DHE with Hickory Rod and Patent Stamp.
 

I recently acquired a DHE with the Hickory Rod through the stock which also has the patent stamp on the stock. According to my Parker Story there were only two know at the time of print that had the patent stamp.
I'm wondering if any of you have come across many more like this?
I always love finding these unique prices and learning more about them.

If your interested in historical technical data, click on the Technical Information link on the left side of the parkerguns.org page and then click on Parker Gun Related Patents in the Quick Link section at the top of that page; then find and click on the link to 545898, which I expect is the pat # on the gun?

More have turned up since the printing of The Parker Story, but not many. With so many guns with refinished stocks, I would suggest the patent stamp on a few might have been obliterated in the process. They are nice to see when they do turn up.




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I have one on a PH with Parker Steel barrels. It's a 1926 gun and I was surprised to see it on such an older gun. I think they were mainly found on early hammer less guns.

I have observed about 4 myself. From GH on up to BH.
In one case, the grain flow was so poor in the stock, it had 3 breaks in it and the rod was the only think holding it together. No wonder they used it.

A few of the ones i hae seen had the stamp, some didnt. All were original and nor refinished. I think that the rod was used as needed on a number of guns, but the patent stamp was only used on the earlier ones.

I have also observed the patent under the buttplate on one gun stamped right where the rod was inserted.

I've seen many that had the the patented hickory reinforcing rod and the vast majority had no stamp and some had their original finish. The reinforcing rod is about 11/16" or 3/4" diameter. Other larger plugs in the butt were where weight was added or removed for correct balance of the gun. I have a DH twelve-gauge that has both and when I was a kid of about 10 I had the back half of a ten-gauge hammer gun with a 1" hole with a lead weight pressed into it.




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Here's a good picture of the stamp on a AAHE.

Craig,
Your BH has the rod it it. But i cant remember if it has the stamp. Does it?

Brian yes it does have the stamp.

Always odd to me...a gun maker find a beautiful piece of aged hardwood, spend hours turning it into a wonderful gunstock on a graded gun...then stamps it with a patent number! Kinda like scratching your name into the paint of a new Ferrari.