crack in stock head

[Bruce Day]

This is the normal wood to metal fit. The wood is slightly proud of the metal. If you have much more than that, you likely have a cracked stock head or the wood is swelled from oil soaking. The stock will need to come off the frame and be examined.

Bruce- I wish you lived here in MI- My friend, master gunsmith and PGCA member, Brad Bachelder is a master at stock repair. I agree with Bruce Day that there is a possibility of internal swelling at the head where the wood joins the receiver. I had Brad do a 12 gauge "Project Parker" for me, an older GHE with after market ejectors, matching forearm, barrels from a No. 2 frame VHE and a PHE pg buttstock that had the same crack at the rear of the top tang, as Bruce Day mentioned-

Brad took me through the steps involved, and I saw the stock "before and after" and he used Acra-Glas and a reinforcement pin, but inside, not visible on the surface anywhere- strong as Hercules, you have to use a magnifier to see the crack at all, and the wood is maybe 1/64" "proud" to the receiver now-

As to your loads, yes I No. 2 frame 12 Parker can handle those loads you mentioned, so can the 12 gauge R or Std. frame LC Smiths I also shoot, BUT-I'm getting older, so are the shotguns I enjoy, so I shoot RST 1 oz. light loads mainly- some 1 and 1/8 oz. No. 8 AA Sporting clays for the left barrel- anything heavier afield, I use a Model 12.

I understand your reluctance to ship a Parker or any other gun in today's world- If we go out to Lewiston MT this coming October, as we did 4 years ago, we'll drive a Suburban and the guns go into the motel rooms with us each night out and back.

[bruce willis]

Thanks for all of the responses to my question. I really like this forum, you can get so much information one would normally never get. I looked at the photo that bruce day posted, and it really helped. I looked at the photo and my VH stock is more proud than the one in the photo. I feel I should have it checked to be safe. I am going to call the stock doctor in oregon and see if he can check it. I feel the stock will need to be removed and looked at to determine any damage. While my VH is at the "doctor" I have a beater winchester model 24 16 gauge that I can use. It has 28" barrels, it,s light weight, and shoots great. It is not a parker, but it is a nice gun, although an odd design. I shoot federal 16 gauge high brass 1 1/8 #6s on early season pheasant and its a kick-butt load. I also shoot a 1932 remington model 11 12 gauge with solid rib and nice checkered stock. Its a real nice gun, and I use sometimes for late season pheasants, and ducks here in the sacramento valley in california. I have hunted many sugar beet and corn fields with these guns and my labrador heidi chasing that wiley bird. Thanks again BW.

[Autumn Daze]

Bruce,Just tell Dennis you heard about him on this site...OH Wait! I will tell him myself as he will be at the Vintagers in Maryland this weekend and I will be visiting with him.

Originally Posted by bruce willis

Thanks for all of the responses to my question. I really like this forum, you can get so much information one would normally never get. I looked at the photo that bruce day posted, and it really helped. I looked at the photo and my VH stock is more proud than the one in the photo. I feel I should have it checked to be safe. I am going to call the stock doctor in oregon and see if he can check it. I feel the stock will need to be removed and looked at to determine any damage. While my VH is at the "doctor" I have a beater winchester model 24 16 gauge that I can use. It has 28" barrels, it,s light weight, and shoots great. It is not a parker, but it is a nice gun, although an odd design. I shoot federal 16 gauge high brass 1 1/8 #6s on early season pheasant and its a kick-butt load. I also shoot a 1932 remington model 11 12 gauge with solid rib and nice checkered stock. Its a real nice gun, and I use sometimes for late season pheasants, and ducks here in the sacramento valley in california. I have hunted many sugar beet and corn fields with these guns and my labrador heidi chasing that wiley bird. Thanks again BW.

My old High School pal had a M24 Winchester 20 gauge with 28" barrels- a very solid and good shooting gun indeed. Later one he traded it (and some cash) for a Browning 20 Over/Under- and after a year of shooting it afield, tried to get his M24 back. The Rem 11- like the old Browning A-5 will always have a following, just like the Models 1897 and 1912-later M12 Winchesters do-sounds like you get some good hunting in out there in CA, best of luck this Fall and keep us posted on that nice VH you have!!

[Parker Bachelder (Brad's Profile)]

Hello all, yes I am still new to responding to threads, so if I make mistakes, bear with me. In the last thirty years I have had the chance to observe many, many cracks in stocks. I would feel confident in saying that at least one in three double stocks have head cracks, not just Parkers, but all makes.
The problem is two fold. the stock design incorporates many function necessary inlettings . These inlettings serve to weaken the longitudinal integrity of the wood. The bigger problem is the fact that early lubricants were animal based. Lard was the lube of choice for the Romans. For many decades, lubricants were organically based. The affect that these lubes had on the wood, were not considered by the design engineers. Animal based lubes contain fatty acids, these acids attack the wood. They compress the cells and basically rot. This causes shrinkage and discoloration. Thus the dark coloration where wood meets metal. As the wood softens with the absorbtion of oil, it becomes weaker and eventually yields to recoil, resulting in a split.
I have witnessed many different forms of repair attempts, most of which, compromise the integrity and appearance of the stock.
The only way to effectively repair a stock is to fully remove the offending oil,grease and fatty acids. Doing so allows you to utilize any of the modern,effective epoxies to bond the wood. Once repaired it should be stronger than the original configuration. With a little creative staining, the repair becomes invisible. The wood is proud on parkers as noted. I feel that this tolerance is more to avoid chipping than a consideration for rework. If you look closely, all wood to metal contact surfaces, have a slight inward bevel, to allow for compression.
There is no home process to acomplish this task. It needs to be done by a restoration specialist . I am sure that with some research, you can find someone that can do this for you. Anything else is nothing more than a quick fix.