My Latest Shot in the Dark

[ArtS]

I've always been a sub-gauge (particular 16 gauge) fanatic. My interest in Parkers really leans towar the old ones. I have wanted a small bore hammer gun for a while, but availability and price has been a hold-up. I found an antique dealer last week who was listing a Parker top action hammer gun on one of the auction sites. It was a 16 gauge PT with 28" barrels. Barrels were smooth on the outside, shiny inside and metal looked in good shape with no real finish. Stock was solid and all there but had a lot of use.

Their price looked a little high but they offered 7 day return after reciept. I contacted them directly and they would sell it directly with a discount for the auction fees, free shipping, no cc fees and no sales tax. After thinking it over, I ordered it at 4:00 PM this afternoon. Just found out the gun is already in UPS hands and coming to me. I think 3:00 hour turnaround from order to pickup is pretty enouraging.

Couple of questions. One thing that really interested my in the gun is that it is built on an O frame with lightening cuts. I am not conversent with these and was wondering if that was a common thing with the 16 gauge hammer guns. I own a 16 ga DH with Damascus barrels which is built on an O frame and it does not have the cuts even though it weighs 6# even.

This hammer gun is an 1885 gun and a check of the serialization book showed a surprising number of 16s in the latter part of the year with most of them being 30"or longer. I would think that these would have been more likely 1 frames and certainly not lightened 0s. As an aside. the 16s that year were surprising as far as the book is concerned. There were two 23", one 26", four 29", eight 32" and sixteen 36" guns. (This of course doesn't include the common 28" and 30" guns).The four 29" guns looks to be half the total production of all years of hammer 16 gauges. The eight 36" ones intrigue me, since TPS shows no 36" 16 gauge top action hammer guns were made. These 16 guns were identical and made in two batches of 8 guns. It would be interested if they all went to the same retail customer. Also I found no mention of the 23" 16 gauges being made. This may have been a typo, but I find it odd that it was made for a PT and a D2 in separate entries. Finally they only listed two L grade guns that year, an L and an L1. I suppose they were nearing the end of Laminate production during that period.

[David Noble]

Sounds like a great score! I'll be watching for pictures!

[Dean Romig]

The 0-frame 16 gauge hammer guns, both T/A as well as Lifters were predominantly lightened frames with the lightening cuts in the water tables. I have examples of both in my collection.
Actually Laminated Steel barrels were the standard on Grade 1 Parker hammer guns right through the 1890's for the most part and they were imported of course, Parker having stopped making their own Laminated Steel barrels in 1879.

My D Lifter 16 on the 0-frame with Parker-made Laminated Steel barrels left Meriden with a barrel length of 27" which are still 27" to this day,






.

[Harold Pickens]

I have a top action 16 ga hammer gun with 26" barrels and it has lightening cuts.
I have another 16ga frame ,fore arm and barrels (no stock) , 34" that is an O frame but does not have lightening cuts.l

[Jerry VanHorn]

I have another 16..O frame..lightening cuts..28"..Twist..I remember 1885 from my letter..I would have to get it out for the SN....jv......