Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff Mayhew
Hi Folks:
Finally landed on this great forum. I own a humble 10 ga. Parker underlifter, serial 13024 (matching), that has had the barrel cut down to "coach gun" length a very long time ago (didn't do it, I promise!). It also has a very old wire-wrap repair on the straight stock that may sound nasty but really gives this old gun some character.
-Jeff Mayhew
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What a wonderful old Parker! While pristine guns are nice, what I call "I been there guns" have a charm all their own. While there is no way to prove it, I'll bet your gun was a stage coach guard's gun. Perfect candidate for a denizen of the Old West. Did Wyatt Earp carry it on the Benson stage? If not he carried a gun similar to yours. (Actually I think he used a Greener.) The fact that the wrist is broken means it was used and possibly dropped, maybe during a hold-up! The wire wrapped stock is classic! Earp recorded that when he shot Curly Bill he put the bead of his shotgun square in the middle of the outlaw's chest and cut loose both barrels each loaded with 9 buckshot. Again according to Earp the shot, "nearly cut him in two".
Did the old lawman use your gun? Probably not; but we can dream can't we? Old Parkers are intriguing not just for their condition and collectibility, but also for the story they tell. Your gun could probably tell volumes.
Congratulations upon your old and classic and probably wild west shotgun!
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