Thoughts on this...

[ron belanger]

I fired my reproduction for the first time yesterday...took out all my shotguns and threw some hand clays with my girlfriend.
Came time to shoot the Reproduction and she was fine...broke the 1st 6 clays then something weird happened...well not really weird, but the shells did not eject upon opening and I noticed forearm had become dislodged slightly (still in place).
I snapped the forearm back into place and all was well until I fired a couple more shots and she dislodged again...seems like the forearm doesn't quite lock in as nicely as it should.
Well, not knowing how many rounds were fired through her before my ownership or how well she was cleaned, I suspected there might have been some gumming up of the latch mechanism. Thorough cleaning when I got back home and I paid some attention to that latch by squirting some Breakfree CLP oil into the metal parts...very little but enough to give them a coating.
I worked the latch a couple dozen times and it seemed to be operating a bit more free than before...won't know until I fire it again.
I cannot see any flaws/burrs on any metal parts or anything unusual about the forearm mechanism except that there is a small metal part that seems to be kind of free floating near where the forearm mates to the barrels...I don't dare take the forearm apart as it seems there's quite a few metal parts to it...please advise if you may have any ideas! :bigbye:

[tom leshinsky]

Walt don't be afraid to take it apart. Two small screws in the back and two screws on top and carefully tap the iron up first then back and out. Just use screwdrivers that fit.

[ron belanger]

Walt don't be afraid to take it apart. Two small screws in the back and two screws on top and carefully tap the iron up first then back and out. Just use screwdrivers that fit.

Okay, I probably should have mentioned that this is a beaver tail forend...any differences between this and the splinter? There is a large screw at the muzzle end of the forearm which appears may be very long...sorry I didn't mention this before...

[John Liles]

Hello Walt,
Hopefully this wont apply in this case, but before you disassemble the fore end, look closely at the fore end lug connection to the barrels. I've resoldered a few that have become loose and caused the same symptoms that you report. The lug will probably not even appear loose, and the barrels will still ring, but the solder may have failed allowing the lug to rotate slightly. The typical indication of the condition will have the lug appearing solid with no solder visible on the muzzle end of the lug, with a visible linear transition to shiny solder seen at the receiver end of the lug, where the rear end of the lug has lifted slightly.
John

[ron belanger]

Hello Walt,
Hopefully this wont apply in this case, but before you disassemble the fore end, look closely at the fore end lug connection to the barrels. I've resoldered a few that have become loose and caused the same symptoms that you report. The lug will probably not even appear loose, and the barrels will still ring, but the solder may have failed allowing the lug to rotate slightly. The typical indication of the condition will have the lug appearing solid with no solder visible on the muzzle end of the lug, with a visible linear transition to shiny solder seen at the receiver end of the lug, where the rear end of the lug has lifted slightly.
John

Thank you!
I'll check this out!

[ron belanger]

John, Here are some pictures of the lug area...if you can spot anything please advise...it looks pretty solid to me!
Any idea what the little hole is for??
Oops...must have missed the part where you said the rear portion may have lifted...I'm assuming the muzzle end of the lug is the front??

[John Liles]

Hello again Walt. Nice pic's! The Parkers that I've worked on were not Repros.
Does the lug on a Repro transition in height? It may just be the flash, but the lug appears to sit higher towards the rear, but maybe not if the lug itself is taller toward the rear. The last Parker that I worked on that had a loose/rotated lug was a 20 gauge, and when properly repositioned the top surface of the lug base was parallel and in contact with the adjacent barrel sides. Perhaps another member that has a Repro or two will chime in with a comparison of how yours looks to one that he owns.
I do see shiny solder, which I would think would not be visible after rust blueing, leading me to think that maybe the lug has been repaired in the past. There again, I don't know what the assembly should look like on a repro.
There are varying opinions as to the purpose of the small hole in the bottom rib. I've seen some original Parkers that had no holes, and some that did. One prevelant theory is that the hole allowed for the air to escape from the rib cavity during the boiling process of rust bluing. The expansion of the air due to heating was feared to cause the soft soldered ribs to pop off. Others will likely chime in with better opinions! I've heard that Parker Bros was able to rust blue their barrels without the holes, and that any hole in a Parker rib was a sure sign of a non-Parker re-blue. I'm pretty much a Parker novice, and I hope to hear the opinions of others more in-the-know!
John

[Chuck Heald]

Some theorize that ribs with no holes had the muzzle end left not soldered shut until after blueing. It's certainly possible to solder the end shut after blueing and not affect the blueing.

[John Liles]

Hello Walt, in re-examining your pictures this morning it appears to me that that the stub rib located between the lug and barrel flats is integral with the lug. LC Smith guns had the same treatment for their 3" and sometimes Trap grade guns. The treatment was a great way to prevent lug rotation in guns that were likely to be used hard or fire 3" shells. The height difference between the front and back of your lug appears to be a function of design, and if the stub rib is still securely attached, then your lug should be in its original position, provided the shiny solder we see is not an indication of a repair that wasn't properly positioned. I'd start looking at the fore-end as the culprit, as the lug looks ok.
Sorry to have gotten you off track!
Good luck,
John

[Chuck Heald]

This could be a case of the wood contacting the barrels and preventing the metal from seating deeply enough to properly latch.

[Joe Bernfeld]

Yes, Walt, the long screw at the front of the BT forend must come out. Forend iron is not difficult to remove from the wood on a Rerpro.

[ron belanger]

Thanks all! I will take the forend metal out for a good look and cleaning and check for barrel contact with the wood as well. Will keep you posted on what I find.

[Bruce Day]

1. The one piece barrel lug with the tapered back end is necessary for use with beavertail forends. Otherwise, with a square back end lug, there is a tendency for the solder to loosen and the forend will come off during shooting, particularly when bearing the weight of the beavertail forend. Repros all had the one piece lug, whether beavertail or splinter forend. The pictured lug looks normal.

2. Repros and Ilion made Rem original Parkers have a moisture weep hole through the bottom rib adjacent the barrel lug. It was left unplugged. See TPS for photos.

3. Suggest you partially disassemble the forend mechanism by removing it from the wood. The latch parts should be apparent without further taking apart the ejectors . See that the latch parts move normally and that the ejector hammers seat normally . Suggest you thoroughly clean the mechanism with Rem Action Cleaner and then sparingly put drops of gun action grease on the moving parts.

4. I have seen suggestions here that carb cleaner is as good as Rem Action Cleaner. While I have not tested it, I was informed by Babe Del Grego that they do not recommend carb cleaner because of a tendency to migrate and carry gunk, and then to solidify, whereas Rem cleaner does not. As a result, I use gun specific formulated Rem Action Cleaner and it has worked well for me. I have also seen recommendations to oil the action parts. In my opinion, oiling the the double trigger parts and very sparingly oiling the single trigger parts when assembling is correct , but after that, light gun grease is superior to oil because oil migrates and grease stays. Excessive grease will collect crud, so keep it light. I always grease the locking bite where the bolt fits and the hinge surfaces, then wipe off the grease when cleaning after use.

Photos on request.

[calvin humburg]

Bruce is right. He greased up my ol 10 and it was far smother than the oil I had on it. I'm a greaser now.

[Steve Kleist]

Walt/Ron,
I am NOT a gunsmith, stocksmith, nor Parker Repro expert....however I have had a few experiences that just might help you.
I own several Parker Repros and shoot them often. Years back I bought a 12 ga Parker Repro Magnum with screw in chokes for hunting and shooting skeet. It originally came with a splinter forend, which I do not like. I bought a rough cut inletted beavertail forend. This required considerable fitting on my part. I carefully adjusted the latch mechanism a little at a time until it fit. At first it did not fit because the latch could not correctly engage the barrel lug completely and it too came off when shooting. By trial and error I raised the forend latching mechanism with thin shims and/or sanded away any wood that was bearing on the barrels keeping the latching mechanism from engaging completely. REMEMBER I am NOT a gunsmith.
As a simple experiment you could put a piece of carbon paper between the forend and barrels and latch the forend on to see if the wood on the forend is keeping the latch from completely engaging. If this is the case, a little judicious sanding might solve the problem. (At this point I expect a little scolding from the forum and advice about resale value.)
This is not expert advice....remember I am NOT a gunsmith..just some guy with a camo cap who has had the same problems as you.
Good luck.
Steve Kleist Ely, MN

[Dave Suponski]

Not sure if your Repro is a single trigger gun or not but I have been told by Delgrego, Abe Chaber and Ken Waite(Miller Triggers) do not lubricate a single trigger at all.

[Eric Grims]

Curious as to how all this worked out? I love my repo but wished the forend latch would snap a little crisper. Seems a bit mushy on hot humid days suggesting the wood may be a little tight.

[ron belanger]

Curious as to how all this worked out? I love my repo but wished the forend latch would snap a little crisper. Seems a bit mushy on hot humid days suggesting the wood may be a little tight.

Haven't fired it again since I cleaned it up...too HOT and a busy summer to boot.
When the leaves start to fall and it gets a bit cooler, then I'll head back to the range to shoot some clays again.

Got a new clay throwing device to try out too...(one of those cheapo ones that sits on the ground and you pull a string to throw the pigeons...) :)

[Eric Grims]

I have one of those throwers. Mounted it on an old tire and works well.
Good luck with the forfend!

[Russ Jackson]

I had one of those throwers for years and it worked great ,it was mounted on a 1979 F 150 Wheel and Tire , VERY HEAVY ! My newest thrower which I have had for about eight years I got at Cabelas ,and it mounts neatly on a 4X4 Wolmanized post cemented in the ground just behind the schrubbery off the Lower Patio ! Very convenient ,and I walk out every other day or so and shoot a half dozen clays ,just to keep ready for Hunting Season !

[Eric Grims]

Walt
The forearm lever on my repro does not stay seated after a few rounds and starts to open outward. Forearm stays on but the lever comes out about a 1/16th of an inch at most. Caught my glove on it and gun came apart with ejectors set etc and had to finesse it back together. I had the good fortune to speak with a SxS gunsmith in Woodstock Vt. Who said it was a common problem with the forearem lug being angled needing adjustment and no problem to fix- no soldering etc. the problem does result in forearms coming off when the gun is fired on some guns. I was relieved and will drop my gun off to him this week
Good luck

[ron belanger]

Walt
The forearm lever on my repro does not stay seated after a few rounds and starts to open outward. Forearm stays on but the lever comes out about a 1/16th of an inch at most. Caught my glove on it and gun came apart with ejectors set etc and had to finesse it back together. I had the good fortune to speak with a SxS gunsmith in Woodstock Vt. Who said it was a common problem with the forearem lug being angled needing adjustment and no problem to fix- no soldering etc. the problem does result in forearms coming off when the gun is fired on some guns. I was relieved and will drop my gun off to him this week
Good luck

That's good to know...thanks, and let us know how it turned out and how much it cost! :bigbye:

[ron belanger]

I had one of those throwers for years and it worked great ,it was mounted on a 1979 F 150 Wheel and Tire , VERY HEAVY ! My newest thrower which I have had for about eight years I got at Cabelas ,and it mounts neatly on a 4X4 Wolmanized post cemented in the ground just behind the schrubbery off the Lower Patio ! Very convenient ,and I walk out every other day or so and shoot a half dozen clays ,just to keep ready for Hunting Season !

Now THAT is living right! :)

[Eric Grims]

I took the gun in today and my good luck he worked on it as I waited. Some hardened grease on the base of the forfend but the problem lay in what I believe is called the forfend tumbler not seating well in the hook of the tang. There was a fair amount of daylight seen in the fit after he removed the wood and reattached the forearm mechanism. He file fitted the tumbler bit by bit and fine tuned the tang at the end of the process and got a much better snap closure. We stopped there and I am going to put some rounds through it and see. If still a problem I will bring it back for more.
A nice visit and I learned a bit. Also got a nice tutorial on British doubles and handled some guns I don't get to see every day.

[Eric Grims]

Oops. For some reason I said tang and meant to say lug. Sorry for the confusion.

[Eric Grims]

Shot the gun today 50 rds sporting 25 skeet and all is well and forearm and lever held tight no movement.

[ron belanger]

Shot the gun today 50 rds sporting 25 skeet and all is well and forearm and lever held tight no movement.

I took my Repro out today hunting pheasant and though I didn't fire at any birds, I did find a fat pumpkin (leftover in a Management area field) to take my frustrations out on...:rotf:

First couple of shots were fine...third shot the forend lever opened a bit...Closed it up...4th shot the whole forend fell at my feet! :crying:

Gman, would you be so kind as to give me the gunsmith's name and number in Woodstock, VT?

Looks like a drive is in order for some filing work...

Alternatively, can anyone recommend a competent gunsmith any closer to Southern NH than Woodstock VT?? I can't bring my gun to just anyone...

[Eric Grims]

It is Daniel Morgan 802 457 4828. He specializes in English guns and to my knowledge he readily works on many other double guns. Myself and others I shoot with find him to be a valuable resource.
Good luck!

[ron belanger]

It is Daniel Morgan 802 457 4828. He specializes in English guns and to my knowledge he readily works on many other double guns. Myself and others I shoot with find him to be a valuable resource.
Good luck!

Eric, I have an appointment with Daniel tomorrow morning at 11:30 to get my Parker Repro fixed! I am psyched!

My Girlfriend's birthday tomorrow so we're driving up and going to lunch in Woodstock while he works on the gun...Thanks for the info on Daniel!

[Eric Grims]

I know the bummer when a favorite gun isn't functioning and the relief when a good repair puts it back on line. Good luck

[ron belanger]

I know the bummer when a favorite gun isn't functioning and the relief when a good repair puts it back on line. Good luck

Thanks!

[ron belanger]

Visited Daniel Morgan in his shop full of interesting, and mouth watering, double guns...showed him my repro 20 ga and he knew just what had to be done to solve the forend "popping off" problem.

Left his shop and went to lunch and strolled around Woodstock VT for a couple hours and returned to pick up the gun.

It now has a nice snap when attaching the forend and I am confident that he did the job adequately enough to ensure that it stays together for the future of me and my gun...of course, some clay shooting will be in order to test the work...

Daniel is a nice man and has a very interesting shop full of client's, as well as his own side by sides...he explained some of his projects underway at the moment, one of which was a bastardized, $60k Purdey that he is reworking to function again as a shooter...amazing stuff!

I think he has a dream job there in the hills of VT! :bowdown:

[ron belanger]

In the course of pheasant hunting over the last month, I have fired the repro and the fore end popping off problem has been eliminated. I was in a field one late afternoon and I let fly at some high flying crows (maybe up 50 yds or so) with the 20...didn't hit a crow but satisfied my curiosity on whether the fore end job would hold up...after a dozen shots, it did.

[ron belanger]

Bump up for a member with the same problem...:bigbye: