Fun with Twenties

Bill Murphy · 03-16-2020, 10:25 AM

Yesterday, Kevin McCormack and I were at our favorite gun club and coincidentally ended up on the same trap squad. I was shooting my rare and unusual 34" 20 gauge Parker SC. Imagine my surprise when I looked down the line and saw Kevin shooting his rare and unusual 32" 20 gauge Fox AE. To get to the point, Kevin and I were crushing way more birds than our companion shooters, all shooting 12 gauge guns. Kevin and I are normally sporting clays shooters, but I can't wait until our next chance to shoot some trap.

B. Dudley · 03-16-2020, 11:19 AM

Bill, are the few 20g sbts on the same frame as the 12g guns? Or did they make a special frame for the 20s?

charlie cleveland · 03-16-2020, 11:19 AM

bill that is a rare single barrel 20 ga...i ve been looking for a 20 with 32 inch barrels a long time but aint found one...good shooting to you and kevin....charlie

Bill Murphy · 03-16-2020, 03:21 PM

Brian, it is great to hear you ask a question. You are so full of knowledge and usually have the "answer". OK, here goes. The 20 gauge Parker single, five of them, are all made on 12 gauge frames with massive chamber walls. I have actually found a 12 gauge barrel for my favorite 20 gauge single. The serial number is very close and it needs just a bit of fitting and a thicker bolt plate. The situation that exists is that the period where singles were made, there are a bunch of missing stock books, and a few order books. Order books were discontinued shortly after the single trap was introduced. There may be more than five of them out there, but I don't know who could have them. I know of three, one owned by a collector friend, and the other two are missing, I think. The missing may be more than two. One of the twenties has an extra 12 gauge barrel fitted to it, factory original. Some twenties could have scrapped barrels and been fitted with twelve gauge barrels years ago. Colonel Cutts seems to have had a twenty gauge single made to test his compensator, which wouldn't make most Parker collectors happy. Thanks for being interested in these great rare guns. By the way, I have been chasing my 34" 20 for decades, made a great friend who outbid me the first time the gun "came out". I had provided him with the provenance information, and he bid accordingly. Dick Baldwin gave me a letter from an early owner of the gun that provided that provenance. We shared many stories and dinners at the Southern, until he became ill and let the gun go to auction, again, where I was able to maintain my composure and outbid the competition. A couple of decades chasing this gun would provide a story similar to the story of the CH "Charleston Gun", a story I told on this forum.

mobirdhunter · 03-16-2020, 03:26 PM

Do you gentlemen have any photos of those 20s that you could post? Probably the only way I'd get to see one.

Bill Murphy · 03-16-2020, 03:37 PM

Charlie, I have owned two 32" Parker 20s and a set of barrels for another. Sadly, I sold a 32" #2 frame 20 years ago and can't locate it. It is a VH serial number 153,333 and I want to buy it back.

Double Lab · 03-16-2020, 03:54 PM

True story. Last week I show up at our weekly Weds. sporting clays outing at a little club up in PA. with a 32" 20 ga. Sterlingworth. A nice gent walks over on the 2nd or 3rd. station and looks in my push cart and asks what I'm shooting. When I tell him and offer the gun for inspection he proclaims that there were no 32" 20 ga. Sterlingworths made and that they were probably Belgian barrels. I was in really good mood that day so I told him I did'nt know that. Thanks for telling me I guess I overpaid. He walked away thinking he just educated me. You just can't fix stupid. BTW; I ended up with high score out of 9 shooters besting the Benelli boys. Pretty good for Belgian barrels huh?

Opening Day · 03-16-2020, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daryl Corona

True story. Last week I show up at our weekly Weds. sporting clays outing at a little club up in PA. with a 32" 20 ga. Sterlingworth. A nice gent walks over on the 2nd or 3rd. station and looks in my push cart and asks what I'm shooting. When I tell him and offer the gun for inspection he proclaims that there were no 32" 20 ga. Sterlingworths made and that they were probably Belgian barrels. I was in really good mood that day so I told him I did'nt know that. Thanks for telling me I guess I overpaid. He walked away thinking he just educated me. You just can't fix stupid. BTW; I ended up with high score out of 9 shooters besting the Benelli boys. Pretty good for Belgian barrels huh?

You coming South to shoot clays at Drakes with us at the end of April.

Bill Murphy · 03-16-2020, 05:02 PM

I would come to Drake's for a couple of days if the Southern wasn't being held at the same time. Of course, the shooters should provide a gun show with guns for sale.

B. Dudley · 03-16-2020, 06:41 PM

Thanks bill. I assumed that was the case since so few were made that I could not see them making a different frame for them. And a trap shooter would want a substantial feeling gun anyway.
But, I have never seen any of the 20s, though I knew some were made.