doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Parker or Winchester-21?

Hmmm. The 21 is worn and the Parker isn't. I guess he used the one he liked the best. The Duck grade is getting very rare also. If you duck hunted with him, which one did you see him use?....... Or maybe you could pick one and try to buy the other off of your cousin if you wanted. I did watch an older gent shooting skeet last Wednesday with a beautiful 20 gauge Parker and he didn't miss a bird while I was watching him. Tough choice. Then again, what will you use it for? If you are going to use it, I would go with the one that fits you best and handles the best.

I'd take the Parker. If you don't like your cousin, offer to buy the 21. Both are quality guns, but the Parker would be my pick, easily. JL

An early 21 or a Parker that is within about 2000 guns of the last Parkers made? Seems to be an easy choice to me. The Parker wins hands down in my opinion. It has all the attributes of an all around sxs for waterfowl, pheasants, SC and trap as well. If the chokes are too tight send it to Mike Orlen to turn it into a gun you will use for everything. A Parker that late should fit you well enough 'right out of the box'. Enjoy your new Parker and thank your uncle each time you use it.

Thanks for all the comments. The decision involved here was never about monetary value because this gun will remain in the family. At the moment I am leaning towards the Parker because of better fit and the great balance. There is also a 1937 catalog with the gun and information in the back pages shows a Parker with these options and high stock being setup for trap, but I'm sure it will work just fine on ducks, geese, and upland birds, I know my Uncle used it for all of the above.

I see no real disadvantage to the 32" barrels for the kind of shooting I do, and I would never open the f/f chokes. if I need open chokes for Skeet or close up work in heavy hunting cover, I have other guns for that type of shooting.

The Winchester 21 and Parker are both quality shotguns and I would like to own them both, but my cousin has already made it clear he has no interest in selling or trading the gun he receives.

The Parker fits very well, and that combined with the memory of a big smile on my Uncles face when he shot it is good enough for me. I don't know how many Winchester "Duck" model 21's were produced over the years, but I have a feeling there were probably far less Parker trap guns like this one made. Then again, I could be wrong, it's happened before.

Regards, 10-B

Your next quest is to send for a Research Letter from the Parker Gun Collector's Association. That booklet probably came with the gun when it was purchased or was picked up by him and inspired the purchase of the Parker.