The old days

[Phil Yearout]

I haven't been at this nearly as long as most of y'all; my first ever double gun came from a flea market - a 16ga Stevens 5100 which I still have. I can think of two shotguns and several rifles that I bought at gun shows, and two shotguns from gun shops. The rest all came from folks on the web sites, either by referral or from inquiries I placed, and usually from folks I knew or at least had seen on these sites a lot. I've never bought a gun off a classified or a web site, and I'm not sure I ever want to.

[Kevin Finnerty]

Ah, Gunlist The Good Old Days... Before the Evils of The Internet

Life was simpler, a touch slower, And most of all more personal

My best guns came from my true friend and Mentor, one Wiley Bower

A fine West Virginia ex pat

....Living in a small town in Northeast Ohio

He had a lifelong interest in Parkers and deep connections, likely going back

to the mid 1950’s

A true southern gentleman

A Dedicated grouse hunter, with an exceptional English Setter by his side

He lived the part.

It was a simpler time

I am better for knowing Wiley

Rest In Peace my friend

[6pt-Sika]

I met an older gentleman about twenty years ago he used to frequent the shops in my area . He was big into period single shot rifles . His two fav cartridges were the 22 Hornet and R2 Lovell . Anyway he showed me five or six guns he’d bought out of the classified adds in the Washington Post . All were Ballard , Stevens or Sharps based guns and all came with pretty much hand made shooting kits (mold powder measure priming tool etc) . Granted this was stuff he bought in the 50’s and 60’s . Guy was a big time groundhog hunter , he and the Clark brother that ignited himself while welding on top a keg of black powder on the back porch of Clark Brothers Gunshop in Warrenton VA hunted groundhogs together from a specially rigged flat fender jeep .

[Bill Murphy]

Scott Hanes, I don't know about the Rich Wingle sale. Tell us about it. I knew Rich well, saw him at shows buying guns even after he was ill.

[John Allen]

Rich Wingle was diagnosed with terminal cancer. He owned several hundred fine double guns. He started liquidating them to all of his gun trading friends at really cheap prices. He showed up at the Louisville show and sold over 30 Parkers while confined to a wheelchair. I had sold him a few guns in previous years. He wheeled up to my table and sold me a 12 gauge DHE for $600. He got rid of most all of his guns before he passed.

[Bill Jolliff]

Rich Wingle made it to the NE Classic at Ernie's, maybe about 4 or 5 or 6 years ago?

He was in a wheelchair then and greeted his old friends.

A nice surprise seeing him but somewhat depressing seeing him wheelchair bound.

[Bill Murphy]

I last saw Rich at Allentown. He was in the final stages, but he wrote a check for a high dollar gun, can't remember what it was. He just couldn't quit.

[J. Scott Hanes]

Bill,
The ad I remember in SN was brought to my attention by Art Wheaton in about 1990, when he came in to the corporate offices in Wilmington, DE. I had arrived there in 1988 after working for Art in sales in Ohio from 1985-1987. Tim McCormack, the Remington Custom Shop manager was good friends with Rich Wingle, too, and we got Wingle's phone number from him.
I had my eye on a VHE Skeet 20 in the ad. There must have been 50 guns in the ad! We called on it from Art's office but it was already sold. There was also a 12 ga,26", SST, PG, Checkered butt Skeet gun in the ad which I purchased. Probably between $1500-2000 in those days. I hunted Grouse with that gun a few years, killing a few poplar trees by sawing them in half with that "chopper", as we dubbed it, and several grouse. I since sold it to another Remington man who still has it.
That 12 gauge, even with 26" barrels got to be a load in the woods after a few hours! Now I like the 20's much better!

[J. Scott Hanes]

Another source for Parkers, besides the great Herschel Chaddick, was Jaqua's. I have a 1992 paper list from them that is legal size paper and has 16 pages of mostly Trap guns but at least half in hunting and a couple pages of double guns. They mailed monthly in those days.

[Bill Jolliff]

I got a nice Parker from Bill Jaqua in 1974 at the OGCA show in Columbus.

CHE 12-gauge, 28" M and F, SN 198040 with a number 1 frame. Weighed 6 pounds 7 ounces.