New member, planning to buy first Parker

[Jose A. Chacon]

Hello, my name is Jose A. Chacon.
Where I live, Mexico City, is really uncommon to find Parkers. Today I visited a person that wants to sell his 12 gauge Parker Bros. This is the first time I have either seen one or put my hands on one of them.
To me it looks in good condition, 30" barrels, serial number 97711, stamped in the barrels it reads "Parker Bros Makers, Meriden, Conn Damasque Steel"
I would appreciate information regarding the following:
Model and grade?
Size of the chambers?
What type of steel is damasque steel? Is it safe to shoot modern low brass shells? ( barrels look in very good condition)
Does the metal color look in original condition? Not re-blued? ( I just got a few pics, if more are needed please tell me).
Without the fore end, barrels and action are a little loose. With the fore end installed the gun is tight. Is this normal/acceptable?
Thank you very much for your help.

[Dean Romig]

Hello Jose

The Parker you have pictured is a Grade 2 or a GH made around 1902.
It has been completely refinished and not done in the original Parker Bros. techniques.
The barrels and receiver were not originally blued and blueing may have damaged the barrels.

Judging by the amount of wear the buttplate displays I would suspect there may be other things wrong with it that don't meet the eye and without bore micrometers and barrel wall thickness gauges put to use by an expert you may regret the purchase.

Sorry about the bad news but we like to help newcomers and sometimes the truth hurts.

Best Regards, Dean

[George Lander]

Jose: SN 97711 is not in the Parker serialization book. What Dean told you is correct. What I would advise is to take or send your Parker to a experienced Parker gunsmith and have him check the overall condition. I don't know of one close to Mexico City. Perhaps someone here could advise you on who to contact.

Best Regards, George

[Jose A. Chacon]

Dean, George, thank you very much for your comments. I think this time I will pass on the purchase of this gun. So far as I know, no one in Mexico is an expert in this type of fine shotguns.
I will continue my search for a Parker in original condition and in good shape to take it out for quail hunting.
Regards.

[George Lander]

Jose': That's probably a good idea unless the Parker is really cheap (less than $500USD) You might want to check out Rock Island Auctions, Moline, Illinois. They have an auction coming up December 2,3 & 4 and the catalogue is online. They always have some nice Parkers and you can "live bid" over the internet or phone.

Best Regards, George

[B. Dudley]

Jose, Do not know how well versed you are in what to look for or not. But take a look around the site here and maybe you can school yourself.

Let me cover some basics on the Parker you were considering purchasing.

The barrels on that G grade (or quality 2) are Damascus steel, which should only be shot with low pressure loads if they are deemed to be in good condition.
These barrels would have originally been finished in a way so that the spiral pattern in the Damascus would show as "Black and white" can be brown colored with age or compeletely faded to a bare metal color. The fact that they are all black means they have been blued as more modern fluid steel barrels would have been. The major concern with any reblue and a double gun is that they might have been hot blued which will damage the solder joints and loosen the ribs. Double barrels should be rust blued which is not a high temp process.

The receiver and forend iron on that G grade have also been blued which is not correct. It would be bare metal that was color case hardened originally. This will show a range of colors in the metal, but in most cases it is worn off from handling over the years. A well worn original finish will show as bare metal. Bluing a receiver will not hurt it in any way. But it is just not correct and ruins the collector value.

The checkering on the G grade has been recut and has been done very poorly. It is also too coarse for a G grade gun. And most likely the wood has been refinished I am sure.

The sling swivel is also not original.

Too bad that one of the few Parkers you came accross in your area are of such low quality. But it is a learning experience.

[Jose A. Chacon]

Dudley, I appreciate your comments. I cannot consider myself an expert on fine shotguns. I favor double shotguns for my hunting outings ( game birds and water fowling). I have got mine in the second hand market.
In Mexico sportsmen face heavy regulation on gun trade. We can not import guns. Most of the old double guns we can get in the second hand market are made in Europe - Belgium, Spain, Italy, Germany. Very rarely someone offers on sale British or American shotguns.
I agree with you that this forum is a great source of information on Parkers. As a matter of fact, I started this post because when I compared the pics of the gun that was offered to me I could not see that the gun matched the guns described in the Parker Grades section. I really value the support you and other forum members have provided.
Enjoy your Thanks Giving .

[B. Dudley]

Jose, You should see the corilation of that gun with the hammerless G grades listed in the grade section in regards to engraving.

[ch]

Jose, Hello glad your interested.

[ch]

Dean is right. ch