Well said, Sir. May you and your men "walk in God's shadow" while you are deployed in "The Sandbox". I also have no dog in this small bore fight, whether Parker, Fox or whatever. I am not a skeet or clays shooter, so don't get the "fascination" with the .410's. I read that John Olin, after seeing an Ernie Simmons version of a 20 bore M21 fitted with a set of .410 tubes (believe from a M37-sort of "mono-blocked" to fit the 20 gauge frame-order Dave Carlson to build one. Possibly had Mr. Simmons not been a skilled gunsmith with a tendancy to "experiment"- who knows. But it had to balance to speak of, and looked "weird" as compared to the sleek lines of the "Baby M12- the great M42". By the way, as the late Yankee's manager Casey "Stinky" Stengel once said, you can always look it up somewhere- si I did. Sporting Classics Jan/Feb 1985 issue, Jerry Warrington's article on the Model 21. I have never seen a .410 Parker or Ithaca, nor a M21 either. Many M42's- but I am a die-hard 12 gauge man, so I pass, even if I had the $ to "invest" in one.
Brian, it has been a long time since I have read anything that was so "right" about the gun dealing trade- a lot of "smoke and mirrors". I am surprised to see two major Parker dealers with lots of "Time In Grade" not mentioned here- Herschell Chadick (30 years) and Jack Puglisi (50). We all like the Wall St. "Wunderkind"- the late Bernie Baruch's advice- "Buy Low, Sell High"- not always a viable option.Just as "Freedom's Just Another Word--etc"- the old saying- you don't lose any money on an item you never sell rings true. If I had an authentic unaltered Parker .410 or even 28 gauge VHE, I would hand on to it and "ride out the economic storm" and not be too hasty to grab at the first offer. RWTF
