doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Appraiser for Parker bros shotgun

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

Actually, I believe Bill's only daughter Camilla (Nick may be her husband) owns and runs the business. I still speak with Bill on occasion, he set the standard for fair and honest gun dealing. I had two face to face transactions with Bill some years ago: (1) He sold a Hammer 12 bore Purdey with extra set of fitted barrels and case for me-at that time- 12% for high end consigment guns. He already had two buyers "in the wings"when I delivered it to him at the store in Findlay, adjacent to the Court House Bldg. in the downtown square. One week later I had a certified check- Bill sent my daughters to State College with that-Thank you Bill.

Several years later I "traded" a much altered Parker SBT for cash and a M12 Trap- there were many "gun sharks" there at Vandalia, but I went with Bill due to his reputation for honesty.
Whoever today is in charge of the operation, if I were going to consign a valuable gun to a known dealer, Jaqua would be my first and only choice. RWTF

Dean, you are most likely too honest to be a gun dealer. An astute collector-shooter, yes. If I were the gentleman with the VHE .410 I would take you up on your kind offer-as you meet the criteria set by the Chinese wiseman- ask of one who has no interest in trying to buy it, should it be for sale. Sorry to hear you are "tapped out", the economy has gone "in the crapper" but if you have funds, good guns are still a wise investment. RWTF

Thanks for the kind words RWTF.

"but if you have the funds, good guns are still a wise investment." is precisely the reason I am tapped out.

Foxy - You got it wrong again. Nick is Cam's stepson. She is rarely in the store