After looking at a few VH skeet guns from the Remington era on other sites, I think I was probably wrong about the stock having been replaced. I was not familiar with this particular checkering pattern on a VH, but it was certainly used. I do think the stock has been refinished, and the checkerer may not have been having his best day. Or perhaps the checkering was refreshed. Same for the inletting around the forend release. I also saw some with very nicely figured wood, certainly a lot nicer than my VH, but not nearly as nice as this example. However, I do have several Lefevers that have wood far exceeding what was "typical" for the grade. And I have a 7 m/m Spanish Mauser military rifle that has wood that belongs on a several thousand dollar custom rifle.
As noted by Mr. Dudley, I'm not a Parker guy, and needed to educate myself a bit before commenting. At least I know he isn't really IGNORING my posts. And obviously, I'm not a beavertail forearm guy, but that is a matter of personal taste. As for John's comment about being able to tell this stock was never removed from the gun... I do have a D.M. Lefever crossbolt gun that I would have sworn never had a screw turned anywhere. Screw heads are timed and perfect. But when I was reading an article about D.M. Lefever crossbolts in DGJ by Oregon gunsmith Keith Kearcher, I saw one disassembled with stock removed to show the innards. The serial number seemed familiar. I checked, and found that it was my gun. A good gunsmith can indeed disassemble a gun without any sign that it has been worked on.
