Made the Plunge

[Gary Laudermilch]

I have several Parker repros that I absolutely love. Since I am not a collector but, rather, a shooter I have had little interest in an original Parker but found the discussions on this forum interesting and entertaining.

Well, today I walked into the local gun shop where a woman was trying to sell her late husbands guns. Among them was a Parker. The shop owner prefers not to deal in old sxs's as he know he could get burned. So, out of interest I took a look at the gun. What I found:

A 12g V non ejector gun - serial # 156428
30 inch barrels that appear uncut - the dead space at the muzzles is present
The screws are extremely good
Barrel blue is in the 90% range and is original (I believe)
The bores are immaculate and no sign of dents or dings
All serial numbers match
The gun locks up solid - no movement with the forend off
The frame has no pitting or rust and 50-60% of the original case colors are there, even on the sides and bottom. I also believe them to be original
The trigger guard finish is nearly worn off on the front radius.
The stock is where it gets dicey. LOP is 14 1/4 to a dogs head butt plate with peak. It has a repair to the toe on one side where it looks as though a large chip broke off at approx. the but plate screw location but only on 1 side. Someone replaced the wood with a different piece of walnut but did a very respectible job of fitting it but not matching the wood. Because of the repair I believe the butt stock to be refinished but again a very nice job.

When attempting to remove the barrels they would not come off. They open fully but will not unhook. So, I could not see the bottom of the barrel lump to determine frame size but based on the guns weight, which is rather light, I suspect it is a 1 1/2 frame. Also, the safety is almost impossible to move. It moves but only with a great deal of effort. It acts like it is gunked up.

Sooo, I don't know what made me do it but I made an offer of $1200 and left the store. When I got home they called and advised the gun was mine. I'll pick it up later this week, after which I'll post some pics so you guys can tell me I made a mistake.

Somebody with access to the serialization data tell me what it says. Why do you suspect the barrels will not unhook?

Damn, I have to quit looking at this forum!!!