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< 16ga. Guns ~ Parker Trojan or VHE |
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Posted:
Mon Dec 25, 2023 4:01 pm
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Member
Joined: 24 May 2008
Posts: 56
Location: N. Idaho
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Hi Guys,
I need the groups expert input on this one.
Been a 16 ga guy a long time but mostly on the relatively inexpensive side, back when 16s were passé and my budget could only afford <$400 guns, i.e. 870s, 311s, a couple of bargains I found on Sweet 16s, and one Baker Black Beauty with a split wrist in the stock that I keep thinking of getting fixed. As I got older and my budget allowed, I picked up a Citori White Lightning, so the others don't get out much anymore.
Now I have a chance to buy one of two Parkers at "brother-in-law" prices. Both are 16s in size 1 frames with 28 in barrels with good wood and metal condition. The difference is the Trojan has been re-blued and is at $900, while the VHE has lost all its original case coloring on the action and is at $2700. My gut tells me to go with the VHE--but it will take some refinish work and I'm not sure the ejectors and dog head on the butt plate are worth the extra $1800 (though I will admit the dog head is very appealing). Neither gun will get much use unless it really outdoes the Citori; I mostly want one for the nostalgia and "cool" factor, and it will keep the guns in the family.
Which would you go with?
Thanks in advance. |
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Posted:
Mon Dec 25, 2023 5:21 pm
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Joined: 25 Jan 2014
Posts: 232
Location: MN
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Since it is Christmas, I say buy both and gift one. |
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Posted:
Mon Dec 25, 2023 5:39 pm
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Member
Joined: 15 Apr 2007
Posts: 9472
Location: Amarillo, Texas
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Get the one with the most open chokes
Mike
I would buy the Trojan as it does NOT have ejectors and will
be easier to open and close |
_________________
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USAF RET 1971-95 |
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Posted:
Mon Dec 25, 2023 6:23 pm
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Joined: 17 Oct 2019
Posts: 456
Location: New Jersey
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I have a Trojan 16, one of my favorite shotguns and $900 is a steal of a deal as is the VHE. I personally (if I had the money) would go for the VHE. Only because, well it’s a VHE, not a Trojan. Both will serve you well however. But in all seriousness, buy the one that fits you best. |
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Posted:
Mon Dec 25, 2023 7:50 pm
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Joined: 26 Apr 2010
Posts: 3184
Location: NCWa
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I bought a VHE from Doggai a few years back and I've never regretted it. It's a great gun, although it is on an 0 frame so is slightly lighter than a 1 frame. I don't have any experience with Trojans so can't give a comparison. |
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Posted:
Tue Dec 26, 2023 2:45 am
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Joined: 17 Oct 2019
Posts: 456
Location: New Jersey
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The O frame Parker 16 is a Holy Grail gun in every sense. |
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Posted:
Tue Dec 26, 2023 2:45 am
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Joined: 17 Oct 2019
Posts: 456
Location: New Jersey
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Holy Grail grouse gun that is. |
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Posted:
Sun Jan 07, 2024 5:06 pm
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Joined: 12 Sep 2010
Posts: 1975
Location: Maine
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2700 is not a brother-in-law price for a 16 ga VHE on a 1 frame. It might be a good price for a DHE on a 1 frame. But your description of this VHE's condition tells me a good price for a VHE might be in the 1300-1700 range.
900 for the Trojan is a good price and you should jump on it. To put it in perspective, in 2015 I had to have the ribs relaid and the barrels reblued on my 20 ga Trojan. DelGrego did the work. Not counting shipping, that cost me almost $200 for the ribs and another $600 for the blue job. If this gun has been properly reblued such that the rib solder is not affected (i.e., not a hot blue job but rather a rust blue), at 900 you're getting the gun for $300 or so.
The two guns are likely to handle about the same. If you can't tell the difference with your eyes closed (the old blind taste test...), if I were in your shoes I'd go with the Trojan. |
_________________ “A man’s rights rest in three boxes: the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.”
Frederick Douglass, November 15, 1867, speech in Williamsport, Pa. |
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Posted:
Mon Jan 08, 2024 9:59 am
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Member
Joined: 06 Aug 2004
Posts: 2175
Location: Kansas High Plains
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I have a 16ga Trojan and that's about what I paid for mine some years ago. While I still favor my Foxes, the Trojan has been a great gun and accounted for my only true pheasant double. When you say the Trojan has been re-blued, do you mean the barrels or the action; action would have been case-colored originally. Also, if the barrels, how were they blued? Some processes can result in rust or loose ribs eventually. I do prefer the frame profile in the graded Parkers over the Trojan but as you say: maybe not worth $1800. JMO. |
_________________ I feel a warm spot in my heart when I meet a man whiling away an afternoon...and stopping to chat with him, hear the sleek lines of his double gun whisper "Sixteen." - Gene Hill, Shotgunner's Notebook |
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