Parker gunsmith

[Charles Dawley]

Looking for info on gunsmiths in MN familiar with parker repros. I live in Rochester, MN. My 28 ga locked up on me this weekend as I touched off two rounds at a rapidly flying grouse. It will not open...this happened once previously while shooting clays, but I was able to eventually open it. I assumed it was a poorly sized reload. These shells were new hulls and of a load I have used for years, so I am thinking it is mechanical. In addition to not opening, the safety will not move either. Frustrating as this was a never before used gun and I was heavy into a number of grouse. I am thinking one could remove the hinge pin and get it apart, but I would rather have someone who knows what they are doing look at it. Thanks

[Dean Romig]

Will the lever move all the way to the full open position?

[Bill Murphy]

The most important part of fixing a gun that won't open is trying to remember whether all the shells in it were expended. Second most important is to know that you can't remove the hinge pin without opening the gun. However, you can do thousands of dollars of damage by trying. You will get more advice here, and will probably succeed in opening the gun, and then you should send it to a good gun mechanic that some of our posters will recommend.

[Charles Dawley]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

Will the lever move all the way to the full open position?

No, it appears to move very little to the right

[Charles Dawley]

all shells were expended.....definitely want to find a good smith and not do it myself

[Charles Dawley]

Thanks, I will try what you suggest when I get home. Perhaps that is what I did to open it the first time this happened. I just remember playing around with the lever at the time. This is a two barrel set. I don't remember having any trouble with the other barrel last year when I used it frequently during grouse season.

[Dean Romig]

OK, this is what I have read.....

With the gun across your knees and the floor plate solidly on one of your knees - push the lever with normal pressure as if you were opening the gun and thump hard, as if closing the gun, with a rubber mallet or your fist like you were pounding on a table. With luck it should pop right open.

[GH-16]

It sounds like the jambed safety could be the root cause of the problem.

When you push the safety forward to shoot, you are also pushing the automatic safety rod forward inside the stock head. The opening lever mechanism is what pushes on the rod to reset the safety. I had a Parker lock up in this fashion in the past. The only way I was able to get it open was to pull the floor plate, sears & stock off it. Once I got the stock off, the gun opened normally. I then removed the rod & the gun has worked great with a manual safety ever since.

Mine was a restocked gun and I feel my problem was caused by an improperly drilled hole in the stock head for the auto safety rod.

If you are uncomfortable doing this type of work to your gun. You might consider getting it to Brad Bachelder in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Good luck !!

[Bob Jurewicz]

OK. I don't have an engineering explanation but have resolved the problem in one of my repros.
In the area of the receiver where barrels and watertable meet place gun in a well padded vice with jaws on top of barrels and bottom of receiver. Tigten vice very slowly to further engate barrels to water table. I heard a click and lever moved to right to open gun after removal from vice.
My problem was insufficient rim clearance. I bought a rim reamer and increased depth of cut. Problem resolved!!
Bob Jurewicz

[Charles Dawley]

Good news! The suggestion made by Jent worked!! Pushed hard to the left, heard a click, pushed to the right and it opened right up! Empties. Were not tight in chambers. Now fir the why? That the safety wouldn't move does make me wonder. Bob, could you say more about rim clearance? Are you referring to how the brass bottom of the shell fits the chamber? The gun itself is very tight. Thanks for the suggestion Jent.