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Jeff Mulliken
PGCA Member
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Posted: Fri Jan 7th, 2005 06:46 pm |
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My Parkers are well used shooters, the beads all have a flattened ovoid shape. Is that shape a result of wear, going in a and out of cases etc? Would a new (unworn) Parker factory bead be spherical? And more visible?
In addition, are the factory beads threaded? Force fit?
I shoot a lot with these guns and am considering putting on a slightly more visible bead, maybe ivory. Is this hard to do myself and who is a good source for an appropriate bead?
Jeff
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GUNDOC
Member
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Posted: Sat Jan 8th, 2005 12:01 pm |
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| Parker beads are/were, like most firearms of that era, soft brass and do "wear". Generally any semi-competent "smith" can replace them with brass replacement beads available from Brownell's, etc. Ivory?? That is different. Galazan has them in pairs. They are not threaded, but smooth. Hence they are "forced" in place. For added strength I use either Lock-tite or acraglas. Remember if adding the second bead, it should be "fitted" to your sight picture. Goal is to have the two beads look like a figure of eight, or "stacked" one on the other. Best wishes, Dr. BILL
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C. Roger Giles
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Posted: Sat Jan 8th, 2005 11:10 pm |
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| Jeff. be careful with putting a new front bead on cause if it gets too big, when you shoot you will concentrate on the bead and not the target. RogerCoger
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rich anderson
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Posted: Mon Jan 10th, 2005 04:11 pm |
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Jeff what do you need a bead for . Its a shotgun!! All kidding aside if it has only the front bead I wouldn't add a middle bead. I like the Ivory beads available from Brownells or you could add one of those glow in the dark ones .
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Jeff Mulliken
PGCA Member
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Posted: Mon Jan 10th, 2005 05:50 pm |
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Rich,
Middle beads are for dedicated target guns. I think a smallish ivory front bead may be the classiest route.
Jeff
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Bruce Day
PGCA Member
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Posted: Mon Jan 10th, 2005 05:53 pm |
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Hello Jeff. Glad to see we made it to the new site.
Yes the original beads get worn to an ovoid shape. I think the ivory beads are hard to see against a gray or cloudy sky and while we like the notion of ivory, in actuality they are hard to use in many conditions. For authenticity, I would just replace the worn metal bead with a new one. But I have worn beads on a couple of my guns and it doesn't seem to make any difference...I still miss, old or new.
My favorites are the Bradley beads in small size. I like the red ones, not the white ones. Some Parkers, my CHE for example, were switched to the Bradley bead years ago.
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Bruce Day
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Pat Dugan
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Posted: Mon Jan 10th, 2005 07:37 pm |
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I have replaced several beads on my Parkers with the 4mm Ivory bead from
Brownell's ( $12.00 ). It is way too big for the original hole, so I take a fingernail
file and file down the shaft into a taper. I then put a little black locktight in the
hole and lightly tap it in. This keeps the original hole available for replacement
of the original sight if you wanted to do so
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John Davis
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Posted: Mon Jan 10th, 2005 07:58 pm |
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The subject of bead sights has come up in the past and I posted this little tid bit from our own Captain du Bray. Thought it was interesting enough to post once more.
October 5, 1889, an article entitled, “Large Versus Small Shot,” by Gaucho, appears in the American Field magazine. It reads in part as follows: “I believe this: Were Budd, Carver, Stice,Bandle, Tucker, Robinson and a few other crack shots to proclaim that they used No. 6 shot in both barrels when pigeon shooting then, the whole army of small fry would instantly follow the lead, and we would all declare on our solemn so help me Bob, that nothing short of No. 6's were the correct caper. So much for following fashion. Just so when Fred Kimble first came to Cincinnati. He then imported and held to our gaze a front sight on his shotgun which was fully the size of a number 2 or 3 shot. He then and there swept everything in the way of prizes with his old Parker thus ornamented, and many a man of us was at once imbued with the tremendous advantage such a bead had over our tiny ones. To such an extent was one individual carried away that he never rested until he had soldered on the end of his gun rib a big brass button, and with this he solemnly declared he would ‘buverice dose glay bigeons yust lygk Fret Gimple’ [pulverize those clay pigeons just like Fred Kimble]. But it was no go. The button came down and so did the soaring ambition of the sanguine Teuton. Still, it is clearly an advantage to have a good sized and plainly visible bead on the far end of the gun; hence we much like Lyman’s shotgun sight.”
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rich anderson
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Posted: Mon Jan 10th, 2005 08:13 pm |
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| I have a DHE 20 with a front Ivory bead thats just plain huge!! This thing sticks out like a big pimple on a babies backside. When the Grouse or Rooster flushes I never even see it though.
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Jeff Mulliken
PGCA Member
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Posted: Mon Jan 10th, 2005 08:46 pm |
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I may put a little white fingernail polish of my current bead, and see if I like a more obtrusive bead before I do anything.
One thing no one answered, is the factory bead threaded? Can it be removed with no harm done? I believe the Brownell beads are tapered, no threads....shouldn't I cut threads on them instead "gluing" them in with Locktite?
Jeff
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GUNDOC
Member
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Posted: Mon Jan 10th, 2005 10:11 pm |
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| Jeff, sorry I forgot to answer the "threading" part of the question. Quite honestly, I try to unthread them but usually they sort of just "come out." Then faced with a hole, I tap it and put in one of the threaded beads from Brownell's. They come in several different sizes and thread sizes. As has been said, two beads are usually the province of the target shooter as they start with a mounted gun an are NOT snap shooters. DR. BILL ps my own GHE and DHE were truly threaded -somewhere??!!
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Christopher S. Lien
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Posted: Tue Jan 11th, 2005 09:27 am |
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New BBS, lets take her for a spin around the block and see how she handles. Posting images seems a little different than on our last system, but here goes...
Jeff, not sure if this Ivory bead is as "huge" as the one on Rich's DHE 20, but it's still a fairly good sized pumpkin ball. Image below shows the front Ivory on a set of 28" barrels. There is also a smaller mid bead, and they stack very well when sighting the gun. These beads have been on this Parker for a long time, and thus have started to yellow and craze a bit with age. I thought about replacing them, but this is the way I found the gun, and this is the way it will stay. Neither bead is tapped, and both appear to be the older wedge style application. I don't really think about the beads when hunting, just shoot the old iron and enjoy it...
Best, Chris
 Last edited on Tue Jan 11th, 2005 10:00 am by Christopher S. Lien
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Jeff Mulliken
PGCA Member
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Posted: Tue Jan 11th, 2005 03:17 pm |
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Chris, nice image. What gauge are the barrels?
Jeff
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Christopher S. Lien
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Posted: Tue Jan 11th, 2005 11:17 pm |
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Jeff, this one's a 12-bore which according to the research letter was ordered with chokes requested at RH-cyl and LH-mod. At some point the Ivory beads were applied, and then later a Miller SS trigger installed. Not exactly a dedicated trap/target gun, but a true delight for close up work over the dogs. Also received an added bonus after I rescued this Parker, but that's a story for another time...
Best, Chris
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Sam Ogle
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Posted: Fri Jan 14th, 2005 01:37 pm |
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I asked to have "twin ivories" installed on a DHE 16 gauge, and when the gunsmith finished, the front sight looked as big to me as a gol-dang ping-pong ball. I didn't like the dang thing, and one night during skeet league, I noticed it had been knocked off. I shot better without it.
I replaced it with a small, red, Bradley which I liked a lot better. (A friend had one on a 20 gauge Fox and I liked the look of it.) In truth, when I am shooting well, I don't even notice the beads.
Sam Ogle
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Bruce Day
PGCA Member
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Posted: Fri Jan 14th, 2005 02:25 pm |
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| My experience exactly, Sam. I too favor a small red Bradley bead, and seldom notice any of them on fast shots while hunting. But if I have a long shot where I have to pull a large sustained lead, then I aim with the bead and its size and visibility become important.
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Bruce Day
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Oscar Gaddy
PGCA Member
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Posted: Sat Jan 15th, 2005 04:27 pm |
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Parker beads are threaded at the base with 2-64 standard threads. You could probably find a good gunsmith or machinist to make one for you if you wish.
Oscar
Last edited on Sat Jan 15th, 2005 04:29 pm by Oscar Gaddy
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Oscar Gaddy
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Jeff Mulliken
PGCA Member
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Posted: Sat Jan 15th, 2005 11:01 pm |
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Than you Oscar! Thats just what I was waiting for!
Jeff
ps, My oldest graduated from UIUC last year and his experience there was outstanding.
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