Finally Picked up a Hammer
 

Been wanting a Hammer gun for a while. Most of the ones I've come across have been wall hangers. This one is in pretty good shape functionally and structurally. Some brown patina going on but no pitting and a good twist Damacus still visible. Serial# ties it to 1877 so it's also the oldest Parker I own now. It's 16Ga as well so also the only non-12ga I own.

The butt plate is smooth with no pattern. Wondering if that was normal. There is no grade mark but the lack of embellishments indicates it's probably a lower grade 0 or 1, but I'm no expert. Sorry I didn't take a picture of the barrel. I'll be sure to do that when I have it out again. Going to order a research letter on it.

I treat my Parker collection as an heirloom collection for my kids to hold onto or cash in on some day. Are these old hammers worth the cost of refurb/refinish by a reputable smith?

A 16g would certainly be a nice find for any hammer gun, let alone one that early. Are you sure that it is not a 14g? Make sure to double check that. I am not near my serialization book right now to check to see if the number is listed.

The comb on the stock has been drastically modified from its factory shape. The plain steel buttplate is proper for the gun.

Thank you. I messed up. I had purchased two Parkers at the same time from the same estate. This one is a 12 gauge. The other one is a 10ga P grade. I confused myself because there was also a 16ga that was in rough shape that I passed on.

Brian, I respectfully disagree with that statement. I can show numerous pictures of Parker Lifters with that exact comb profile. One in particular is Robin Lewis’ B-grade 16 gauge. A phenomenal gun in original condition.






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Ok. I would appreciate you sharing them.

Robin's 16 gauge B Lifter No. 15566 and a 12 gauge D Lifter (project) of mine No. 14056 with Parker-made Laminated barrels.



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Thank you, it certainly is an odd style of comb.

It is quite an unusual style and we have only seen it on Lifters, and not a lot of Lifters either.





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An old thread on the topic of Parker combs.


. http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthr...ighlight=14056





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Interesting, thanks for pointing these out. Almost headed for "never say never" with all the subtle nuances, almost.