sixteen | Dogs and Doubles

Good gun alert: 16g Parker DHE SxS, $4250 …

December 28, 2018 by Gregg

Parker DHE 16ga Side-by-Side Double Barrel Shotgun

“Fair price” and “Parker shotgun” aren’t words see near each other very often — especially when a Parker is a sixteen-gauge DHE. But from what I can see, that’s just how I would describe the SxS you see here.

This 16 gauge Parker DHE looks like it’s in decent shape. If that’s the case, $4250 is a very fair price for it.

The DHE was Parker’s entry-level, “custom gun” (meaning it had to be custom ordered from the factory) and the company considered it “The Best Gun Value of Which We Know.”

Parker DHE 16ga Side-by-Side Double Barrel Shotgun: This good condition Parker was manufactured in 1910, it has 2 1/2″ chambers and automatic ejectors. The barrel is 28″ choke improved modified/ modified. The LOP is 14 1/4, DAH is 2 7/8 and DAC is 1 3/4, weight is 6lb 14oz. The 14 1/4 LOP is to end of the pad and the gun is on a 1 frame. I do have a Parker Gun Club letter for the gun, it was ordered by the Tufts Lyons Arms Co. of Los Angeles Ca. on October 22, 1908.

The Hawkins recoil pad was added to the gun. There is still 95% finish on the barrel, looks to be original and 30% muted case color. The quality refinished wood has crisp checkering with small dings. The only issue that I know of is a repair on the forearm a small crack that was professionally repaired, you have to look for it. Price: $4250

Good gun alert: 16 gauge Winchester M21, 28″, double triggers…

July 27, 2017 by Gregg

Winchester Model 21 16 Gauge SxS, 28”, Double Triggers, Ejectors

When I first saw this side-by-side I though “Holy Sh!t”. While sixteen gauge Winchester Model Twenty Ones aren’t hard to find, ones with 28″ barrels, double triggers AND ejectors are rarer than Irish men named Ari.

Then I saw the gun’s wart: A buttstock with 3 5/8″ of drop in it. Whoever ordered it must have been built like a giraffe –or Twitter’s Jack Dorsey.

If you’ve always wanted a M21 set up like this and can deal with all the drop (or you don’t mind restocking it), go for it. If not, you can wait for the next one to pop up. But be forewarned: You’ll wait a L-O-N-G time.

Winchester Model 21 16 Gauge SxS, 28”, Double Triggers, Ejectors: Pistol Grip Stock Beavertail Forearm, 2 3/4″ chambers. Chokes are marked IMP CYL right, MOD left and measure .007 right and .013 left. Full length matte rib with dual silver beads. Bores are bright and shiny. Double triggers, automatic ejectors, non-automatic safety. Pistol grip stock checkered in two point pattern with a 14 3/4” length of pull to the front trigger over a red Winchester recoil pad. Beavertail forearm with roll type release checkered in “Kidney” pattern. Condition: Barrels retain 96% original bluing with wear at the muzzle and under the forearm. The receiver retains 95% original bluing with high point wear. The floorplate and trigger guard have been refinished and retain 100% bluing. The forend iron retains 96% original bluing. The stock and forearm retain most of their original finish with numerous handling marks. Drop at comb: 1 3/4”. Drop at heel: 3 5/8”. Weight: 7. lbs. Mechanics are good. Price:$6495

Auction alert: 16g Parker DHE SxS on a O frame…

March 14, 2016 by Gregg

16g Parker Brothers DHE SXS Double Barrel Shotgun, O Frame

Here’s one of the holy grails of grouse hunting. This 16 gauge Parker DHE was made on a O-sized frame. Add in its 26″ barrels, and I bet you have a shotgun that weighs 6.5lbs or even less.

Unlike VH- or GH-grades, DH-grade Parkers were strictly custom-ordered guns. Like all Parker shotguns, they came in a variety of barrel lengths and stock styles, and the guns were available on different sized actions. Sixteens were offered on three: Twos, the standard actions for 12gs, Ones, the standard actions for 16gs, and Zeroes, the standard action for 20 gauges.

So a 16 gauge Parker on an O-sized action essentially a 16g on a 20g frame. This makes these gun especially light, and that’s what makes grouse hunters covet them so much.

This 16g DHE is being offered at No Reserve on Gunbroker.com now, and the auction ends 3/24/2016 9:33:14 AM ET.

Parker Brothers DHE SXS Double Barrel Shotgun: Early 1911 16 Gauge 26″ Barrels All Correct and All Original Strong Original Blue on Barrels Small 0 Frame Action Beautiful Original Stock Finnish and Skeleton Butt Sharp Engraving.

Good gun alert: FAIR Model 600 16 gauge O/U…

April 2, 2012 by Gregg

True sixteen gauge over and under shotguns are tough to find. By “true” I mean O/Us with actions scaled for sixteen gauge barrels. When a 16-gauge O/U is built on a 12-gauge action, it looses these handling benefits and makes itself obsolete.

16 gauge FAIR Model 600 Over & Under Shotgun

This 16 gauge FAIR over-under is far from that. In fact, it’s a great double, a true step up from a 20, but lighter and quicker than a 12. FAIR shotguns were imported by New England Arms from about 1999-2005. I’ve seen a lot of them and most of them have been nice guns.

Passing on a 16 gauge Lefever FE shotgun…

March 15, 2012 by Gregg

Sixteen gauge Lefevers are hard to find. Real hard. All together, the Lefever Arms Co. made fewer than 7500 of them (Fox made 30,000+ double barrel shotguns in 16 gauge, Parker and L.C. Smith cranked out far more).

16 gauge Lefever FE double barrel shotgun

So I get excited when I see a 16 gauge Lefever like this one. At first glance, all that color and original finish gets my heart is racing. But then I take a closer look and my enthusiasm fades…

The problem is the stock. And the price. While the rest of the gun is original and least 100 years old, that butt stock is pretty darn new. The gun has been restocked, and while this isn’t a tragedy (the wood is nice, and the dimsnions are a shootable 14” x 1 5/8” x 2 ½”), it does kill the collectibility of the gun.

If the asking price was right, I would still like the gun. But at $7,300, I’m just not interested. That much would be OK if the stock was original. But since it’s not, the asking price is just too much.