Help me out with my new dilemma.
I'm not keeping both- but I have two solid candidates for a new Grouse/Woodcock gun.
Let's assume I shoot both equally well, and they're choked nearly the same, Light IC/Tight Mod

Which one to keep, which one to let go. Also assume cost is not a factor, but long term delight, collectibility, etc etc.

20 Bore Superposed Superlight Centennial (engraved)27" U/O
3" chambers, 6lbs, single trigger, straight stock (and no, it's not part of a set, I just have the 20ga)

20 Bore Parker Repro, SST, 26" Bbl, 2 3/4' chambers, 6lbs 9oz (feels like less in the hand), straight stock
(no trigger or choke issues on this one)

Which one is going to stand up to getting knocked around the woods, stepped on by the dog, dinged into trees on that crosser, and just be fun to shoot?


I'm leaning towards the Parker, because for some reason the feel of a small double is a bit more instinctive to me in tight woods. But it's a fun post. SO let's hear it....

My vote is for the Parker.

Being a dyed-in-the-wool Parker guy, I would vote to keep the Parker. However, my preference would be the same gun but in 28 gauge and double triggers..... But keep the Parker.

I'd keep something real, not a repro of something.

I’d be keeping the superposed.

If you have a Parker Repro 20ga that weighs just over 6#, you may have found the lightweight champ. (The one I own currently--also a SST 26" Repro--checks in at 6/10 on my postal scale.) Olin Kodensha did a very nice job of keeping the weight down on the 28ga Repros, and even the 12ga Repros if you compare them to classic American 12ga sxs. But not so good on the 20ga Repros. And although I'm strongly biased in the direction of sxs vs OU, I've handled several 20ga Superposed Superlights that have tempted me to try one out on woods birds.

bird guns are carried more than shot...

weight is the most important factor...

a six pound gun is a joy to carry...

a seven pound gun can be a burden...

I have an older Beretta BL4 20 gauge 28" that I usually end up taking out. I just shoot it better than most any other bird gun in my battery. Just like the proverbial "Old Boots" no thinking just bring it up and shoot!

When it comes to a pound or two of weight it's all in your head Ed...it was put there by some bogus outdoor writer that needed something to write about.

I'd go with the Superposed.

Not clear from your post---If you currently own both, you'll eventually regret getting rid of either one. If you are going to buy one, I'd go with what John Moses designed. Gil

I had a Browning 20 ga superposed lightning, 28" choked the same as yours at 6 lb 3 oz. It was a bird killing machine.

I found a really nice Bernardelli 12ga sxs with 25" barrels at 5
lb 15 oz choked IC and IM, I shoot the same 1 oz loads. The Browning went down the road and the Bernardelli is my goto upland shotgun now.

I have owned both and in the woods the Parker is my choice.
bill

Appreciate the input!

I did go double check, and that Parker Repro comes in at 6lbs 9oz. Sure Seems like less!
The Superposed is out for a stock bend, so I can't weight it right now.
And to answer a previous question, yes, both are in the gun safe, but one needs to go!

Yours is a decision that cannot be quantified and cannot be made rationally. It's an emotional choice. Make that choice yourself. Don't rely on borrowed opinions.

Ithaca...
Yours is a decision that cannot be quantified and cannot be made rationally. It's an emotional choice. Make that choice yourself. Don't rely on borrowed opinions...

Thanks for the thoughts. I'm having fun with the discussion...I'm not here to follow blindly what others say. I do appreciate your idea and input. We're here on this board to talk about doubles, and I wanted to get some ideas and input for the sake of discussion and banter. I'd go to the bar and start the same topic, but everyone at my bar would say "Remington 870 or Nothing!"..hahaha

I'd keep both guns you detailed, and if getting "trashed" while hunting grouse- dogs stepping on them, etc- I'd opt for a Parker Trojan 20 bore- 28" barrels IC and Mod- or a Ithaca NID field grade with same two triggers, barrels and chokes- Non-ejectors-- as you don't want to leave empty hulls in your covers to alert others about the potential shooting therein-

"Oh hunter, when you come at last, and start me from some covert place--" I miss those days in October after grouse and woodcock with a good pointing dog and a "working" 20 bore game gun in hand- RWTF

jOe, sounds like you never been all day grouse huntin...in the mountains, in the thick stuff...where old ruff used to hang out...

i say that, because then you would know how heavy a seven pound gun feels at the end of the day, when you are trudgin back to where you hope you parked at dawn...

I'd stick them both back into the safe and buy something with longer barrels, preferably 28". Like the previously mentioned Parker Repro 28 ga.

Or, an original Parker 16 ga on the zero frame with 28" barrels.

Superposed weighs 5 lbs 13oz.

Great thoughts gents. Thanks. But there's no 'keep both' and there's no finding something else before Sep 21st...

Both have been patterned, fit, and ready to roll.
I'm not a collector, I use what I have. So one will go live elsewhere.

Bingo! Gil

Well . . . you do need a backup, just in case. But either one of those would be a pretty pricey backup for most people. Replace whichever you decide to get rid of with an Ithaca SKB Model 100 20ga, 25", IC/M. Unless you have problems with something that short and/or light, that's a real bargain basement rainy day/backup gun for woods birds.

Technically the Superposed is the simpler more robust action, and it is lighter too. It is the better gun.

"Lets assume I shoot both guns equally well" - well, that certainly will help stir the pot and wake up a bunch of gents!!!
However, for practical purposes (perish the thought) I do NOT buy your assumption.
You're already 2/3s the way there with both guns exhibiting relatively modern "short" barrels and the straight/English hand stock. The missing 1/3 is your actual NOT ASSUMED performance with either.
Several rounds of LOW GUN skeet - NO riding the target beyond the center post allowed - will quickly identify the gun your body prefers … your headbone is only one part of the equation.
My proven Tobin 16Ga wand will be "live" six days from now for ruffed grouse in central Ontario. My now lessened perambulation means I won't hunt a great distance, but I will hunt it well. BEING THERE is what really counts, especially with your hunting pardner - amid the turning/turned leaves. The specific gun used is quite secondary IMHO, - and your assumption DID generate a very interesting thread.

Fair enough-- so keep one of these "Steinways" and sell the other for reasons personal to yourself. OK-- if I were looking at your situation like a gun dealer (buy low, sell higher) I'd consider selling the one that puts more dinero in your wallet in today's market.

The last double gun I bought, about 12 years ago was a Utica mfg. Fox Sterly 20 gauge, 28" barrels, DT, AE. I had hopes of MI getting a legal dove season, so I bought this privately from a former grouse and woodcock hunter, near Baldwin, MI/ . The last double gun I sold was a 16 gauge Parker PHE- 28" Damascus barrels, size O frame, to a dealer in Sagola, MI.

The Fox shows brush wear, bluing wear on the barrels near the forearm, stock shows scratches, buttplate slightly cracked, but it shoots like gangbusters, and I consider the wear to be like "battle scars" and have never thought about a refinish-- same as on my M12's--

Sometimes emotion enters the equation, a concept the serious gun dealers try to avoid in either the buy or sell mode. That emotion comes up whenever I handle a Winchester or Colt left to me by Dad or Grandpa--

If you are NOT in a hurry (best frame of mind to have in making such a decision (IMO anyway)- I'd wait a while into the bird season before making the judgement call you have scheduled. Good luck on the Ruffs whenever your season opens. RWTF

Since I own three Superposed shotguns (two 20s and a 12) and my brother's only bird gun is a 12 gauge Superposed, I suppose you can figure out my position in the debate. Neither of us has ever owned a Parker or a Repro. And I love sxs shotguns., especially hammer guns Just prefer the Superposed 20 for grouse and woodcock.

If you don't care about the one you shoot, but both up for sale and keep the one that doesn't sell first.

Ken

Nah, sell the Parker because it will bring the most money. If you like the way they shoot one as well as the other, keep to Super...Geo

FWIW I still own and shoot 4 Superposed Superlight shotguns. Have used them extensively for 30+ years. Wild Chukars & Huns, grouse (Sage, Blues,Ruffs), Pheasants, Quail, etc. Yeah, I like them. So you can figure out what my vote would be. And like most people here, I have too many other shotguns available to use but, keep coming back to them.

Two best ideas I've seen so far, thanks for the below.
- Shoot low gun skeet and truly see which IS the definitive better fit.
-Put both up for sale and see which one goes.
Love it, thanks IAN/KDJ