What to look for in a "shooter" ?
 

Hello Folks

New here. Good bit of experience fixing Foxes and Elsie's. No experience whatsoever with Parkers of any kind, and haven't shot a Damascus gun before, or blackpowder. I do have low- pressure shells for the Foxes around (RST). The budget will allow for a shooter condition hammer gun as a first Parker. I am not a collector per se, as what I'd want to buy would be something safe and viable to shoot, not a wall hanger.

Is there a summary of what to pay particular attention to when buying a Parker hammer gun within the parameters?

I respect that this is not a simple topic, and I have a lot of reading to do here, but perhaps there is a "buyer's guide" of sorts compiled somewhere to get started with?

Thank you!

Make sure the barrels are safe and that the stock has no bad cracks. Those are the big items. Then, make sure the action functions properly.

Are there tell tale signs with damascus that will indicate a safety issue? Bulging and cracks of course, but anything unique to these guns?

Barrel wall thickness is paramount as well as pitting both inside and out.





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I would not shoot decarbonized barrels and the really early barrels Parker manufactured. There is nothing inherently dangerous with Damascus or Twist or else some would have failed on me long ago. As Dean says, wall thickness is the key.

"shooter" will mean different things to different people

to me - there is no difference in any of the safety or structural features (lock up, solid wood and such) between a "shooter" and a good condition gun

a shooter is simply one that has finish issues - worn barrel blue or brown, well worn wood, little or no case, a gun I am not going to worry about hauling into a marsh in my canoe or on a rainy day in a thick woodcock cover

any thing else (wood issues, rust) falls to the "project" class - which you then have to evaluate each fault on its own and how much it will take (your time or your money) to get it fixed up. Rarity or desirable features or bargain price may make it worth while.

Mills, from my experience, the Parker made Laminated Steel barrels are some of the stoutest barrels I have ever examined and guns with them are often somewhat 'barrel heavy' in handling dynamics. But I see no reason not to shoot them, keeping in mind of course, the warning signs we look for in all barrels.





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Laminated are ok. I was talking about decarbonized

I will have to look up the definition of decarbonized.

Generally, I am fine with certain levels of project guns, largely determined by what I can do myself. Wood is not problem to address, surface rust is OK, and since I like rust bluing barrels, learning how to work with damascus seems like a good next step.