What makes a skeet gun a skeet gun?

[J.B. Books]

Is it the combination of options; BTFE, ejectors, SST, non automatic safety, 'usually" a straight grip and "usually" a checked butt on V and G's or is it the stampings on the barrel flats of "Skeet In" and "Skeet Out"? I.E. is it a factory Skeet gun if it has the features but lacks the barrel stamps, in my mind no. Nice looking gun though.

http://www.gunsinternational.com/Par...n_id=100181664

[Bill Murphy]

I won't comment on whether an unmarked Skeet configured gun is a "Skeet Gun". I think you know the answer to that one. However, there are more skeet in-skeet out marked guns than ever left the factory that way. Larry Del Grego would apply that mark, as I recall. His created skeet guns are very close to factory including conversions to factory style forends with rod.

[Michael K. Burnley]

I might be sticking my foot where the food is supposed to go, but I wouldn't call a gun with IC/Full barrels the ideal skeet gun. Just because of the chokes. The one listed above says it is choked that way. Mike

[Dean Romig]

This may be an exercise in hair-splitting, but here goes...

The game of "shooting 'round the clock" (later the field was redesigned because a neighbor's livestock was coming under indiscriminate shot fall), later (1929) to be named "Skeet", was being developed in the teens and was perfected in the mid-twenties and was catching on pretty well in the ranks of upland shooters. During the years before Parker Bros. made the decision to offer a dedicated 'Skeet Gun' a number of guns were ordered with certain features, including more open chokes, to be used specifically for quail, grouse and woodcock and the game of Skeet.
The Parker Story addresses the introduction of the first dedicated skeet guns but I don't believe choke stampings of "Skeet In" and "Skeet Out" are necessarily the only way to truly define a skeet gun.
William Harnden Foster, "father of skeet" shot open choked Parkers all during the development phases of the game of skeet and even well after the game was renamed and may not ever have owned a Parker stamped with Skeet In and Skeet Out on the barrel flats.

[Bill Murphy]

I wonder if the very earliest guns that show skeet characteristics and may be described as skeet guns in the stock books possibly DO NOT have the skeet choke markings? Of course, some approved researcher would have to gain access to our stock book copies. Who can post what they consider a very early skeet choke marked serial number. My earliest is 236,868. Maybe our resident skeet gun collector would post his earliest serial number. In the Serialization Book, the option code for skeet configuration is "14". The earliest 26" gun with option code 14 is #235,944. The next "14" that is not a .410 is #236,029. I will discount the .410s because they may or not be skeet guns. My opinion is that .410 skeets may not be skeet choked regardless of how they are marked. I would be interested to know whether skeet configured and skeet choked Parkers in the early 236,000 range have skeet in and skeet out markings or not.

[10 bore]

i think the skeet out(tight choke)is the right and open choke( skeet in) is on the left so the chokes are on the opposite sides. mybe thyat makes it a skeet gun scott

[J.B. Books]

Looking at the serial number of the gun for sale it is in the serial number range where the skeet in, skeet out markings were in use for factory built specifically defined/advertised skeet gun. However it looks a lot like a "skeet gun".

In my mind a true "skeet" gun would be factory marked with those choked designations. Scotts former VHE was choked full and full and was marked skeet in and skeet out so a full choke would not be reason to not stamp the barrels, would it?

I don't think the gun in question is a "factory skeet gun" technically speaking.
However the purpose of what a gun is ordered for can be different than how Parker marketed a gun.

Scott does have good point, all factory skeet guns I have seen had the open barrel, skeet in on the left which would be another defining feature.

[10 bore]

Originally Posted by Pete Lester

Looking at the serial number of the gun for sale it is in the serial number range where the skeet in, skeet out markings were in use for factory built specifically defined/advertised skeet gun. However it looks a lot like a "skeet gun".

In my mind a true "skeet" gun would be factory marked with those choked designations. Scotts former VHE was choked full and full and was marked skeet in and skeet out so a full choke would not be reason to not stamp the barrels, would it?

I don't think the gun in question is a "factory skeet gun" technically speaking.
However the purpose of what a gun is ordered for can be different than how Parker marketed a gun.

Scott does have good point, all factory skeet guns I have seen had the open barrel, skeet in on the left which would be another defining feature.

left f/f on the shelf until somone put in an order for gun and choke

[Dean Romig]

A very good point Scott. A lot of Parkers left the factory configured differently from their originally manufactured configuration.

[C.O.B.]

In Ed Muderlaks last book he shows a VHE 20 in high condition that he sold as a skeet gun. It's got all the features of a skeet gun and open chokes but it's not marked skeet in/out on the barrel flats. In PA I looked at a very nice VH 20 with all the features of a skeet gun including the markings on the barrel but it is a Del Grego refinish which made me skeptical and there were no ejectors. My VHE 16 skeet gun has chokes of .010 in each barrel, a DHE 12 skeet marked gun had .015 of choke. Parker would do what the customer wanted and if it has all the features of a skeet gun than to me it's a skeet gun. No one seems to question the viability of a trap gun because it's not F/F, skeet guns don't need to be .003 & .005 (the choke of a GHE 12 skeet I have) to be a skeet gun.

I saw the gun in question at the Southern and its a great gun at a fair price.