PARKER HAMMER GUN SN 29983
 

I received the Parker Hammer Gun SN 29983 that I recently bought at Ken Farmer's Auction. "The Book" has it as a Grade 3 toplever (not fishtail) 12 bore w/ Damascus 28 inch barrels w/ extra 30 inch barrels. I am ordering a letter today.

I have a couple questions: The stock has a plain, what looks like gutta-percha, buttplate. The frame size is "1" The barrel flats are marked with a "3" over "17555" but the SN "29983" is on the side of the barrel lugs. The barrel flats are also marked with a "4 8" a "D 4" "Pat'd June 25, 1878" & "Pat'd April 11, 1876". I am confused about the other number and the buttplate. Can anyone here help?

Best Regards, George

George,

17555 is the "Order Number". Early Parkers like yours had them. I don't know about the butt plate.

Harry

George, we know you know how to post pictures, so post a picture of the buttplate. I had gutta percha with my scrapple this morning, enjoyed it very much. Let's see the picture of your gun. By the way, I can just about see the auction house when sitting in my hot tub, but missed the auction. I hope you got a good gun.

Thanks Harry & Bill. I will try to post some pictures tomorrow. The 28 inch barrels are pretty rusty. I'm hoping that Jim Kelly can clean them up.

Best Regards, George

OK gutta-percha went right through my simple mind. How bought a defanition (yes one of these days i'm going to try to put spell check on this). ch

Calvin,Gutta Percha is the material Parker used back in the day to make their buttplates and grip cap,s. I was an easily moldable form of rubber.A little softer than bakelite.

Gutta percha is a rubberlike gum obtained from the milky sap of trees of the Sapotaceae family, found in Indonesia and Malaysia. Once of great economic value, gutta percha is now being replaced by plastics in many items, although it is still used in some electrical insulation and dental work. The English natural historian John Tradescant (c. 1570-1638) introduced gutta percha to Europe in the 1620s, and its inherent qualities gave it a slow but growing place in world trade. By the end of World War II, however, many manufacturers switched from gutta percha to plastics, which are more versatile and cheaper to produce.

Dave, it still tastes good when served with scrapple.

Ok...Now I have a question....What is scrapple?

Dave, I thought Gutta Percha was the way you New Englanders pronounced gutter perch, a local name for carp.

:biglaugh: Only if your a New Englander of Italian decent..