10 Gauge Parker

[Kirk Allen]

Originally Posted by Jay Gardner

I think that's an old wives tale and it's just not true. Anyone who's going to make a claim like that is going to have to establish they owned the gun in the first place, i.e. a police report that was filed in the past listing that gun as bing stolen. The police aren't going to get involved with any less evidence that a crime has been committed.

I wish that were the case but it is in fact the main reason people dont share the numbers on line. It has happen and if you want to count on the police to be good at their job then you have more faith in the system than I do.

Its easy to file a report that the gun is missing with the claim you dont know how long its been missing for. Its happen and will continue as long as we have crooks amungst us.

The other issue is duplication. Yes its pretty hard to duplicate a Parker but look at the AR industry and you see a lot of people doing builds on their own and some actualy do copy others serial numbers.

[Bill Murphy]

To be the devil's advocate, I had a gun stolen, did not report it properly. Today, after many years, I found that it is in the hands of an innocent third party. I have no feeling whatever that I could begin to recover that gun under any known law or legal procedure.

[Setter Man]

Originally Posted by Kirk Allen

I wish that were the case but it is in fact the main reason people don't share the numbers on line. It has happen and if you want to count on the police to be good at their job then you have more faith in the system than I do.

Its easy to file a report that the gun is missing with the claim you don't know how long its been missing for. Its happen and will continue as long as we have crooks amungst us.

The other issue is duplication. Yes its pretty hard to duplicate a Parker but look at the AR industry and you see a lot of people doing builds on their own and some actually do copy others serial numbers.

It may be the main reason that people don't post the serial numbers, that's true, but there is virtually no reason to be fearful. As for filing a false police report, it's a felony, and I know there are a lot of stupid people in the world (and I have represented my fair share) but again, you have to have proof you owned the gun in the first place.

It's a free country so feel free to be as paranoid as you want, but you have very little to fear by posting a serial number on the web.

[Bruce Day]

If that is true, a person should keep their gun secret, never post pictures,and never have pictures of the gun published.

In many years of fooling about with old guns, I have never heard of what you suggest.

But I suppose its true that people can and do make unprovable and far fetched claims. There are crackpots out there.

[Bruce Day]

What! Are you implying that some documentary proof might be required? Bill, its much more fun to wildly speculate.

[Rod N. Gunn]

I have little insight into the criminal mind. However, if I were going to try the false reporting scheme I would select one of the many high grade, high condition guns posted here. I think I would not go after the well-worn, buggered-up, lower grade ones.

[Kirk Allen]

I think posting the serial number is quite different than providing it to an inquiring buyer.

Yes, you have to have known the property was stolen to be "charged", and at the least, like I stated they take it from you. At the worst, you have to deal with lots of questions with implicaitons leaning towards you knew. My father went through this very process when he purchased some stuff at a garage sale and it was not pretty becuase the cops basically insisted he knew it was stolen because of the price.

Anyway, any thoughts on the guns value?

[Bill Murphy]

Mr. Allen, the gun is not rare and it is worth more than $500, so both of your advisors are not tuned in to the gun market. People who know the Parker gun market well number more than a covey but fewer than a flock.

[Rod N. Gunn]

1890's vintage 10's are far from rare, they may somehow be rare in that particular configuration. Barring some uncommon attribute that has not been pointed out here, I'd say the gun is worth less than $1000. But the right answers to the many questions posed above could well prove me wrong.

[Bruce Day]

Lots of Damascus Grade 2 extractor 10ga guns out there.. A person can check on numerous sales sites to see what others are asking . This gun has condition issues and would need work.

There is good reason to check mirror bores on a 115 year old waterfowler.