(Warning: Long and boring)
My wife and I were trying to kill an hour before a meeting yesterday, so we stopped by a fairly new to me gunshop on the other side of town. We weren't looking for anything at all.
She wanders off to look at something. I notice a SXS double hanging on the pegs back of the counter. It has a very distinctive hinge pin that just screams "Parker" to me.
I ask to see it. It is in very nice condition, but obviously has been refinished. It's just too nice. The clerk seems to know nothing about it. I hand it back before I get too attached to it.
My wife walks back up and asks what I was looking at. I tell her, she asks to see it. Clerk hands it back. (This is bad. It has now been in my hands twice.) I show it to her, tell her what I can tell about it, which other than being a 12 ga Parker Trojan isn't much. I do a quick google search on my phone. S/N indicates it was made in 1921. I hand it back again.
Then the owner walks up. My wife asks him about it. It comes across the counter again. This is now the dreaded "third trip." He tells us it is a refinish, but is in very good mechanical condition. I could tell that by the bank vault "CLUNK" it made when the action closed. It is a 12 ga, 2 3/4" Chambers, 28" barrels, Modified/Full choke. The bores are bright and shiny. It just jumps to my shoulder like it was made for me.
My wife says "Why not get it if you like it?" I tell her "It's expensive." She looks to the owner. He reads some numbers on the tag then does some magic with the computer.
"I can let it go for "XXX". Not a huge discount, but it's something. I have a weak spot for a Parker Shotgun because my grandfather had one when I was a kid (His was a 20). I have always wanted one, had one briefly a few years ago, but it was in rough condition, so I didn't mind selling it when I was out of work and needed the money. My wife knows this.
She asks..."Do you have layaway?" "Sure we do" the owner replies. I give up at this point. I know it's a lost battle. That third time across the counter does it every time.
Sorry, I didn't get a decent picture of it before it got hauled off to the layaway bin in back.
I got no real idea what I'm going to do with it other than wipe it off with an oily rag once in a while, and maybe remember "PaPa" from time to time. I don't hunt much anymore, but maybe I can wrangle a day in a dove field this fall.
My wife and I were trying to kill an hour before a meeting yesterday, so we stopped by a fairly new to me gunshop on the other side of town. We weren't looking for anything at all.
She wanders off to look at something. I notice a SXS double hanging on the pegs back of the counter. It has a very distinctive hinge pin that just screams "Parker" to me.
I ask to see it. It is in very nice condition, but obviously has been refinished. It's just too nice. The clerk seems to know nothing about it. I hand it back before I get too attached to it.
My wife walks back up and asks what I was looking at. I tell her, she asks to see it. Clerk hands it back. (This is bad. It has now been in my hands twice.) I show it to her, tell her what I can tell about it, which other than being a 12 ga Parker Trojan isn't much. I do a quick google search on my phone. S/N indicates it was made in 1921. I hand it back again.
Then the owner walks up. My wife asks him about it. It comes across the counter again. This is now the dreaded "third trip." He tells us it is a refinish, but is in very good mechanical condition. I could tell that by the bank vault "CLUNK" it made when the action closed. It is a 12 ga, 2 3/4" Chambers, 28" barrels, Modified/Full choke. The bores are bright and shiny. It just jumps to my shoulder like it was made for me.
My wife says "Why not get it if you like it?" I tell her "It's expensive." She looks to the owner. He reads some numbers on the tag then does some magic with the computer.
"I can let it go for "XXX". Not a huge discount, but it's something. I have a weak spot for a Parker Shotgun because my grandfather had one when I was a kid (His was a 20). I have always wanted one, had one briefly a few years ago, but it was in rough condition, so I didn't mind selling it when I was out of work and needed the money. My wife knows this.
She asks..."Do you have layaway?" "Sure we do" the owner replies. I give up at this point. I know it's a lost battle. That third time across the counter does it every time.
Sorry, I didn't get a decent picture of it before it got hauled off to the layaway bin in back.
I got no real idea what I'm going to do with it other than wipe it off with an oily rag once in a while, and maybe remember "PaPa" from time to time. I don't hunt much anymore, but maybe I can wrangle a day in a dove field this fall.
She is a huge enabler! 
In fact, I can't even tell her about any outstanding deals I've found but couldn't afford due to the risk that she'll go out and buy it for me. 
Or, more accurately, she'll buy it for herself given all of our crazy restrictive moonbat laws.
