A family Parker

[wayne goerres]

I would have someone reel familar with shotgun barrel look at yours before I wasted any real time on the gun. Your barrels look realy bad. Hope thats not the case. If the Barrels are shot you would be better off makeing a wall hanger out of it or parting it out. This is of course just my opinion.

[Dean Romig]

Patrick, it is not unusual to see grade 0 and grade 1 guns of that period with no checkering at all.
I can't say for certain about that finish in the inlet for the trigger guard strap. I thought most of them were only oil finished in there and the rest of the stock would have had a shellac or something similar.

[Patrick Hanna]

Hi, Wayne and Dean.
Wayne, thanks for the input. The way I look at it, doing a bit of cleaning is a fun way for me to spend a Saturday afternoon. I don't have any illusions about finding a silk purse under this current sow, but my photos didn't do the barrels justice. I think it'll wind up being a wall hanger, too. The fact is, my cousin who is purchasing this gun doesn't have the full use of his left arm, so he will probably never intend to shoot it. And he's sensible enough to know it must be approved by a competent vintage gun specialist before he could attempt to do such a thing. (That said, his arm doesn't keep him from shooting lighter guns very well, nor fly fishing, either). And further, the way I see it is this: If we take it to a vintage barrel specialist, that person would need to clean it before assessing it, so I am happy to do some of that preliminary work. I won't over-clean it. I've got great patience (remember, I build guitars) but I'm not a glutton for punishment when things get too tedious. If I run into anything that doesn't seem right to me, I'll stop immediately. Any potential restoration work will be my cousin's decision, and it won't be done by me. My thoughts have gone precisely along the lines of your advice.

Dean, thanks again to you, too. The stock finish looks like a professional job to me, and is in pretty good shape overall. I think whoever painted the barrels and other metal parts with lacquer (or whatever) also painted it into the inlets. That's a problem, but not insurmountable. I am glad to have your input on this point. None of my guns, including my Spanish double gun, have finish in the inlets, beyond a light coat of wiped oil. Most have no finish at all in those recesses. I suspected that would be the case with old Parkers, too. Thanks to all for your interest and encouragement.

[Fishtail]

You've already been told but I'll restate it's worth near-nothing.

Guns are funny things. If a person's great-great grandpa had bought a new Ford in 1906 and driven it mercilessly for 15 years, crashed it into a tree while drunk and with his mistress, then parked it outdoors for another 15 years before using it to pull a plow for 10 years, there would be little sentiment attached to that heap of iron. 60 years later his descendants wouldn't feel any obligation to attach sentiment to it. But a gun - that's a different story.

[OH Osthaus]

Originally Posted by greg conomos

You've already been told but I'll restate it's worth near-nothing.

Guns are funny things. If a person's great-great grandpa had bought a new Ford in 1906 and driven it mercilessly for 15 years, crashed it into a tree while drunk and with his mistress, then parked it outdoors for another 15 years before using it to pull a plow for 10 years, there would be little sentiment attached to that heap of iron. 60 years later his descendants wouldn't feel any obligation to attach sentiment to it. But a gun - that's a different story.

you obviously haven't tried to buy an antique Ford to restore

that there is "patina"

[wayne goerres]

If you have the time and the inclanation you might take more pictures at different angles of the barrel blemish. Some times the camera dose funny things. As for restoration or serious clean up my rule of thumb is if a gun is so bad as to be non functional (assuming the barels are sound) than any work you do to bring it back to life is a good thing. If a gun is mechanically sound and the wood is,nt to cosmeticaly challanged than restoration is not cost effective.Unless it is rare you wont get your money back.

[Patrick Hanna]

Hi, Wayne. You make excellent points. I am pretty convinced the best that can be hoped for is to make it a handsome display piece. I'm just interested in getting it to that point. For me, it is a labor of love and pretty interesting, and it costs me nothing more than some pleasant time in my shop. I didn't get anything done on it today. But I re-assembled an 1873 trapdoor Springfield rifle that can most likely be a shooter (after inspection) which will also belong to my cousin. If and when I have some visible progress, I will certainly shoot some more photos and post them. Many thanks.
Patrick

[wayne goerres]

Look foward to seeing the future pictures. Guns make the most interesting prodjects.

[charlie cleveland]

i think the old gun will shoot again with nothing but a clean up... charlie

[Patrick Hanna]

Hi, again, Friends. I spent some time cleaning what I will call the "receiver frame" today and also the right barrel. I believe this mystery coating is along the lines of a dark shellac, because alcohol seems to do the best job of taking it off. As you all know, it is a time consuming process, but I was pretty fascinated while doing it. The frame is not quite ready for its glamor shot yet, but it's close. It's cleaning up nicely. The barrels have a way to go before another photo. If any of you have a nice photo showing how a set of "laminated steel" barrels should look, I would sure appreciate seeing it. I do NOT want to over-clean this puppy.
Thanks to all,
Patrick