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View Full Version : Replacement of cocking mechanism


Mills Morrison
03-13-2012, 11:08 AM
I am buying a 10 gauge DH which apparently is missing "the rod that holds the lever which makes the gun cock" (in the very words of my seller). How big a problem does this sound? How hard is it to get replacement parts? Any recommendations on gunsmiths? :bowdown:

Angel Cruz
03-13-2012, 11:12 AM
Check with Larry DelGreco...315-894-8754 or 315-895-7395

Mills Morrison
03-13-2012, 11:25 AM
The gun is out in Texas and I am thinking of using Briley. I used them to remove dents in a Trojan and was very pleased. Of course, this may be more specialized than removing dents.

Angel Cruz
03-13-2012, 11:31 AM
Briley knows bbls but Larry knows Parkers and they have the parts.

Eric Eis
03-13-2012, 06:23 PM
Second that.....

Dave Suponski
03-13-2012, 06:28 PM
Mills,The cocking hook on the barrels attatches to the cocking crank in the frame slot.That operates the cocking slide. The cocking slide cocks the hammers.I don't know of any "Rod" that cocks a hammerless Parker. Your problem could be big or small depending on what parts are missing.

Mills Morrison
03-13-2012, 06:38 PM
I am a novice when it comes to Parker repair. My seller says it is just one part. The big dilemma is getting it operational for turkey season which starts in SC this Thursday. :banghead:

John Campbell
03-14-2012, 09:45 AM
Mills:
Daze is spot on. You can't know what the real issue is until you get the gun. And wisdom indicates that you shouldn't count on it being shootable by Thursday.
The missing "rod" may be as simple as the safety re-set rod... but who knows.
Good luck.

Best, Kensal

Mills Morrison
03-14-2012, 09:58 AM
My seller has a gunsmith looking at it. Looks like it is just one part and he is trying to find a replacement. Stay tuned folks. Thanks for the suggestions

Mills Morrison
06-27-2012, 11:43 PM
Well the "one part" has turned into a full blown project gun. Several internal parts missing, pitting in the barrels, checkering worn off, some engraving worn off . . . Current plan is to save up and find out how bad to fix it up. :dh:

Brian Dudley
06-28-2012, 09:20 AM
What all is missing for internal parts? Or do you not know know yet?

I would be interested to see more photos of your gun.

Based on the one that you posted, it looks like it has some pretty honest wear. And looks dirty. You might be surprised, a good cleaning of the gunk and grime could make a world of difference. Then a recut of the checkering to top it off.

Mills Morrison
06-28-2012, 11:45 AM
Here is the email from the gunsmith:

" The parts missing are the complete safety, the complete hold open including the spring and plunger, and the big part is the floorplate. Even if we were able to locate the missing parts there are other issues. The interior of the bores are severely pitted and in our opinion unsafe to shoot any ammunition. We would not be able to backbore the barrels enough to make them safe to shoot. The other issue is the stock. It is in very poor condition and heavily oil soaked in the head. The only solution in our opinion would be to make a new stock. "

Now that I have the gun in hand, it does not look this bad. The barrels are pitted, but I saw a much worse set of barrels that Jim Kelly in Darlington said he could fix. It is a no. 3 frame and I understand the barrels are thicker for this frame size. The stock seems to have some life left in it. I blow dried some of the oil out of it last night. I took "floor plate" to mean the exterior metal underneath the action, but that is still there. One of the screws underneath is badly buggered (I think from the gunsmiths that have been looking at it). What I would like to do is get it up to safe shooting condition. I could probably live without the safety, as my idea of "safe" is broken open anyway.

Mills Morrison
06-28-2012, 12:00 PM
. . . would also like to redo the checkering and pick up the engraving. I will get some more pictures and post them.

John Campbell
06-28-2012, 12:01 PM
Mills:
If you still believe this gun has potential, it should be assessed by a gunsmith competent in the evaluation of double guns, and specifically their barrels. God only knows what this bloke did with your "floorplate."

The other parts mentioned can be found. The stock is key. Possibly you can post photos.

Best, Kensal

Brian Dudley
06-28-2012, 12:09 PM
Mills,

It sounds like the gunsmith that looked at it was not too versed in Parkers.

The safety button, and I am sure also the retainer spring, is still there evident of your photo. That means the only thing that could be "missing" is the actual safety jacket and arm that is in the stock head. These can be found every now and again and are not too difficult to put in and final fit for good operation.

The Hold open ("Parker Poker") is also a part that can be had without too much trouble and should be a near drop in fit.

I thought the gun would not cock? That might need some more exploring.

Yes, post some more pictures of the gun and lets see what you are dealing with.

Mills Morrison
06-28-2012, 12:12 PM
I will try to get some better photos posted tonight. The stock seems just fine to me. No cracks or looseness at all. Beyond the buggered screw, the rest of the screws look good to excellent. Only 637 or so of DH 10 Damascus Parkers, according to TPS, so I feel this one is worth saving.

Brian Dudley
06-28-2012, 12:44 PM
Yes it is worth saving. And as long as the wood in the inletting is not soft and deteriorating, it is fine to keep using.

Mills Morrison
06-28-2012, 09:16 PM
Here are a whole bunch of pictures. Notice a few things: top lever goes back to rest position when breach open, no checkering, engraving worn, a little off face, barrels probably cut . . . BUT skeleton steel butt plate still there and most screws in good shape. My untrained eye sees potential

Brian Dudley
06-29-2012, 08:51 AM
Your top lever is also left of where it should be indicating that the locking bolt is worn. Notice the radius is off of alignment. This should be lined up even and would have been at the factory. If it is right of that spot, then it usually means a dirty action. But if it is left of that mark, it means wear.
The action does look quite off face. Is it also loose?
The gaps between the wood and metal on the top tang would indicate a bit of head spreading to me.
Any things like the bad screws on the bottom could be corrected with new or repaired screws. This would be best done by someone that is repairing the engraving on the action which is quite worn on this specimen.

John Campbell
06-29-2012, 09:52 AM
Mills:
It sure is hard to beat 'ol Dudley to the draw on these things. But... There is a LOT more potential in this Parker than you think. Here's my view:

The stock is definitely savable (I've seen MUCH worse), but needs a good wood man to do it.
The engraving looks fine to me. It's just dirty. A good ultrasonic cleaning is in order.
There is a bruise in the bottom plate ahead of the guard bow. This can be fixed.
The buggered bottomplate screw ahead of the guard is a horror and may require drilling out. This is the price of poor gunsmithing.
The lever stands to the left because the internal "trip" is missing-- or at least you said it was. The bolt may be fine.
As Dudley observes, the barrels look off face. This can also be fixed by a good smith.
The skeleton butt looks great, and can easily be cleaned up.
The little blonde fellow holding the Parker sees great potential in it too. For him!!

Recommend Brad Bachelder for all the work. He knows what he's doing and turn around isn't measured in years. If you run into trouble on the stock, feel free to PM me.

Best, Kensal

Mills Morrison
06-29-2012, 10:59 AM
Thanks for all the responses and advice.:bowdown:

Mills Morrison
12-22-2013, 05:31 PM
Well, after a long and involved process, this DH is shooting again. Thanks to Brian Dudley for all of his work. The wood proved to be beyond repair. It was oil soaked and sanded down badly. New wood for both stock and forend. Original barrels were badly pitted, but after careful checking, proved to have enough wall thickness to shoot again. They were unfortunately cut down to 26". While we were debating the original barrels, an orphan pair of 30", 3 frame, 12 gauge barrels showed up and those were purchased for this gun. Then we found a 32", 3 frame, 10 gauge set. Original barrels were sent to Dale Edmonds, who cleaned them up nicely. The action was in bad shape and missing parts. New parts were found and Brian cleaned up the metal and took a dent or two out. New screws to replace buggered old screws. Worn engraving left as is and it kind of looks good and is a nod to the gun's history. Took the gun for a test shoot this weekend and it did great with all three sets of barrels. Never meant to be a money making venture and gun could never be "original" again, but a lot of satisfaction in saving an old gun to shoot again. With this one out of the way, I am looking forward to some more restoration projects.

charlie cleveland
12-22-2013, 08:40 PM
my hats off to mills and his nice gun he has reborn with 3 sets of barrels... and the fellows that helped him done some fine work too...charlie

Brian Dudley
12-22-2013, 10:18 PM
Good photos Mills. Thanks for posting them.

wayne goerres
12-22-2013, 10:42 PM
Now you need someone to make you a case to hold the gun and all its barrels.

Mills Morrison
12-22-2013, 10:45 PM
Wayne, Brian and I were discussing this. Any suggestions? I see Jeff's Outfitters has 3 barrel cases, but they look like they are for 12 gauge o/u's, not 10 gauges.

wayne goerres
12-23-2013, 08:28 AM
I don't know mills but I believe there is somebody on this forum that restores and builds cases if memerey. May be they will chime in.

Brian Dudley
12-23-2013, 08:30 AM
Kevin McCormick

He advertises in the Parker Pages.

John Campbell
12-23-2013, 09:20 AM
Galazan has three-barrel canvas & Leather trunk cases in stock.

Ed Blake
01-05-2014, 09:57 AM
Dave Purnell can make you what you want. How much does that DH weigh?

Mills Morrison
01-05-2014, 10:18 AM
Thanks for the lead. It is pretty heavy

Mills Morrison
01-12-2014, 05:11 PM
Shooting a 3 frame Parker at clays is a great way to get an upper body workout if you are not into more yuppyish forms of exercise.

Mills Morrison
01-26-2014, 08:51 PM
Well, ended the duck season with my youngest son and this DH with the 32" barrels in a small wood duck hole on my Dad's place. This gun is too nice to take to rougher duck habitat. Lots of wood ducks, killed one dead early and then they moved to the back of the pond or flew in under trees where we could not see them. All in all a fitting end to duck season. Will post photos of the wood duck hole in Foto Fridays

charlie cleveland
01-26-2014, 09:50 PM
that young man s gona be a bonified duck hunter someday...charlie

Mills Morrison
01-26-2014, 10:06 PM
He was in charge of the duck call and they came just as soon as he called the first time. Probably a coincidence, but who knows?