Parker trap Shooter?

I love a good "detective op"-- I have Jimmie Robinson's ATA record book with fotos and names-- first off- just because the foto was found in a NJ flea market does NOT mean 100% the gent in the picture with the Parker SBT was from NJ, or even shot there.

The query about the first year for the (UGH) Morgan adjustable pad gizmo would help- my "WAG" here tells me maybe pre-WW11 times, but that's a guess of course.

I think many of us who have been in the gunning world for years have looked back and kicked ourselves for the mistake(s) we have made, or the chances over-looked in our quest for the "Holy Grail" of scattergundom.

I was given a Parker SBT with 34" barrel- a neighbor who had no children, I used to mow their lawn, shovel the sidewalks in Winter-he had the barrel rechoked by the late Herb Orre, and a Morgan pad installed, God knows why. Later, before it came to me, he also had a release trigger installed. He was a machinst, like my family male members, and never threw anything out, so he had kept the original Parker trigger and the red recoil pad. He was a tall gentleman with a long reach, I believe he removed the factory pad and set the Morgan gizmo on the butt without cutting off any of the wood- So, except for the rechoking, it could have been "returned to normal" somewhat, but I was in my 30's, didn't know any of that, and much preferred shooting barn pigeons on area dairy farms with Model 12's--

Soooo- I took it up to Vandalia in August, met Bill Jaqua, ended up with a Model 12 Trap old milled rib made in 1948- unaltered, and some cash and Bill had the Parker-and yes, the original pad and trigger were included in the deal.

I am NOT a clays man, but somehow I have sensed that many serious Trapshooters are prone to "tinker" with their clays shotguns in the hopes of gaining a higher average score. Gene Hill used to write about this a great deal.

[Pa SxS]

Francis,

Boy would I like to have a release trigger for my SC! I switched to shooting left handed many years ago but couldn't get my left finger to pull the trigger reliably but it works just fine using a release. Somebody years ago on the Parker forum said he had release trigger parts but I never heard back from him. I doubt that I would have it installed even if the parts were available. I would assume the trigger housing and hammers would have to be modified some what. Did yours have a separate trigger floor plate?

[Autumn Daze]

Bill,You got that right.You won't be finding me in Trap and Field... By the way is there a site where you can look up trap shooters of old? I am still trying to find stuff on H. H. Ganson. Unfortunatly I don't know what the H stands for.

[Bill Murphy]

Don't worry about looking "Back in the day" for this guy in the picture. There were no baseball caps at trapshoots before the war, maybe not until the fifties.

[Bill Murphy]

Dave, you either have to have the books or you have to call the Hall of Fame Museum. They don't always find every name you ask for, but it's worth a shot.

Oh wait- that was Casey "Stinky" Stengel 's favorite reply when he was managing the "Bronx Bombers" in another era- Dave, I have the 1974 ATA book "The Grand- a history of Trapshooting" by Jimmy Robinson and Jim Nichols published at Vandalia 1974- if you know the state where this gentleman shot his registered targets, I might find him in that book- worth a shot--

Chuck--The man who willed me his "modified" Parker SBT was a Class AA shot, so many shots fired in his era- no era protection most likely-. It's been years, but I think he had gunsmith Herb Orre install the release trigger, and it was on a separate floor plate- the original and the machine screws and also the solid red pad were in a cigar box that came with the shotgun when it came into my custody- I tried to get that infernal Morgan pad set for me- I also had to get used to the release trigger, back then I didn't know enough to keep it and have the original pull trigger re-installed, ditto the factory red pad.

The M12 I obtained in trade for it had a std. buttstock- it is a Pigeon Grade with the older milled rib and the "duck-billed" extension and the sandblasted receiver- it is no Parker of course, but it must have been a special order as it has a 30" Imp. Mod. choked barrel instead of the usual Full choke.

I am not a trapshot, but for many years I used it for Pass shooting Canada Geese near refuges in SW lower MI- until I obtained my two M12 3" Magnum Heavy Duck Guns. It is "retired" more or less, but like all my Winchesters- Not For Sale (not that I would even think of trying a stunt like that here)--

[Autumn Daze]

Francis,I am thinking a Connecticut shooter

[Pa SxS]

OK, I'm forced to do it. My mug shot from Trap and Field August 2004. Twelfth place out of over 2k shooters in the Penna Handicap Championship. Missed 2 in a row from my favorite post or I would have been shooting for the championship. As it was, I had to go 4 extra rounds to just get twelfth place.

[FRANK HALSEY]

Originally Posted by Chuck Bishop

Francis,

Boy would I like to have a release trigger for my SC! I switched to shooting left handed many years ago but couldn't get my left finger to pull the trigger reliably but it works just fine using a release. Somebody years ago on the Parker forum said he had release trigger parts but I never heard back from him. I doubt that I would have it installed even if the parts were available. I would assume the trigger housing and hammers would have to be modified some what. Did yours have a separate trigger floor plate?

Chuck, that might have been me. I still have the Parker sbt with the release trigger in it. I thought that I would hate it but after shooting it for a while, I loved it. It is the best release trigger that I have. I shoot alot of different trap guns with release triggers now and this one is my favorite. Our club has a spring league and a fall league that are pretty large and I have been lucky enough to finish in the top three over the past three years in both leagues with this gun. I am leaving the release in until the wife sells it after I am gone. Than hopefully it find someone who loves it as much as I did.

[Pa SxS]

Pete,

That's a great High Overall score, congratulations and shooting a 95 with a GH configured as a field gun, I assume, is something to be proud of too.