Unexpected New Member!

[Scott Allan]

Good day. I attended an auction this weekend and found myself bidding on a nice little gun for a buddy. I remembered my father talking about Parker shotguns when we used to go pigeon hunting in California... I REALLY hate the taste of pigeons BTW! Anyway, my friends was looking for a hammerless gun, so this one is mine for the moment! From research on this great sight, I've learned that it was manufactured in 1883, with Twist barrels. I think some of the other numbers detail the weight? and the #1 on the barrel notes the frame size? Any help with info would be great. I'll attempt photo upload now!

[Chuck Bishop]

Scott, it looks to be a nice Parker hammergun. The barrels are the biggest concern on these old guns. Are the barrels pitted, do the barrels lock up tight on the receiver if you twist them with the forarm both on and off? Take the barrels off, balance the barrels on your finger at the barrel lug and strike each barrel along it's entire length with a non maring object like a plastic hammer or wooden dowel or even your knuckles. The barrels should ring like a bell when struck. If they don't it could be loose ribs.

We could tell you more if you post the serial number found on the side of the barrel lug or the receiver water table. Do the serial numbers match on the receiver, barrels, and forearm?

Let us know.

[Scott Allan]

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly!

The gun is nice and tight, which is one of the reasons I was willing to buy it, even if my buddy was not interested. I wish the old banger pump action my father passed on to me was even remotely as tight!

The numbers in all three locations match with #33158 on the barrel, forearm, and the receiver. I did not look for a number on the side of the barrel lug, and did not notice any others that I didn't include in the first couple photos. I'll take another look tonight when I get home.

The barrels have a couple little dings on the exterior and a bit of pitting on the inside, but nothing that made me think it might not be safe to shoot. I'll add a couple more photos, and let me know if it would worry you. I live out on Nantucket Island, so I hope to get it back to the mainland for a check up at a gunsmith if need be.

[Bruce Day]

Its surprising how much pitted barrels will clean up with automotive finishing paper wrapped around a cleaning rod brush and run through the bores a lot with liberal oil.

You have a grade 0 ( bottom grade) first year production top action hammer gun that looks to be used and not abused.

[Richard Flanders]

Looks like a nice gun Scott. One of my very favorite duck guns is my 1883 vintage 32" 0-grade hammered Parker. I think you'll want to have someone carefully check out your barrel wall thicknesses.

[Scott Allan]

Thanks so much for the information guys! I'll give the insides of the gun a good going through, and see if they'll clean up a bit with some elbow grease.

I'll do a search for someone in the Cape Cod area to have a peek at the barrels for me. Since it sounds like a run of the mill working gun, and it's not going to pay for my retirement, I don't see any reason not to use it a bit for the local crow hunt next year:)

Thanks again for all the details...


-Scott

[George Lander]

Scott: The book shows SN 33158 as a PT ("O" Grade w/ twist barrels) toplever action, no extras, straight stock, 32 inch barrels, 12 gauge (this on a number 1 frame would make your gun a bit rare IMHO)

Best Regards, George

[Brian Dudley]

The metal finish on the gun is very nice for how old it is. The Brown color on the barrels is very attractive. And it is very nice how all other parts (buttplate, receiver, forend) all have the same level of patina and color to the metal. A sign that they gun was well used, but also cared for over the many years of it's life. Maybe with the exception of cleaning the bores.