John, I imagine many of us have to go through the same process before finding THAT GUN. And there is no way to tell before actually taking it to the field. Parker’s can surprise a feller. I love them but surprisingly enough my $400 Lefever G 12 seems to have a lot of the magical whatever it is. And I have a “low class” Parker Trojan that comes close. But the one that tops them all is a Sauer sidelock from about 1895 that I literally fell into. A friend bought it on Gunbroker and for some reason was going to return it but I liked the way it handled and ended up with it. Have never handled any gun that fit me so well and is so perfectly balanced for me! And icing on the cake is it’s only a notch away from new condition.

My! what a long journey it can be to find just the right gun! Congratulations on finally reaching it.