1875 Parker Hammer Gun Question

[Pa SxS]

Hello Scott,

Let me explain to you, and others, how the determination was made that you have a "0" grade underlifter. This does not mean that you don't, in fact, have a grade 1, just what the records show.

There is no Order Book for your gun so the list price could not be used to determine grade.

The Stock Book for your gun should show the barrel type steel used and usually the grade of the gun, all contained in one column of the page and that column is on the left side of the page. The page your gun is listed on has that column missing. I would guess the paper wasn't loaded properly in the scanner. The next column to the right shows the S/N of the gun. This is what your gun shows: PT59 (the last 2 digits of your S/N.) This PT in red was put in by either the authors of the Parker Story or by Charlie Price when he compiled the Serilization Book. There are guns above and below your S/N with PT's, T0's, and T1's (also in red ink.)

If you look in the Serialization Book under "Grade Codes in the Parker Gun Database", you'll find that the author states that PT's and T0's are grade 0 guns and the T1's are grade 1 guns. This is what I used to determine your gun was a grade 0. The type of steel whether plain twist or stub twist was not noted, just grouped as twist. I have S/N 8036, listed as T0 in the stock book and it's obviously a grade 0 with stub twist barrels.

So now you know how difficult it is to determine the grade of these early guns. As I said, you may in fact have a grade 1 but I can only report on what the Parker factory records show and get advice from TPS and the Serialization Book.

Chuck Bishop
Research Chairman