just a question based on a section in Larry Baer's book "The Parker Gun" . I now see the problem about posting about the Double Trap. I believe that the authors was referring to a Parker Double with 32" vent ribbed barrel, BTFE, selective trigger and recoil pad which was called the double trap. He did say that because of the late production of this type of gun, it was assumed to be one of the rarest. In another section he also did say that he thought the skeet grade marked skeet/in skeet/out to possibly be more rare that the trap. Very confusing to someone like myself that has always liked doubles but has more recently been drawn to Parkers.

To continue to the other part of my question....how rare would it be to see a 32" double with vent ribbed barrel, BTFE, and all the other features of the trap guns in a gauge other that 12 gauge.

I'm going to be looking at a supposedly mentioned trap gun with the above features but in 16 gauge and need some input from the experts.

[J.B. Books]

Originally Posted by David Holes

I'm curious when the game of trap doubles originated. Assuming it was later then the game of trap itself. Any idea on the date of trap doubles.

The only thing I could find quickly was the first recorded 100 straight in Trap Doubles was shot in 1926.