HOW MANY LEFT?

[Robert Delk]

The part about the Coast Guard cutting Parkers up just about made me cry.

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Pete Lester

EDM's conclusion; "Expensive high grade Parkers were pampered and preserved, knockabouts were ridden hard and put away wet, suffering disproportionate attrition."

And we have seen a number of Parkers that break even that rule...

Some AAHE's that have been "rode hard and put away wet" as well as some of the very lowest grades that, for whatever reason, look like they just left Meriden or Illion yesterday. These are certainly in the minority and don't really affect the statistics of surviving Parkers.

[Bruce Day]

[quote=Pete Lester;80820]EDM's conclusion; "Expensive high grade Parkers were pampered and preserved, knockabouts were ridden hard and put away wet, suffering disproportionate attrition."

/quote]

Here's the chopped barrel, chopped stock BHE I had with replacement Belgium barrel. I was able to sell it for the asking price to a fellow in the trade who will restock and rebarrel the gun and do a nice job, probably for resale well above $10,000 .


Then following are a few Trojans.

I have found that $30 guns were treasured and cared for by some people and $200 guns were abused and neglected by others.

[Blind Dog]

Like those Trojans, sort of puts my little 12, 16, 20 group to shame.

[John Farrell, Charter Member #33]

Like the 1930 gun that reappeared in 2003 and again in 2012 was never used in the interim.

[George M. Purtill Member #28]

Originally Posted by John Farrell

Like the 1930 gun that reappeared in 2003 and again in 2012 was never used in the interim.

what was that?

[John Farrell, Charter Member #33]

George - here's the story of the reappearance of the 1930 Parker VHE.

There was an ad reading "old double barrel Parker shotgun" in a rural shopper newspaper I got in the mail on 6/23/2012 - and read through on Sunday evening, 6/24/2012 while sipping a dram of Laphroiag.

I called the number listed in the ad at 5:30 PM and looked at it on Monday 6/25 at 1:30 PM. It's a VHE with a broken stock. There is a chance that it was special ordered since it came with 30" barrels choked F&F. The gun had a recoil pad and spacers added to the stock making a 15" LOP. According to the stockmaker that has the gun now, the original stock did not have standard Parker dimensions, rather it had trapshooter dimensions including a thick comb. The checkering is typical Parker and the gun SN is stamped in the bottom tang.

The rest of the gun looks like it left Parker Bros. yesterday. My PGCA letter states it was completed on 10/19/1930. According to the seller's story shortly after the gun was purchased the original owner broke the stock at the wrist and it was never used again. It was passed down through the family until it arrived in the possession of a descendant that ran out of beer money in 2003. Whereupon the seller bought it and, like the previous family member owners, left it in the Red Head case under his bed.

I gave the seller a check to hold it at 2:50 PM until 6/27 because of his harried life-style. We concluded the cash deal on 6/27/2012. The 2 day interim gave me a chance to check out his story of the history of the owner of the gun. His verbal history of the owner, which he got from the seller, largely checked out with a Minnesota historian. There were a few details where his story and the historic record differed, but they were inconsequential. The conversation left me with the impression he knew at least a couple of the heirs of the original owner.

The funny part of the resurfacing of the gun was at the conclusion of the purchase. As I was putting the two pieces of the gun in the zip up Red Head case (the barrels and receiver and the broken stock) the seller said to me - "oh no. the case doesn't go with the gun!" On a good day, with all the signs of the heavens pointing in your direction, if you offered the gun case for sale, you would be lucky to get $1.00 for it. I just smiled and carried the two pieces out to the car.

[George M. Purtill Member #28]

thanks
That is a wonderful story and I think I remember the old thread and pictures now.
It is not often- RARE- that a Parker is found in never used condition. But it happens..........

[John Farrell, Charter Member #33]

Actually, the gun has been fired. There is some evidence on the face of the receiver. But it can't have been much considering the condition of the gun overall. If you remember the photo of the split stock, the absence of any trace of cleaning solvent or gun oil in the head of the stock, or anywhere else in the wood, supports the limited use of the gun. Altogether, it is the nicest Parker I have ever seen, disregarding for a moment the broken stock.