New Member w/Parker Damascus

[David Macaleer]

Howdy from SE PA. :bigbye: I just purchased a Parker hammerless damascus 10 ga in good shape. I want to use it to hunt geese. Before dropping it off by the local restoration shop today I recorded the following info: frame size = 2, barrel weight = 5-1 (the one is small and up from the 5 akin to an exponent), grade = 2 (GH right?), choked F/F.

The gunsmith says it's in great shape with plenty of original finish left. He will disassemble, clean and ensure it is properly operable and generally safe to shoot. Pls spare me the diatribe about shooting damascus barrels. :nono:

Heres the kicker - SN = 57404. Was this thing REALLY made in 1889 per the SN utility on the PGCA website?????? :shock: I intend to get a factory letter shortly.

Thanx, Dave :corn:

[Rich Anderson]

. Pls spare me the diatribe about shooting damascus barrels. :nono:

Thanx, Dave :corn:

Your spared:rotf: I shoot a lot of damascuss guns both hammer guns and hammerless. Your gun could have been from the late 1800's and that isn't unusual. Why would you question the date of mfg? i shoot a 16ga hammergun with a 13K serial number which puts it at 1879.

Enjoy your Parker, take care of it, shoot low pressure shells and it will last for the next generation.

[Dean Romig]

Pls spare me the diatribe about shooting damascus barrels. :nono:

Thanx, Dave :corn:



I don't think I have ever read any such diatribe on this forum.

The vast majority of PGCA Members who own guns with Damascus barrels (which have been fired previously and which have uncompromised barrels) do indeed shoot them often.

[Rick Losey]

Pls spare me the diatribe about shooting damascus barrels. :nono:

Heres the kicker - SN = 57404. Was this thing REALLY made in 1889 per the SN utility on the PGCA website?????? :shock: I intend to get a factory letter shortly.

Thanx, Dave :corn:

odd way to say hi

you are a couple thousands after the one I hunted with last week.

[David Noble]

I hunted dove last month with a damascus barreled 12ga dollar grade lifter action, serial 3402 made in 1874. I used RST 2 1/2" 1 oz MaxiLites. I used the lite loads to protect the stock, not the damascus barrels.

[Dennis V. Nix]

Dave,
No offense meant but from my limited time here on the PGCA forum I have found it seems MOST of us shoot Damascus barrels of one type or another, Damascus, Twist, Laminated or some other type. I promise as do the others who have written before me that everyone here will spare you the diatribe about Damascus barrels.

I agree with OH Osthaus. You have an odd way of saying, hi.

Welcome aboard the forums. Possibly you can learn from some of these people who are true experts in the field of Parker Brothers shotguns.

Dennis

[edgarspencer]

Yes, the barrel weight is stamped with pounds in larger font, with ounces in smaller font, above.

Lots of 10 bore GH owners here. Are your barrels D3 or D4?


I have 3 Pre-1880 HOLY CRAP YOU'LL BLOW THAT THING UP guns and shoot them all the time. What do you mean by 'diatribe' ? Have you spent anytime reading the many hundred past posts on this forum?

I freely admit I am wrong in believing no one in SE PA says "Howdy". Howdy back atcha.

[Rich Anderson]

Just in from hunting Pheasants. Went out to the Haymarsh for a couple of hours just to see what we might find. My first shot with the adopted GHE 16 with Damascuss bbl (Sunday it was a Dh Damascuss 16 as well:eek:) brought down a nice Rooster. Three birds today on a short mornings hunt.

[Dave Noreen]

Technically, a Quality 2 hammerless 10-gauge of the 1889 vintage would be an EH-Grade. The 10-gauges cost $5 more in the Quality 1 and 2 guns than the 12-gauge and smaller gauges up into the early 1900s.

Do keep in mind that the factory loaded 10-gauge shells, when your gun was built, maxed out at about 4 1/2 drams of black powder pushing 1 1/4 ounces of shot. Also, 10-gauge shells came in lengths from 2 5/8 inch to 3 1/4 inch. Actually "factory loaded" shells were scarce and most shooters loaded their own in brass cases or got them from local loaders. A couple of years later, factory loaded smokeless powder shells began appearing and the heaviest 10-gauge loads were 4 1/4 drams of bulk smokeless powder pushing 1 1/4 ounces of shot.

The high velocity progressive burning smokeless powder 10-gauge loads of 4 3/4 drams equiv. pushing 1 5/8 ounce of shot didn't come along until the mid-1920s.

[David Macaleer]

Thanx for the warm welcome folks. :) I appreciate the reassurances about owning & shooting a damascus barrel gun. While I'm not sure I read any of the negative diatribes about shooting dam barrels on this site, my request to spare me from the diatribes was a defensive mechanism due to the widespread mis-information still prevalent in the ether. Obviously I'm amongst friends here!

Already I'm receiving great info from friendly people who know a lot more than I do about Parkers. I'm going to wait to respond to a couple of your questions as the gun is at the gunsmith and not in hand. Having it back and getting his full report with all the vital statistics will allow me to respond better (and accurately).

I am especially curious about the chamber size. I didn't want to assume it has 2-7/8 chambers as the chambers on some vintage guns can be tricky to measure. Especially as I will need to handload shells. Many thanx to the gentleman with the John Wayne avatar for the shorty 10 spreadsheet. Way cool. A bunch of food for thought! :bowdown:

I look forward to corresponding with all of you in the future! :)

[charlie cleveland]

yep ole john wayne got a lot of us guys a shooting his reloading info... charlie

[David Macaleer]

OK, the gun is back from the gunsmith after he disassembled, cleaned, inspected, reassembled, lubed, function checked, and provided a full written evaluation. In short, it is in remarkable condition for being built in 1889 and is generally safe to shoot with appropriate (low pressure) loads. 100% of the original wood finish is there and most of the metal finish as well. The barrel pattern really came up well. He said it was filthy inside with the old lube almost the color & consistency of varnish but it is clean and properly lubed now. There is evidence of previous disassembly with very minor damage to screw slots and the triggerplate.

It is an EH grade 10 ga. Parker with 30" barrels and 2-7/8 in. chambers.
Bore diameter L & R = .800 and L choke = .024, R choke = .026.
Wall thickness measures .074.
DAC = 1-28/32, DAH = 3-2/32 and Pull = 14-1/4.
No cast with 7 deg. down pitch.
Balance point = 5-1/2 with trigger pulls L = 5 lbs. 8 oz., R = 5 lbs. 11 oz.
Gun wieght = 9 lbs. 2 oz.

I don't know if the barrels are dam3 or dam4. I need to study the available online info to make the call. He didn't provide that info & I forgot to ask.

Pix to follow soon when I can get them done & uploaded. Hopefully in the next few days. I can't wait to get or load some appropriate loads and put the geese on notice! :draw:

[Mills Morrison]

Sounds like a great gun you have there. I love my EH 10 as well

[charlie cleveland]

yea old john wayne s the man to thank on these old 10 ga s...welcome aboard pardner... i too shoot the old damascus barrel guns...hunting deer right now with 8 ga parkerpumkin ball load in the right barrel at 2 ounces and a load of 00 buck in the left barrel at 2 1/2 ounces...and its a stub twist steel barrel made in 1882... charlie