Parker 1340 16 gauge

[Kyle Kowalski]

Here is my old Parker I got from my uncle when he died. I would like to find more info on this gun.

[Dave Noreen]

Your gun is not a Parker Bros. It is one of thousands and thousands of cheap Belgian made guns imported to North America from the 1880 to WW-I. They were marked with all manner of fanciful names, possibly intended to make the ultimate purchaser think he was getting a better gun. They are collectively known today as JABC. Just Another Belgian Clunker.

[Kyle Kowalski]

Here is another, I guess if its not a Parker I will just through it away then.

[Kyle Kowalski]

I do have another shotgun. Its says Springfield on it, but I have not yet found any info on.

[Russ Jackson]

Kyle; It is a shame it is not a Parker Brothers gun ,but as far as throwing it away ,I wouldn't go that far ! There is a small fraternity for these kind of guns ,I recently sold a J Manton gun on gun broker to a Gentleman who loads light loads himself, and has a local group of folks there that shoots competitively ,with these older ,off brand guns !They are not particularly valuable ,but there is some interest ! Good luck with your gun ! Russ

[Dean Romig]

By all means, don't throw it away. Yours is just the kind of gun to hang over the mantle or doorway. It will be there to admire as a relic of another time where the shotgun hung in a place of readiness. It is a great old wallhanger... certainly a fine Parker Bros. shotgun shouldn't be relegated to be a wallhanger to collect dust and rust but yours is just the ticket.

[Robin Lewis]

Kyle,

Some of the adjectives used to describe your Belgian shotgun seem a little harsh to me. Your gun isn't a Parker but you inherited it from your uncle, so I would assume it is more special to you than just a "cheap" old "clunker".

Keep it and enjoy it, after all, it is a piece of your family history and if it could talk it would probably have some fun stories to tell. Best of luck with it.

[james van blaricum]

I took an old "clunker" and got three horse shoes and welded them together to create
a stand, took out one of the firing pins, ran a light cord up the barrel, created a socket
bracket that would fit on the rib and barrel fitted a three way light socket on the bracket, got a neet lamp shade and now I have a conversation piece as well as a floor lamp for my man cave. Did not even damage the old gun.JVB

[Destry L. Hoffard]

If I had one of these that was an old family piece I'd be thrilled despite the lack of value. It's a gun that was made to do a job, putting meat on a family table, and I'm sure it did that job well back in it's day. My guess is the old timer that bought it brand new was pretty proud of it.


Destry

[George Lander]

Robin is dead right. Every old fowling piece, be they ever so humble, could tell us all some fascinating stories if they could talk. Cherish the memory of your Uncle in his great old gun. The lamp idea sounds pretty good too.

Just My Humble Opinion.......George

[Dave Suponski]

James,How about a few pictures of that lamp?

[James T. Kucaba]

I've got three family "keepsake" guns that I wouldn't trade for the Parker Czar gun, the Nash Buckingham Bo-Whoop gun, or all the Parker hammer guns in my collection ... My Grandfather's 1913 Remington Model 11, My Dad's Sears Ranger (Savage) 20 gauge double barrel, and a Coast to Coast Hardware (Marlin) 22 semi-auto rifle ... I had Grandpa's Model 11 completely redone by the old-world German craftsmen at Chicago Gun Center as a gift to my Dad over 35 years ago and it still looks better than any Browning A5 I've ever seen ... My Dad taught me to shoot and hunt with the Ranger 20 gauge double barrel ... And Dad loved Hasenpfeffer so shot cotton tail rabbits out the back window of his new house in the country after he and Mom retired ... So what price could I possibly put on guns with so many great family memories ? ... There just isn't a price, they're priceless ! ... And so is your Uncle's old hammer gun ... So just hang on to it ... and cherish the memories it represents.

Jim Kucaba ... AriZOOna Cactus Patch ... Email: JimKucaba@aol.com

[Kyle Kowalski]

It says T. Parker on the side of it. That is why I thought it was a Parker.Or think that it is.

[Dean Romig]

Kyle, if it says T. Parker on the sides of the frame then that's whet it is, a T. Parker...
What it isn't is a Parker Bros. gun made in Meriden, Conn.

[Francis Morin]

T. Parker, Thomas Parker, Thomas Barker- etc--All fine guns for their time in history. We have a "Manton" 12 bore hammer gun with twist barrels hanging over the stone fireplace mantel at our Deer Camp- aka- "The busted flush club"- I bought it from an Amish farmer some years ago- he also gave me two partial boxes of UMC paper shells- 1 &1/4" oz. No. 6 shot- the old pre-War green ribbed hulls with the tan top crimp with the shot size, etc. so marked-He claimed his father had killed a lot of game with that shotgun and those loads- I removed the firing pins and cleaned it before taking it up- now it is "retired and admired" fine piece of wood in the stock, and the hammer and springs/sears still function-

Jim- I am intrigued by your lamp project, especially the base you fabricated- If you used three horseshoes and welded them together to form the base section, what process and filler rod did you use- Welding mild and Fabrication Grade steels is a picnic- Cast iron or even malleable iron- Whole 'nother Ball game--:cool:

[Jack Cronkhite]

Gotta love the family guns of whatever ilk. They represent a connection that can last many lifetimes - if they are kept and passed along with some of the history and stories recorded for future generations to enjoy. I grew up with a JABC in the gun closet (yep, not a safe). It is a Jannsen Sons & Co. Laminated steel 12 ga hammer gun. My Dad would not allow it to ever be used, but it stayed anyway. It was his Dad's gun but his mother was the shooter. It was on the homestead where she protected the chickens from the hawks. (I have this "Tarnation" image in my mind only with my grandmother shooting the Jannsen). One day there was a multitude of blackbirds in her trees. Apparently she wondered how many she could hit with a single shot. She fired and so many fell that it changed her attitude. She told me, many decades ago, that killing so many birds so affected her that she never fired the gun again. Not sure how her chickens managed to avoid the hawks after that. A few years before my father passed, I told him I wanted that gun. He immediately brought it out, along with his Savage 29B pump .22 that I enjoyed as a kid. I completely re-did the .22 and stored the Jannsen safely away until a couple years ago. I stripped it down, cleaned it up as best I could and then left it in parts. Just got a new set of firing pins made but I won't be throwing away the one original and the second home made - probably a bolt filed into an approximation of the original. I'll fiddle with a bit of blue and work on the wood and some day, I'll reassemble a nice looking gun but I'm not sure about ever firing it. If I do, it will involve a 100 yard LOP, with me behind some heavy steel. That lamp sounds intriguing as well.

I cast another vote for keeping your family gun in the family.

Here are a few non-Parker Bros. guns that will show the word Parker on them somewhere. Parker Trap Gun, Field Parker & Son. E. D. Parker (Belgian), C. Parker & Co (Belgian), E.D. Parker (Belgian), T. Parker (Belgian), T. Parker New York (Crescent Fire Arms), Thomas Parker (London), W.Parker New Pin Fire (maker unknown) and Parker-Smith-Williams (maker unknown) Source (http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=187255&p=1540326#p1540326)

Cheers,
Jack