Parker Gun Collectors Association Forums  

Go Back   Parker Gun Collectors Association Forums Announcement, Help & Introduction Forums New User Introductions

Notices

Reply
Thread Tools Display Modes
New member from South Florida
Unread 09-20-2022, 09:41 PM   #1
Member
Robert Luttgen
PGCA Member

Member Info
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
Posts: 11
Thanks: 2
Thanked 23 Times in 5 Posts

Default New member from South Florida

Hello everyone. My name is Robert Luttgen, and I am a new member from Key Biscayne, Florida. I am not a collector, but rather the proud owner of a 1917 Grade 1, Parker PH with “Parker Steel” barrels. It is a 12 gauge in the 1 1/2 frame size, with a barrel weight of 3-9. There is a repair to the wood behind the right barrel - my guess is from a pierced/failed primer. It was my father’s only shotgun until he finally passed it on to me. While probably not of high value to a collector, it has a priceless family history that you might find interesting.

My father actually brought the Parker home from Japan at the end of WWII as a “souvenir of war” (sounds odd, doesn’t it). You see he was in command of an LCT (Landing Craft Tank) which was, as the name implies, big enough to deliver two tanks to the beach during the war in the Pacific. And like so many others, he down-played his role in the war, not really wanting to talk about his time spent island-hopping across the Pacific. As a kid I only knew that his LCT was the first landing craft to actually “hit the beach” in Tokyo Bay; bringing in the first Marines for the occupation of Japan.

After the Japanese surrender, the Emperor had ordered all of his citizens to surrender their personal weapons to the American occupying forces. And being dutiful to the Emperor, they complied without question. A neighborhood would be told when to place their weapons (mostly military firearms) in the road. The Marines then arrived in their “deuce and a half’s” to pick everything up and haul it back to the Navy; who then dumped everything into Tokyo Bay. And of course Marines being Marines (God bless them), they would separate out anything of value to keep for themselves, or to sell to the sailors on the ships for cigarettes and/or whisky. My father didn’t smoke, but kept his cigarette ration anyway for “trading”. So for two cartons of cigarettes and a bottle of whisky, he became the proud owner of the Parker, a Remington double that I now realize might have been a “Remington Parker”, and three Japanese Ariska rifles, bayonets included (I still shoot the then new 6.5x50 type 44, which Dad had “sporterized”).

So, how did a Parker end up in Japan you might ask? Well, the Japanese did not have a sporting arms industry - everything was centered around the production of military weapons. My father said that almost all of the sporting arms that the Marines confiscated were of American manufacture. In reality, only the local nobility were allowed the pleasure of hunting for sport. The stock on our Parker had been shortened to accommodate a smaller man, and I believe that the wooden buttplate currently on the gun is the only part that is not original.

My father gave the Remington double to his father-in-law, and I grew up shooting it on the farm in Kansas more than the Parker. I believe that I preferred the Remington’s straight English-style “wrist” to the pistol grip on the Parker. Unfortunately this Remington was stolen years later along with the two 7.7 Ariskas, and several other guns including a Winchester Model 41 from the 1920’s which had been my father’s first shotgun, and then mine.

The Parker has seen a lot of use, so we sort of “retired” it years ago. I would like to start shooting it again, but only after a knowledgable gunsmith gives it a little tender loving care. I am happy with the cosmetics of the gun so I am not sure that “restoration” is the correct word. But I am looking for someone who can thoroughly work over its mechanics, so that I can safely use it on a regular basis without worry. This gun should be hunted, not just looked at. So if you can recommend a true Parker specialist that can give this sweetheart a new lease on life (preferably not too many states away from Florida), I would greatly appreciate it.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Parker 1.jpg (501.8 KB, 31 views)
Robert Luttgen is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 7 Users Say Thank You to Robert Luttgen For Your Post:
Unread 09-20-2022, 10:00 PM   #2
Member
Jim DiSpagno
Forum Associate

Member Info
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 1,840
Thanks: 5
Thanked 2,559 Times in 773 Posts

Default

Bill Schwarz in Elijah Georgia.
Jim DiSpagno is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Jim DiSpagno For Your Post:
Unread 09-21-2022, 12:39 PM   #3
Member
Gerald McPherson
PGCA Member

Member Info
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 830
Thanks: 428
Thanked 536 Times in 245 Posts

Default

Bill is the man for you and your Parker. 706 276 7668 is his number.
Gerald McPherson is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to Gerald McPherson For Your Post:
Unread 09-21-2022, 12:44 PM   #4
Member
Harold Pickens
PGCA Member
 
Harold Lee Pickens's Avatar

Member Info
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 3,624
Thanks: 2,121
Thanked 7,773 Times in 2,006 Posts

Default

Welcome Robert, and great story. Glad you appreciate its history and keeping it in the family.
__________________
"How kind it is that most of us will never know when we have fired our last shot"--Nash Buckingham
Harold Lee Pickens is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09-21-2022, 01:12 PM   #5
Member
Robert Luttgen
PGCA Member

Member Info
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
Posts: 11
Thanks: 2
Thanked 23 Times in 5 Posts

Default

Thanks for all the replies - I can't tell you how much information I have already received about this particular Parker.

But first of all, membership does have its advantages. So for all you 'lurkers' out there: I find that there is great value here - well worth the cost of membership.

Finally, I just received an email with my "Parker Research Letter" - best $42 that I spent in a long time. Chuck Bishop does an incredible service! And one word in the Parker order book stands out: "Yokohama". Yes, it appears that my Parker was shipped to Japan on March 14, 1918 as part of a larger order which included 5 GH's with Damascus barrels, 3 PH guns with Parker Steel barrels, and 2 VH's. Great work Mr. Bishop! I can't thank you enough.
Robert Luttgen is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 7 Users Say Thank You to Robert Luttgen For Your Post:
Unread 09-21-2022, 01:31 PM   #6
Member
Andy
PGCA Member

Member Info
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 1,824
Thanks: 252
Thanked 2,415 Times in 952 Posts

Default

That's a fantastic story Robert. Would love a few more close up photos.
__________________
Nothing ruins your Friday like finding out it's only Tuesday
Andrew Sacco is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09-21-2022, 01:32 PM   #7
Member
Andy
PGCA Member

Member Info
 
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 1,824
Thanks: 252
Thanked 2,415 Times in 952 Posts

Default

How come there's snow on the ground in Key Biscayne??
__________________
Nothing ruins your Friday like finding out it's only Tuesday
Andrew Sacco is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09-21-2022, 01:33 PM   #8
Member
mobirdhunter
PGCA Lifetime
Member
 
Garry L Gordon's Avatar

Member Info
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 4,650
Thanks: 13,085
Thanked 9,471 Times in 3,042 Posts

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert Luttgen View Post
Thanks for all the replies - I can't tell you how much information I have already received about this particular Parker.

But first of all, membership does have its advantages. So for all you 'lurkers' out there: I find that there is great value here - well worth the cost of membership.

Finally, I just received an email with my "Parker Research Letter" - best $42 that I spent in a long time. Chuck Bishop does an incredible service! And one word in the Parker order book stands out: "Yokohama". Yes, it appears that my Parker was shipped to Japan on March 14, 1918 as part of a larger order which included 5 GH's with Damascus barrels, 3 PH guns with Parker Steel barrels, and 2 VH's. Great work Mr. Bishop! I can't thank you enough.
What a wonderful history for your gun, Robert.
__________________
“Every day I wonder how many things I am dead wrong about.”
― Jim Harrison
"'I promise you,' he said, 'on my word of honor, I won't die on the opening of the bird season.'" -- Robert Ruark (from The Old Man and the Boy)
Garry L Gordon is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09-21-2022, 01:53 PM   #9
Member
Robert Luttgen
PGCA Member

Member Info
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
Posts: 11
Thanks: 2
Thanked 23 Times in 5 Posts

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Sacco View Post
How come there's snow on the ground in Key Biscayne??
You haven't heard? Global warming!
Robert Luttgen is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 09-21-2022, 10:30 PM   #10
Member
Robert Luttgen
PGCA Member

Member Info
 
Join Date: Sep 2022
Posts: 11
Thanks: 2
Thanked 23 Times in 5 Posts

Default

Parker 2.jpg

Parker 5.jpg

Parker 7.jpg

Parker 8.jpg

Parker 9.jpg

Parker 10.jpg

Parker 12.jpg

Parker 13.jpg
Robert Luttgen is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 7 Users Say Thank You to Robert Luttgen For Your Post:
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:19 AM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright © 1998 - 2023, Parkerguns.org
Copyright © 2004 Design par Megatekno
- 2008 style update 3.7 avec l'autorisation de son auteur par Stradfred.