QUESTIONS FOR COLLECTORS

[mobirdhunter]

Originally Posted by Bill Holcombe

Oh I don't know squat about suctions. I just know what I have read. Regarding the askins border patrols. He modified and adjusted all of them they received while he was armorer. Some of the ones that can be linked to his time as armorer bring big bucks if still in correct condition. It probably also helps that many people don't seem to realize that col and maj askins are a son and fsther as opposed to one long lived individual.

As to the point on McIntosh, I have gotten a great deal of pleasure from his writings and while I could never afford it, I would love to own a parker that was his...or Rutledges or Buckinghams.

Just as I am certain Dean would rather own Burt Spiller's parker than a similar grade in factory mint condition?

Bill,

Very salient points made, and done so quite nicely. Oh, for Archibald Rutledge's Parker that his students gave him and that he hunted deer with around Hampton! And I'd almost forgotten Spiller's Parker...and Foster's "Little Gun," and so many other storied guns from the past.

So, if anyone asks me if I would value most an original Parker or one with lesser condition but with historic provenance, my answer is an unequivocal "yes!"

[mobirdhunter]

Originally Posted by John Campbell

Indeed. Those guns which have been owned by the various characters of history are, to me, the most valuable. Otherwise they are more or less commodities.

Thus, to ME, a gun modified by Askins is imbued with a story about the hands and times of a great shooter. It's a part of America's sporting heritage. More so than a perfect gun in pristine condition. To ME, perfect guns are merely a time capsule of production standards.

To cite but a few, I've owned double guns once in the collections of President Theodore Roosevelt and Sir Winston Churchill's father. They were far more than guns. They were tactile connections to great men and great times. Men who held these very guns in their storied hands. And they were not perfect. The guns, nor the men.

But they were HISTORY!

John,

Good to read another side to this issue, and I'm glad to see that other points of view are being posted.

Gosh, to own a gun from TR's collection would be quite an honor!

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Gary Carmichael Sr

I once was the owner of a V grade 12 gauge that was originally 30" It was 28" when I bought it The Parker letter said that it was sent back to have 2 inches cut off the barrels but what was interesting was Parker just cut the barrels no line on the rib, so if you find a gun with no line on the rib it may be factory work, just saying Gary

But did Parker Bros reset keels under the ribs and trim them properly or is there just lead solder under the ribs.

My money’s on the keels being properly reset and trimmed. That’s the difference between Parker Bros factory work and a ‘hack job’.






.

[Bill Murphy]

I don't know about the gun with the sideways letter, but I have been hunting the Askins ten gauge for years, and now I know what to look for. I know the serial number and now I know to look for the saw marks, barrels and stock. The Colonel was a cocky soldier and is the kind of guy who would slam his aluminum airline approved gun case onto the hood of his rental car at a shoot, doing hundreds of dollars of damage to the rental company. He would also saw the barrels off a gun he didn't pay for. However, I seem to remember that the ten gauge Parker belonged to the Captain. I will check back.

[Researcher]

While watching my University of Washington Huskies go down to defeat in the Rose Bowl, I was thumbing through The American Rifleman for 1935, and found a couple of good ads featuring Chas. Askins, Jr.

Western Cartridge Co. was fast and got this on the back cover of the August 1935, issue.

Charles Askins, Jr. August 1935, The American Rifleman.jpg

Colt's Patent Fire Arms Mfg. Co. was a bit slower and got this in the September 1935 issue.

Charles Askins, Jr. September 1935, The American Rifleman.jpg

I was looking at Chas. Askins, Sr. articles in the 1935 volume of The American Rifleman to see if he had anything similar there to the Outdoor Life column that started this thread. From the December 1934 issue to the July 1935 issue was a multi-part reminisce about his early duck shooting adventures in Illinois.

[mobirdhunter]

Neat stuff! I just saw a reference to Askins in another thread about long range doubles. I'm looking at his books again with some renewed interest.

[todd allen]

Good shotgun writing can come from surprising sources. Shotguns by Keith was a lot better read than I would have imagined.
When I think of Elmer Keith, I think of large caliber handguns, not shotguns.

[mobirdhunter]

Originally Posted by todd allen

Good shotgun writing can come from surprising sources. Shotguns by Keith was a lot better read than I would have imagined.
When I think of Elmer Keith, I think of large caliber handguns, not shotguns.

Todd,

Thanks for the recommendation. I must admit I've not read Keith's book on shotguns, thinking it would not offer much. I'll give it a try now based on your remarks. Another good excuse to hunt for a first edition!

[todd allen]

While you're on the search, "Hell, I was there", by Keith is a fun read.

[todd allen]

A little swerve back to the topic. I was at one of the bigger shoots in Vegas, some years back, and bought an old, highly modified GHE pigeon gun from one of the vendors, based on it's background, and previous owner. (You let on you want something, you're toast)
I was big on "ring" events, and the equipment used. I would have bought every vintage P-Gun that my meager budget would allow. I paid stupid money for the GHE, and would be lucky to get a % of my money back, but this gun brought me happiness, and even won a few events with it.
A list of mods;
Money Maker Rib
Custom beaver tail fore end
Soft Comb (which was the rage with the trap shooters)
Customized pistol grip
Sites (sp) barrel work
Miller Trigger