16 Ga Lifter revisited
 

I was so impressed with the 16 gauge 0-frame Lifter that Jeff Kuss displayed for us I thought it would be acceptable to display mine - a 16 Gauge $140 Grade (Grade 3) Lifter No. 18719 made with 27-inch Parker-made Laminated-3 barrels on the lightened 0-frame, shipped in August of 1880..... and I didn't want to mess up Jeff's thread so I started this one.

The gun was returned in October of 1880 to "put on a rubber butt" and this was done and engraved and checkered to resemble a skeleton steel butt plate - even the screw heads were checkered over to match the checkering done on the hard rubber butt plate.

I cast the winning bid in the October 2015 Julia auction.


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A few more.


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I can't think of anything else to say but WOW! Thanks for posting these photos, Dean.

nice....they should have made a few more of these guns were i could have had one....charlie

WOW!! I really want one. Don't have the money, yet, but when I do I'll come calling Dean!!

Sweet. You probably have something similar with 32" barrels getting dusty you no longer need :)

No, just a 28" 12 gauge No. 14056 $140 Grade (Grade 3) with Parker made Laminated barrels.

Needs a little work though.


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Dean, Thanks for posting those pictures...that is an amazing 16 gauge lifter! Those barrels are beautiful...the whole gun is beautiful. That is a nice and very rare lifter! Is the crack in the wrist the only big issue?

I really like that gun. I had done a search for 16 gauge lifters not too long ago and was wondering why I wasn't seeing too many and then looked in the Parker Story and noticed how rare they were. Was it something like 79 lifters total in 16 gauge? I am sure there were some not recorded but still, you just don't see them that often.

Man...THAT IS A NICE GUN !!,!,

Nice. Like that round grip.

Jay, the wrist had been broken at least two or three times and had been poorly repaired and voids left by missing pieces had been filled with some unknown substance and no attempt had been made to disguise it. The checkering on the grip and ball had also been poorly done. It needs to be replaced but I want to keep that beautiful honey-blonde stock. I have discussed this work with Chris Dawe but getting it to him is always a problem.

There is very little else that needs to be done other than to replace the screw at the front of the trigger plate. It had been drilled for an “easy-out” because it was frozen in place.
That and maybe a proper refinish of the barrels.





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In fact Jay, my 16 gauge Lifter No. 18719 is not just rare, it is unique in that it is the only known 16 ga. Lifter of any grade with 27” Laminated barrels - so unique in fact that it is not even shown in the tables in the Grades section of TPS. And to top it all off, they are the Parker-made Laminated barrels.





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Dean,

I'm curious about how much the 16 weighs? I had a 16 that was mono blocked to 20 and the gun was heavy compared to a 16 lifter I hefted at the Fall Southern in about 2012.

Harry

Dean, that's as good as it gets...a 1 of 1 Lifter! I did look at TPS before I posted and noticed there wasn't a 27" D grade listed. And there were only 5 other D grade lifters made in 16 gauge. Even with the crack in the wrist are you able to shoot. I am thinking you might have brought it to Addieville a few years ago? I should have payed more attention.

Nice! love those grade 3 and up hammer guns.. Been trying to find the right one for a while now.

Jay, I think you're mixing up the two guns Dean posted. The 12 is the one with the cracked stock.

That's right Edgar. Thank you.

Harry - My scale is not working and it isn't the batteries - I guess I'll need to buy a new one.
The 16 gauge D Lifter is nice and light and perfectly balanced but I don't know what it weighs at the moment.





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With all the lifter mania going on I might have to dig mine out. It's an earlier gun than those posted here, serial number in the 13000 range.

Hammer guns are indeed special and I was very fortunate to get a top lever grade 3 16 last year at the Southern. This year I shot a much neglected 32 inch 16 top lever.

Dean I bet that stock could be properly repaired for far less than the cost of a new one.

IMO it is too far gone and needs a new stock head made and to transplant the stock onto it at the checkering line. This kind of joint can be made stronger than the original and be invisible too.





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I wonder if re-doing the stock head is much cheaper than a whole stock redo. I'd guess that 70-80% of the labor cost of a stock in in the head

the repair looks sound enough to shoot compared to the mills 8 ga you have a new stock on that gun....charlie

Yes Edgar, I did mix up the 12 with the 16. Too many great lifters to look at!

My guess is that it may be close to the same price of making and finishing a whole new stock, when you consider the precision work involved in fitting the new head to the back half.





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Nice barrels Dean!

Gorgeous 16g D lifter with so many features. Not many factory 27” barrels, or hard rubber skeleton butt plates. There must be only a handful of those barrels existing with that Parker made pattern, and you own two of them!
If memory serves, even the grip cap and screw were very unusual.

That is a very nice , and quite a rare original piece of Parker Art . Engraving is in great shape. A Keeper . Dave

Dean, That 16 ga lifter is very rare, and what a beautiful gun it is! Glad you have it, and the 12ga has a fine piece of wood, I see why you hesitate to do any thing, I believe that is the best 16 lifter in grade 3 that i have ever seen! congrats thanks for showing the guns, Jeffs gun is beautiful also, Never get tired of seeing guns like those, Gary

Thanks Gary! Coming from “Mr. Parker Hammergun Man” it means a lot!





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Just to clarify - The crack in the wrist is on the 12 ga. Lifter. The wood on the 16 ga. Lifter is perfect except foe a tiny chip next to the butt plate.






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