Is gun collectable?

[John Koenig]

I inherited a Parker 12ga SXS made in 1879. It has been the family since at least 1900. It carries serial #17253; has #8479 (or 8473) on the barrels; has 32" length barrels; has markings on "twist steel" on the top of the barrels. Can you give me some help on whether it is valuable or not?

John Koenig

[Dean Romig]

Hello John - Every Parker Bros. shotgun has a value. Good pictures would certainly help determine an approximate value on yours.

[John Koenig]

Well I am pretty stupid on how to attach pictures. Where do I. get those instructions; they are in a file on my computer

[Chuck Bishop]

Click on "New Reply" then scroll down to "Manage Attachments" Browse to where your pictures are stored on your hard drive. You can do 5 at a time. When your done, click on "upload."

[Dean Romig]

Or go to the PGCA Home page and click on FAQ's at the bottom of the column of links at the left. The last item at the very bottom of the FAQ page has a very easy tutorial on adding pictures to posts.

[John Koenig II]

Hey Dean,

I am John's son and have attached the photos you are asking for. Please let us both know what you think and where we stand with this shotgun.

Thanks,

John II

[Mike Franzen]

The primary value if your gun is it's family heritage. To some that would make it priceless. A dollar estimate would be between $800 and $1200. If you join the PGCA FOR $40 one benefit is you can sell it on this site.

[Rick Losey]

John II - i posted the specs in your thread on this gun

to really give am accurate value -most folks would like to have the gun in hand. wall thickness matters, the condition of the wood, a lot of factors hard to see in pictures

[Brian Dudley]

The gun does not retain a great amount of original finish, but it looks to be very solid and sound. Looks like it was used a lot, but cared for.

[Bill Murphy]

It looks like a better than average condition gun once some cleaning is done. We would like to look at the other side of the receiver and the bores. The wood to metal fit looks wonderful on the side we can see.

[John Koenig II]

Bill, I'm sorry I don't have an image of the right side of the receiver, but it is very much the see as the left. Attached you can see more of the metal to wood fit. Do you have any suggestions for imaging the bore?? I believe it to be clean with some slight pits.

Again, thank you all for your assistance with this project.

John II

[John Koenig II]

Rick, Thank you , I did see your other comments. I added posts here to let my dad see the progress that we have come to.

Very much appreciated,
John II

[Rick Losey]

John - might I add - please do not take more apart with the Craftsman screwdrivers

i see you took the sling off, which is fine, but gun screws have parallel slots and take a fitted screw driver to prevent damage.

a sling and paint/lacquer, was G-Grandpa a duck hunter?

[John Koenig II]

Again thanks Rick, i'll pass that on about the screwdriver. Duck hunter???, not sure. I have seen an old photo with my grandfather, but he passed away when my dad was young so I'm not sure that we could find that out.

J II

[paul stafford jr]

if it was my grandfathers gun I would consider restoration ,for 3 or 4 grand it will look like it just left the parker factory, you cant buy a new gun with parker style and quality for that kind of money, but you can have it checked out and enjoy the way it is its only original once.

[John Koenig II]

Bill, Here are some more images. Left side, Right side, Hammers and Left & Right bores. Dad reports that there is very little pitting noted in the bores. We can only measure the bore diameters at the muzzle (0.710") and at the breech (0.814"). I look forward to your further evaluation of this gun.

Are there any suggestions on cleaning or refurbishing out there?? I'd love to see it cleaned up without damaging it. I really don't want to break the bank either in costs if the value is prohibitive afterwards.

As always gentlemen, Thank you for your help.

John II

[Rick Losey]

John


to clean the metal - frontier pads with some oil will often do wonders on dirt and light rust, but not remove any finish - just keep them off the wood

http://www.exploreproducts.com/big45-frontier-gun-cleaner.htm