Barrel for my 1908 vh stock

[Richard Sheldon]

I have a parker stock with receiver but no barrel or forestock. My father, back long, long ago, sent the barrel back to the parker factory to get reblued but never got it back because they went out of buisiness.
My questions are:
How can I tell what gauge it is.
can I purchase a barrel and forestock.
Is it better to buy a complete gun and keep this for parts.

The stock is a little beat up with a small split, receiver has mild surface rust but should clean up nice.
I've allways wanted a parker and would like to get what I have useable. (And it was my dads when he was a kid) that means a lot to me.
Any help would be appriciated.

[Robin Lewis]

What is the serial number, maybe it is in "the book" and we can get the gauge and barrel length for you?

[Richard Sheldon]

147352 thanks

[Marc Retallack]

Richard

147352 is listed as being a 16 gauge with 28'' barrels.

Cheers
Marcus

[Mark Ouellette]

Richard,

I think the frame size which is stamped into the recoil lug of your missing barrels is the most important information. Barrels of different gauges can be fitted to a receiver as long as they are the same frame size.

The frame size can be determined by measuring between the center of the firing pin holes of the receiver.

Please do that and post the distance.

I write this because the 16 bore guns are in the highest demand and a spare set of 16 gauge barrels may be almost impossible to find a a reasonable price. If the gun is a 0 frame a set of 20 gauges barrels if you can find them might fit. Alternatively, if the gun is a 1 frame it a set of 12 gauge barrels may be found.

I do however think the forend of the correct frame size will be the hardest to find. Your receiver is the base of a V Grade gun which other than the Trojan model was the bottom grade. It may be the cheapest route to purchase another well used V or Trojan grade of the same frame size and transfer the parts.

Mark

[Richard Sheldon]

left firing pin to right firing pin is exectly 1"

[Mark Ouellette]

Richard,

The Parker Story lists that a size 0 frame is 1" between the firing pins. Those were provided on 16 and 20 gauge guns. Presently the 16's seem to be in very high demand and thus command a high price. The 20's do not lag behind the 16's by much. I have a DHE 20 and would pay good money for another set of barrels. I would pay a lot more for a set of 16 gauge barrels that could be fitted to my 0 frame.

I provided the above to let you know what you are up against. There are probably a few hundred other Parker collectors that would be as or more agressive than me in finding extra barrels. "With a double gun one is buying the barrels."

Please keep the remains of your father's gun. It might be good to consider purchasing a relatively low cost ($800 to $1600) V Grade 12 gauge and enjoy that in memory of your father!

Respectfully,
Mark

[Larry Frey]

Richard,
You never know what’s available or at what cost until you ask. By replacing the barrels and forend you will put back in service a gun that has sentimental value to you and would make a great shooter but will never have any collector value. If it were me I would list the parts you need here and on the Doublegun BBS and see what’s available. If you can't locate any original barrels you could check out the offerings by Connecticut Shotgun and Simmons. Good luck with your search and I can say from experience an 0 frame 16 gage Parker makes a really nice upland gun.

[Dave Suponski]

I agree with Larry. If you are serious about putting this gun back into service I think the easiest way would be to order a set of barrels from Ct Shotgun.

[Richard Sheldon]

thanks for the info, I'm learning as I go,
I don't mind putting the money into it, but I don't want to spend 3000.00 when I could have puchased something nicer (complete gun) for less.
I don't know why but I think I i'd rather have a 16 or 20 gauge over a 12 gauge.
I will weigh the options , but a usable parker is my goal.

[Dave Suponski]

Connecticut Shotgun makes 16 gauge barrels.

[Richard Sheldon]

I can't seem to figure out how to find parker barrels on connecticut shotguns web sight

[Marc Retallack]

Richard

Try this link http://www.csmcspecials.com/product_p/parkerbarrels.htm

[Richard Sheldon]

thanks, looks like a forestock is my next big challenge

[Bill Murphy]

Referring to your recent post, "You will be able to find a perfectly acceptable Parker for much less than it will cost you to put your project together." Sorry, that's just the way it is. The Galazan barrels are two large and the rest of the project will be another, total three thousand minimum. A perfectly acceptable Parker 12 gauge will cost about $800.00.

[Richard Sheldon]

wow, hard to justify anything other than a 12 gauge, for me anyway.

[Bill Murphy]

Good luck on your quest. In my area, a nice 12 gauge is not hard to find at a reasonable price. The internet is also good ground to search for such guns. However, you may need guidance to eliminate bad choices.

[Mark Ouellette]

Richard,

Please consider joining the PGCA. The PARKER PAGES magazine is worth the $40 per year. The real value is however in supporting this organization from which members will help you in your quest. One could loose hundreds or thousands in buying the wrong Parker. The experianced members will, if asked, guide one away from bad guns and often pass on leads for the real buys.

For example, presently, a PGCA friend is buying a gun that I had on my list. Learning that he wanted the gun I backed off. He wanted it a little more than did I. He in turn will help me in the future. I have found this organization very, very helpful in all I do concerning Parkers.

PS: A #1 Frame 12 bore will weigh a little over 7 pounds and be a great upland and range gun. The 12 gauge is certainly the most affordable to shoot and reload for due to its popularity.

Respectfully,
Mark

[Paul Ehlers]

Richard,

If you'll take your time and watch the various sites like gunbroker. You can probably find an O-frame 16ga that has some issues like cracked wood, all case colors & blue gone,etc. for under $2000.00. It sounds like the ideal one for you would be one with a broken stock, but good barrels. Then you could have the barrels fit to you fathers gun and have it back in business.

I just found & purchased a solid shooter VH O-Frame 16ga with good 28" barrels & decent original wood finish for $1700.00 They are out there but you have to be ready to pounce when you find one.

[Mark Ouellette]

I agree with GH-16. When it is available one MUST be ready to pull the trigger!

Remember, you can always sell but you cannot always buy!

Mark

[Richard Sheldon]

That sound like a good plan, i'm in no great hurry.

[Jack Cronkhite]

Richard: I did a quick look for Parker 16 on a couple sites. Of course there are lots of expensive guns. Something like this one (http://www.gunsamerica.com/902293314/Guns/Shotguns/Parker-Shotguns/Parker_PH_O_Frame_with_3_Damascus_barrels.htm#) might be an option for you. The damascus has been blued, but there are good damascus barrel restorers on this site. The gun is also off face, but if you are swapping, that won't be an issue for you. This gun is complete, so you could set the rest of it aside for future re-sale if you decided, or a source of parts for your family gun if ever needed. Something like this can get you started at a "reasonable" cost. You might even be able to negotiate a few dollars to help with your project expenses. You should ask the seller if he can measure the barrel wall thicknesses for you. Sometimes clean and shiny bores have been honed to the point the barrel wall is too thin for safe shooting. From discussions on this forum, if they are at least .024" at their thinnest point, that should be okay for your purposes. You can end up with 0 frame barrels and fore end under $1,000 and then the cost of cleaning up the damascus and fitting the barrels to your frame. If there is extensive fitting required, that will cause you similar issues if you ever decide to reassemble the "parts" gun. Damascus clean up is not necessary just to shoot but it sure looks nice when done.

A word of caution. I found the Parker site a couple years ago in my efforts to do essentially what you are setting out to do. I completely understand why you want to do this. Trouble for me is that I have yet to find the right barrels and any candidate whole guns ended up being cleaned up, repaired and put back in the field and still live here. I fell victim to "Parkeritis" and once it has a grip on you, you just have to give up and see where it takes you. It's been a fun journey.
Cheers,
Jack

[Richard Sheldon]

Jack, thanks for your help, that gun looks like a nice one , to start with anyway.
I know what you mean by "itis" I think I have "itis itis" First it was restoring Pontiac GTO's (GTOitis) Now I,m building a log home (log homeitis) now that that is almost done, and a great place to hunt in my new back yard, I am developing parkeritis. thanks, Rick

[Jack Cronkhite]

Backyard hunting with a Parker 16 and a goat parked outside the log cabin sounds just about right.

Cheers,
Jack
http://parkerguns.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5691&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1289877082

[Richard Sheldon]

ph was sold, thanks

[Steve Huffman]

Well Ithink I have just the wood for your forend nothing to write home about but it may be a start its not going anywhere soon so keep it in mind if you come across anymore parts

[Richard Sheldon]

will do, thanks