doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com An oddball Parker, but desirable?

I came across a gun locally that I think must be pretty unique. It books as a:
VH- 12ga
Straight stock
Beavertail fore end
26" tubes
single trigger
ejectors

Now I can't imagine there were many guns ordered with these specs, right? That said, I can't say I'm interested in owning a gun like this. So do you guys ever buy guns because they are unique, or do you just buy guys that you think you will enjoy shooting?

If it is all original, yes there were not many made like that. Sounds like a skeet gun. As far as your question as to "why", my answer is yes. I buy guns that are unique and that I'll enjoy shooting.

Agree with eeb that it sounds like a skeet gun. If you can date it by the SN and it's late 20's or 30's, chances are pretty good that the individual who ordered it had skeet in mind.

A VH in that configuration would be very scarce, possibly unique. I would rather find a unique or unusual Parker than one I can shoot well. I have all the Parker shooters I will ever need. The one I shoot the most is a worn VH I purchased for $400 and I would lose money if I sold it.

If the gun has ejectors it is a VHE-Grade. Parker Bros. and later the Remington Parker probably did more unique things in order to satisfy a customer's requests then any other American company. If the gun in question is a Remington era Skeet Gun the chokes would be marked on the barrel flats as "Skeet In" and "Skeet Out". Also, the catalogue specs for a Parker Skeet Gun called for a bare wood checkered butt in the VHE- and GHE-Grades.

A friend who was a pilot in my squadron and later a Secret Service agent had a 12-gauge VHE-Grade with all the features of a late Remington Parker Skeet gun but it was choked full and fuller?!?

One, of the many guns I've always kicked myself for not buying, was a plain 12-gauge, VH-Grade, double trigger, full pistol grip, slim forearm gun, but with the one option of a ventilated rib! Saw it at the Rose City gun show maybe 30 years ago.

If it "books" as a VH...etc. it seems that you looked up the serial number in the Serialization Blue Book. Why are you withholding this most important vital statistic?

As to a "VH" Skeet Gun with SST, BTFE, 26-inch bbls, and SG...I wish my 1936 Rem./Parker VHE Skeet Gun didn't have the "E" for ejectors. If the un-serial-numbered "VH" is, in fact, a factory standard Skeet Gun without ejectors it would be rare, because the average American always was (and is) charmed by useless bells and whistles, chrome fins on cars, and in today's vernacular: BLING.

It seems to me that the last thing a skeet shooter needs on a purpose-built skeet gun is a delicate, complicated, prone to failure and hard to repair dual-sear spring-loaded-system to distribute spent shells on the ground where somebody has to pick them up, usually the owner if he reloads his own shells. I'm thinking of disabling the ejectors on my 80% original Skeet Gun: Will that make it a VH?

Investigation continues. EDM

OMG Ed, DON'T DO THAT! As you know, you'd destroy the gun's originality and any collector value---you'll never be able to sleep at night.

Years ago when I was shooting a lot of Skeet my primary shotgun was an Ithaca SKB over/under with ejectors. I just put my hand over the chambers and "caught" the empties which,at least to me, was easier than fishing them out of an extractor gun. Am I the only one who doesn't see ejectors as a problem?
N.B: I also felt I was way ahead of the Remington 1100 owners what always had to pick up their empties.

Jim

I don't see what's so unique about it. It seems like almost every Julia Auction has a gun that fits that description. Not common, but certainly can't be one of a kind.

Any Parker in Good condition seems to be highly valued these days. It seems rare enough that it's worth having especially if it's in good shape.