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View Full Version : Parker 10ga. info. needed please


DaveSmith
05-19-2010, 07:28 AM
Hello all, i am new to the world of parker having just received my Grandad's old parker. i am hoping someone can give me a little info. about it.

using this site to locate the correct info. this is what i found on the gun.

sn: 1213xx made in 1878 i think.

barrel weight: a big 5 and small 4 stamped on the table.

frame size: 3, which i think is a 10ga. a 12ga. shell will fit but its loose.

barrel steel: it says "twist"

grade: "P" yes, P i looked with a 10x loop and its a "P". not a PV or PH or any other combo.

now for the bad news, it is in very bad shape. it has been stored out side in a shed for the last 40+ years. if i had known it was there i would have got it decades ago. guess i should have asked grandma about paps guns sooner.

thanks for the help. Dave

Bill Murphy
05-19-2010, 07:56 AM
Big hammerless tens are very nice guns. Show us pictures before you dismiss it as a lost cause.

DaveSmith
05-19-2010, 08:03 AM
Big hammerless tens are very nice guns. Show us pictures before you dismiss it as a lost cause.


it is not hammerless, it has double hammers. also, the right barrel is burst about halfway down right in front of the forstock. looks like it happened decades ago. and it is VERY dirty. i will post photo's later today.

Dave

Harry Collins
05-19-2010, 08:33 AM
Dave,

Serial number 1213XX would make this a 1903 Parker. I checked the "Book" and only four Parkers were listed and they were all 12138X and none were 10 gauge or "P" grade. Parker was still making hammer guns in 1903. My guess is that it was left in the shed after the barrel burst. A lot of shotguns were kept loaded in out building (I found a VHE 20 gauge in a corn crib). My guess is that something "nested" in the barrel and caused the burst.

Harry

calvin humburg
05-19-2010, 08:54 AM
What was the gun like you found in the corn crib pretty bad? ch

Bruce Day
05-19-2010, 09:32 AM
Or a little 20ga top lever hammer damascus D grade with skeleton butt covered with a light bloom of rust but no pits and with feathers in the barrel, found in a chicken coop in southern Nebraska.

Bill Murphy
05-19-2010, 12:16 PM
Bruce, from what I have heard, guns like you picture are a dime a dozen out there in the midwest. Maybe the original poster could mention the complete serial number so we can give him more information. "Bad Shape" doesn't usually include a burst barrel. We would like to see a picture of the "Bad Shape" P Grade hammer gun. I don't know about that 121,XXX serial number. I think he may have added a digit there somewhere. 121,XXX isn't 1878 as far as I know.

Harry Collins
05-19-2010, 12:20 PM
Calvin,

It was in decent shape and had been taken care of. It was just kept in an out building.

Bruce,

That is one of the sweetest little Parkers I have ever seen. The other 20 gauge hammered Parker that I broke a sweat over was Mark Conrads.

Harry

Bruce Day
05-19-2010, 01:05 PM
People who are not used to mechanical devices regularly confuse a date stating that a component of the article is patented with the date that the device was made. Nice guns are still found in outbuildings and closets, and estate sales too as we have recently found. While I mention sometimes about nice guns on the east coast, in truth it seems nice Parkers can be found in every area of the country where there were hunting areas. The Great Plains are no exception, as there have always been some wealthy landowners and sportsmen out here who had good guns. Many great Parkers have come from the Platte River Valley of Nebraska, known for waterfowling and closeness to upland game, and the land is rich enough to support spending for costly guns. Even now, holdings valued in the tens of million dollars are common with landowners wintering in condos or second homes in Florida and Arizona. My grandfather used to go from Iowa to Tampa every winter and he had a low grade Parker.

DaveSmith
05-19-2010, 02:53 PM
OK, here we go.
photo's are not to good. only have a web cam.
complete SN - 121381
pat. dates 1872, 1874, 1876.

any info / help will be appreciated.

thanks, Dave

ps - as found condition, not cleaned or oiled yet.

Harry Collins
05-19-2010, 03:10 PM
Dave,

You have a 1903 low grade Parker that is in "that's a damn shame" condition. Because it was your grandfathers Parker you could go to great expense to have it restored. I think I would give it a good wipe down with Hoppes #9 solvent and leave it in as found condition.

Kindest, Harry

DaveSmith
05-19-2010, 03:18 PM
Dave,

You have a 1903 low grade Parker that is in "that's a damn shame" condition. Because it was your grandfathers Parker you could go to great expense to have it restored. I think I would give it a good wipe down with Hoppes #9 solvent and leave it in as found condition.

Kindest, Harry


from what i have read online it is possible to have the barrel "fixed" by heating and then welding the break back into place. but that barrel could never be fired again. that said, i have been thinking if it was repaired like that could a sub-caliber barreled incert be put into the barrel? say a .30-30 incert. the ones that slide into the chamber and are held in place by a threaded keeper at the muzzle. i figure the gun is in such bad shape anything that is done could do no more harm.

Dave

Harry Collins
05-19-2010, 03:38 PM
Dave,

Briley makes 20 gauge inserts for 10 gauge guns. I have not looked in a long time, but the cost was about $600. There are those out there that have tig welded Damascus barrels back together. Others still will monoblock your barrels with steel tubes that will let you shoot the same gauge or one gauge down. A restock may cost as much as $2000. There are more options, it just depends on how much you want to spend and who will advise you of all your options.

Harry

Bill Murphy
05-19-2010, 07:43 PM
Restocking a gun with a hopeless stock is as much of a problem as fixing a blown tube. This gun is beyond restoration, financially. Six thousand dollars worth of work will make a non original two thousand dollar shooter with no collector value. I have done it a couple of times, but I had a bit better gun to work with. By the way, a P marked late hammer gun is an unusual Parker.

Dave Fuller
05-20-2010, 01:32 AM
Clean her up and hang her on the wall as a memorial to your Granddad. Then go buy a serviceable Parker that you can safely enjoy shooting. You'll enjoy both guns more that way. Also, you'll own two Parkers instead of one. Finally, your fingers, eyes, and bank account will all be safer having done so.

DaveSmith
05-20-2010, 07:07 AM
Thank you to all of you for the info. and advise.

with the marks and codes that are on it is there any other information availible?

did i decipher the marks correctly? is it a frame #3 10 gauge?

thanks again, Dave



ps - i think i will clean it up and hang it on the wall until i win the lottery.

Bill Murphy
05-20-2010, 08:28 AM
A PGCA letter may give you information about the original owner, but most letters concerning lower grade guns only give the name of a wholesale or retail sporting goods firm who originally ordered this gun and many like it.