The Parker Story

[Mike McKinney]

I just read the last page of The Parker Story that my wife gave me for Christmas. By now I sure don't consider myself an expert on Parker shotguns or the history of the Parker family or their manufacturing concerns, but rather a student. WHAT A WORK!! My thanks to the Mr. Gunther, Mr. Mullins, Mr. Parker, Mr. Price and Mr. Cote for the time, effort, study, perservance, and passion as they put these volumes together.

I hope you knowledgeable Parker collectors will bear with me and teach me as I try to be a Parker collector as well. In other words, don't beat me up too bad.

I have one nice "D" grade that got me really interested.

[Dave Suponski]

Mike, Welcome aboard! Glad to have ya...:)

[Dean Romig]

The quest for Parker knowledge and definitive answers to the yet unanswered questions continues. We are all students of all things Parker and probably will be for a long, long time. There is always more to learn. The Parker Story is the best single resource we have but more and more information and answers are surfacing on a pretty regular basis.
Do you have Peter Johnson's book? or Larry Baer's or Ed Muderlak's several books centered on Parkers? Do you have all of the past volumes of Parker Pages? There is so much to learn - I know I will always be an eager student.

[calvin humburg]

ok lets just call me the slow student:-) the term off face is.A SLOOP AT HING...B SLOOP AT LATCH... C SLOOP IN GENERALD...D SOMETHING ELSE ch oh ill b getting parker pages soon check is in mail.

[Jack Cronkhite]

Okay, I too am a student of the Parker. Here's my understanding of "off face". Subject to correction of course.

Open the gun and look at the frame where the two holes show for the firing pins to pass through. That surface is the "face".

Close the barrels. If it closes tight with no detectable movement and no measurable clearance between the barrels and frame face, it is "on face"

Any movement or measurable gap would be "off face"

common cause

Barrel lug that mates with the hinge pin is worn
Permanent fix: weld the lug mating surface and file/dress to fit
Decent fix: rolled brass shim over hinge pin You can make a shim from the appropriate size brass feeler gauge

That would be my response if I were writing the test.

[Mike McKinney]

Dean,

I am now reading Mr. Muderlak's, "Shooting Flying and American Experience", I borrowed and read "The Old Reliable" a good while back, but didn't have the same interest, so it as well as the others are on my list to acquire and read. I joined your group three Parker Pages ago--are back issues available? Rome wasn't built in a day, so I'll work to get there.

Mike

[JAMES HALL]

Back issues are available from day one to now. Jim

[Richard Flanders]

How about some pics of your D grade Mike??

[Dean Romig]

Mike, contact James Hall for all back issues of Parker Pages. He is keeper of the PGCA's stacks of extra back issues of Parker Pages. Send him a PM.

[calvin humburg]

Jack,
Thanks I believe I understand. My gun is off face tried shimming with help of the great guys here but no luck yet. Got down to 2 thousanth shim and it wads up. need t try pop can like Harry said or metal shim like i believe austin said. But my money pit is tore apart getting wood deoiled and barrel dent out fighting the erge to get the barrel redone black and white. ch

[Mike McKinney]

My wife and myself hope to get the pictures attached...don't know whether all this will turn out good or not. As per the Parker letter and conforming to my shotgun, my Parker was shipped in 1905, has 28" barrels and is choked cyl. and mod.

http://jpg.

[Bruce Day]

This is a fine example of an original medium grade Parker that has been well cared for and not messed with. It looks the way a Parker should. Congratulations.

[Dean Romig]

A wonderful DH. Lucky you!

[George Lander]

That's a great looking original D Grade Parker. Keep it clean & treasure it then hand it down to someone who will appreciate it.

Best Regards, George

[Richard Flanders]

What a beauty Mike! Engraving seems incredibly sharp and the colors gorgeous. Nice..

[Bruce Day]

After all the crappy restock jobs, gaudy striped re-case colors, buffed engraving, blocky added beavertail forends, chopped barrels and stocks, we get to see a nice Parker like this that is 105 years old and could go another 100. They are still out there.

Some people colllect armloads of beat up, worn out guns, but all a person needs to have a nice Parker collection is a gun like this and maybe a small bore or a big bore depending upon what he likes.