How old was you when you bought your first Parkers ?

[Milton C Starr]

Originally Posted by Tom Hawkins

I bought my first Parker when I was 22. It was a 12 gauge DH titanic owed by one of my hunting mentors. My collection was enhanced by buying broken guns cheap, fixing them, and trading up mostly at the Tulsa Gun Shows. As I have aged, my interests have been on 16 ga Parker, Smith, and Ithaca, mostly mid grades with mostly damascus barrels. I have picked up a few Parkers that I thought were unique or special. My hammer guns phase has included the 14 and 16. Like Milton I always wanted a big gun because my grandad and great uncles had them. I looked for several years before I found a 4 frame B grade hammer 10. Many times I thought this gun will be the last one.

The big frames are my passion and you dont see them often , especially in a price range I could say was feasible . Sometimes you get lucky though and you find the right one or in my case It found me .


At 27 I often wonder by the time I get older if theres going to be any interesting old double collectors to talk to .

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Milton C Starr

At 27 I often wonder by the time I get older if theres going to be any interesting old double collectors to talk to .

Believe me, you will be one of the "interesting old double collectors" to perpetuate this passion soon enough.





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[Milton C Starr]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

Believe me, you will be one of the "interesting old double collectors" to perpetuate this passion soon enough.





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Haha , I was telling my little brother just the other day soon as my nephew gets big enough im going teach him about vintage doubles . At the rate hes growing it looks like hes going to be a big fellow someday so I think he will be able to shoot the #6 frame 10 gauge just fine .

[Bill Murphy]

I have a few Parkers and will buy more. The hard part is selling them. I don't have a Parker I don't like and hardly have one I don't like to shoot. I have shot competitive skeet and sporting clays since I was a teenager, got the big cards and won a few bucks. I shot all over Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia and some NSSA World Shoots in Georgia. Now I only shoot double guns for money, no matter what the game. I may not win much, but I'm shooting my Parkers. Our pigeon club is full of double gun guys, most of whom shoot side by sides in competition, win or lose. I bought my first Parker in 1960 when I was 14, a 28 gauge that I still have. I have every kind of double gun, but the Parker is king. I like big guns and I like little guns. Eights and .410s are my favorites, but I have everything else too. I would rather shoot a hammer gun and I do shoot them a lot. My favorite is Austin Hogan's old 32" #3 frame lifter 12. Ron Kirby found me a great .410 VHE skeet gun and I bought two great 32" smallbores on this forum. Our members have helped me a lot with my collection although I was buying Parkers long before the PGCA and for 38 years before we copied the records at Ilion. Imagine how hard it would be to write a big check for a Parker without a PGCA letter of documentation. Well, we did it.

[James L. Martin]

I have shot side x sides my whole life but my first Parker was bought March 2011, a 30 inch 20ga VHE, still have the gun and shoot it all the time. Since then I have bought at least one a year, last one was a 20ga DH. Before that I shot many side x sides but mostly Winchester model 21's and Fox Sterlingworth's ,but I have seen the light or at least some of it , now it's either a Parker or a model 21 most of the time. Hard to believe I have been hunting for about 56 years as I am now 71.

[Alan Phillips]

In November of 1976 I was shooting skeet with Bill Williams at the old Winchester trap and skeet club in Long Beach, California. There were a few shooters on station 7 on the field we intended to use. While waiting for them to finish I was drawn to the old gun one of the shooters was using. It looked and sounded like a very small sXs not usually encountered on a skeet field. When the squad finished and was walking off I approached the gentleman and asked about what I could now see was a Parker. He said it was a family gun and he only used it occasionally to shoot a round of skeet. Serial #241081. Straight stock, double triggers, original BT forend, 28" barrels bored ..004 and .003. and about 80% overall condition. I took a deep breath and asked if he would consider selling it. Without hesitation he replied yes but would accept not a penny less than $6000.00 for it and wanted cash. There was a branch of my bank just a few blocks away so off we went to close the deal. Upon returning to the gun club he handed me the Parker and I was astounded when he asked if I had any interest in the original case. Turned out it was a leg-o-mutton marked T.J.B. with the felt stockings. The grade of the little gun was a CHE. Good start to my Parker collection and a very lucky one.

[Milton C Starr]

Originally Posted by Bill Murphy

I have a few Parkers and will buy more. The hard part is selling them. I don't have a Parker I don't like and hardly have one I don't like to shoot. I have shot competitive skeet and sporting clays since I was a teenager, got the big cards and won a few bucks. I shot all over Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia and some NSSA World Shoots in Georgia. Now I only shoot double guns for money, no matter what the game. I may not win much, but I'm shooting my Parkers. Our pigeon club is full of double gun guys, most of whom shoot side by sides in competition, win or lose. I bought my first Parker in 1960 when I was 14, a 28 gauge that I still have. I have every kind of double gun, but the Parker is king. I like big guns and I like little guns. Eights and .410s are my favorites, but I have everything else too. I would rather shoot a hammer gun and I do shoot them a lot. My favorite is Austin Hogan's old 32" #3 frame lifter 12. Ron Kirby found me a great .410 VHE skeet gun and I bought two great 32" smallbores on this forum. Our members have helped me a lot with my collection although I was buying Parkers long before the PGCA and for 38 years before we copied the records at Ilion. Imagine how hard it would be to write a big check for a Parker without a PGCA letter of documentation. Well, we did it.

I have always wanted a 28 ga , now the 10 ga will probably always be my favorite . But theres just something interesting about a 28 ga . I wish Parker had made a damascus/twist barreled 28 ga .

This Parker is also my first American made sxs , the two other doubles I owned were Birmingham made guns .

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Milton C Starr

I have always wanted a 28 ga , now the 10 ga will probably always be my favorite . But theres just something interesting about a 28 ga . I wish Parker had made a damascus/twist barreled 28 ga.

I have one - a DHE with Damascus barrels, the only known Parker of any grade with 24”, 28 gauge Damascus barrels.

Robin Hollow has one for sale in high original condition with 28” barrels.





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[Bill Murphy]

Milton, stick with the tens. Tell us about the #6 frame ten you recently bought.

[Milton C Starr]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

I have one - a DHE with Damascus barrels, the only known Parker of any grade with 24”, 28 gauge Damascus barrels.

Robin Hollow has one for sale in high original condition with 28” barrels.





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That has to be one of the coolest small bore Parkers .
I dont think I have ever seen a Parker 28 with damascus barrels .