2 barrel set

[TMallad]

What do you guys think of this for my first real parker? Is the price ok?
http://www.gunsinternational.com/FAC...n_id=100206133

Thanks,
Tom

[Bruce Day]

Greene's Guns owner Chuck Brunner is a good PGCA member, its a great price and bargain for a two barreled set gun with interesting history. Don't expect the 16ga barrels to be light.

[Bill Murphy]

It's a bit pricey, but seems to be a nice gun. I would want to see the PGCA letter on this gun to see if the second set of barrels can be proven original. Hundreds of guns were ordered by Iver Johnson Sporting Goods. Apparently, there is something that sets this gun aside from those hundreds. Recently I read something that suggests that Iver Johnson Sporting Goods and Iver Johnson guns are two different entities. I do not know whether that is true or not. Yes, this is a big #2 frame gun, probably well over seven pounds with the 16 gauge barrels. Chuck is a nice guy, lives right across the river from me, and will probably cut you some slack if you really like the gun.

[Chris T.]

I think it's an interesting gun at a fair price, no harm in giving him a call!

[Bill Murphy]

As many readers here will attest, it is extremely rare for a customer of Parker Brothers to request that a set of Damascus barrels be made to be installed on a gun originally made with fluid steel barrels. In fifty years of collecting and researching Parkers, this is the first. However, don't let my friend Chuck charge you retail. Go for the discount.

[StubTwist]

Bill, do you mean in the subject of this thread: a customer ordering two barrel sets - one fluid steel and ordering a second set with Damascus like the one offered by Green's Gun's example is rare?

Or in all cases in general this is rare occurrence: A customer requests Damascus barrels in the place of the fluid steel barrels that it was originally cataloged for ? One gun, one barrel set.

[Dean Romig]

Both forend irons are missing the standard 1 & 2 Parker Bros would (usually) have stamped even into barrel sets and forends fitted to a gun much later than the date of production.

[George Lander]

Normally when you see a Parker two barrel set, one being Damascus & the other Titanic, it would be on a gun made right at the end of the 19th century or the very beginning of the 20th. The gun, typically, was made with Damascus barrels for black powder and with the advent of smokeless was sent back to Parker to be fitted with fluid steel barrels, typically Titanic (before that great ship went down) I have a CH grade made originally with Bernard Steel barrels and later (1906) sent back to Parker to be fitted with a set of Titanic which I also have. The gun was made in 1899 and the letter shows both sets with the same serial numbers. Oddly enough there was "no charge" for the new set of Titanic barrels.

I have an Iver Johnson 1920 catalogue which advertised Parker Bros. as well as A.H. Fox, Ithaca, Lefever and Iver Johnson. It also advertised hompson Sub Machine guns for $125.00 each hyped as "home protection" & "farmer's livestock protection".

Best Regards, George

[Bill Murphy]

The gun in question is exactly the opposite of what George describes. It's original configuration, described in the Serialization Book, is a fluid steel 30" 12 gauge without extra barrels. The "later" barrels are assumed to be the 16 gauge Damascus barrels. The letter will tell whether the origin of the second set of barrels can be attributed to Parker Brothers. Mr. Brunner indicates that the gun was ordered with two sets of barrels. Even without this provenance and the 1 and 2 stamps, a close inspection by an experienced Parker collector would be sufficient to satisfy a purchaser of this gun. Ask him for a scan of the PGCA letter on this gun.

[TMallad]

Well I did it Shes on her way!!!!!!!!!!!!
The letter said gun made in 1904 30" Titanic barrels 12 gauge. No records found for the 16gauge.