Advice on a DHE

[SallyDeane]

Hello; I wanted some advice on a Parker handed down by my grandfather; I am NOT looking to sell it, I just wanted to know whether there is anything special about the gun, what if any treatment I should give it, and whether there are any Parker experts or shops in the Chicago area I should consult. Note I do understand I can't use today's loads on a Damascus barrel.

I do have the research letter which says the gun was ordered on Sept 19, 1910, and is "a DHE hammerless 12-gauge. It featured Damascus Steel barrels with a length of 30 inches. Its stock configuration was a capped pistol grip. Its specifications were: Length of Pull 14" Drop at Heel 3 1/4" and Weight 7 pounds to 7 1/4 pounds. The requested choke was RH 3/4 and LH Full. The price was $100 with an additional $25 for ejectors. The letters "PJD" were engraved on the shield [my grandfather's initials]"

The gun is in good condition and certainly rarely or perhaps even never fired. I have attached some pictures to give you an idea of its condition.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Sally Deane

[John Dallas]

Oh my! What a dandy! What you should do is treasure it, and pass it down through your family

[edgarspencer]

Hi Sally, and Welcome to the PGCA Forum.
Your Grandfather's gun appears to be in remarkably nice condition, and it's hard to believe he took it out much.
Apart from a regular wipedown with a good silicone gun cloth, and stored in a humidity free environment, you really don't have much to be worried about.
Contrary to what you may have been led to believe, these guns, and quality Damascus barrels in general, are perfectly safe with modern, smokeless loads in the light loadings, usually under 1200 fps (ft per second.) You'll find dozens of members here who almost exclusively shoot damascus hammer, and hammerless doubles. Look into ammunition loaded by RST. I shoot a dozen or so cases per year of Lite, and Maxi-Lite, in all gauges.
On first blush, your gun appears to have it's case hardening colors refreshed at some time in it's life, as they do not appear like most guns I see. The wood looks quite original, which might lend credence to the case colors also being original.
For insurance purposes, I might suggest you value your gun in the range around $5000.00
Once again, welcome, and drop by anytime.

[Dean Romig]

Big D and Edgar are absolutely right. You have a true Parker obviously in original condition that I would call 'museum quality'.

[SallyDeane]

Thank you all ever so much! I will keep your comments with my research letter. Since the Parker has a family connection we plan to keep it and want to be sure we know how to maintain it!

Thanks again.

Sally

[Dean Romig]

In addition to periodically wiping it down externally it is wise to be sure the bores are clean and oiled just as often.

[Richard Flanders]

Holy cow! What a beauty. Hardly fired for sure. What a treasure. The amount of case colors and the engraving are absolutely spectacular. The screws have been monkeyed with a bit. The hing pin screw slot is buggered a tad; someone had the wrong driver in there at some point. Stunning gun.

[Rick Losey]

Sally

what a wonderful family treasure

i hope someone takes it for a walk once and a while

[Mike Franzen]

Thanks for sharing your grandfathers gun with us. I'm sure everyone would love to see more pics. I would like to see the forend and the breech face (where the firing pins come out)

[George M. Purtill]

It is so cool that your grandfather's initials were engraved on the shield. It is unfortunate more people didn't do that. I don't think it cost a penny more.
What a family treasure.
I think the case colors are being unfairly amplified by the photography. If that is true, the gun looks mint.

[SallyDeane]

Richard Flanders, you're right about the hinge screw. This came down to me through two other relatives so I can blame one of them :). There is also some wear on the outside of the trigger guard and a light rust coating on the inside - probably from fingers, which is what prompted me to ask here.

Mike Franzen, I had to look up those gun parts so if I didn't get these pictures right please direct me. I'm not ready yet to take the hinge screw out to get a better shot of the breech face!

George, I agree my flash is causing some odd reflections. In these latest pictures the barrel has a brown tint which is NOT rust (honest) just a weird reflection.

Thanks everybody again.

Sally

[Dean Romig]

Don't touch that screw. The barrels come off by first closing the action, then take the wood forend off by lifting the release at the finger hole. When the forend is off, grasp the barrels firmly and holding onto the gun at the pistol grip push the opening lever over and when the action opens the barrels will come right off. Be careful - don't drop the barrels.

[Russ Jackson]

Sally ,It's a beauty for sure and a gun any one of us on the Forum would be Happy and Proud to own ! Congrats on such a wonderful Family Heirloom ! Best; Russ

[Mike Franzen]

Thank you for the additional pics Sally. They really show in what remarkable condition your gun has been preserved. From the photos of the breech face it appears to have been fired sparingly if at all. If I could ask one more favor could you show the oval with your grand fathers initials? Thank you.

[SallyDeane]

Sure Mike - I tried this one in different light so it may not be as clear.

As the research letter says the initials are "PJD" - my grandfather was Patrick J. Deane. He was 28 years older than my grandmother and passed away in 1934.

[Brian Dudley]

That gun is in great condition in nearly every way! You could not ask for a better gun.
It is important that it is maintained well to preserve the condition it has. That does not mean that it cannot be handled or shot, it should just be done so with care.

It even has a lot of the original bluing on the buttplate!

I love the monogram. It is great how they worked in the diamond pattern in the letters which is also a common pattern seen on the borders of the frame engraving.

[charlie cleveland]

one lovely gun for sure..it s amazeing how this gun has survived in such good condition...great pictures your a lucky person to have their grandfathers gun...charlie

[Todd Kaltenbach]

A gun made in 1910 was proof tested with modern ammo not black powder. I own several Damascus barreled guns that I hunt with regularly, just use RST or similar shells. Your gun may have 2.5" chambers instead of the current normal of 2.75".

[George Lander]

Sally, as has been said here before, you certainly have a family treasure in wonderful original condition. Try to find out all you can about the gun and it's original owner (your Grandfather) and keep the information with the gun to be passed down to future generations. Sadly, too many of these fine old guns have lost their provenance.

Best Regards, George `````````````````````````````````````````````````` `````````````````````````````````````````````````` `````````````````````````````````````````````````` `````````````````````````````````````````````````` ``````

[Dale Medders]

OH EM GEE !

That is nice !!!!!!!!!!

[Jeff Christie]

I have my great grandfather's DHE. I use it almost exclusively to hunt. It too has an engraved shield. It is very nice but nowhere near as lovely as yours. Treasure it and enjoy it. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[greg conomos]

You know, if you would consider adopting me, there's no reason the gun couldn't be given to me without it leaving the family.

[keavin nelson]

What a nice family treasure.

[Steve Cambria]

http://i1073.photobucket.com/albums/w400/cambo1021/ReddFox.jpg (http://s1073.photobucket.com/user/cambo1021/media/ReddFox.jpg.html)


"It won't be long, Elizabeth..." :rotf:

[John Taddeo]

Beautiful colors and a fantastic family heirloom.. I like how the scuffs on the top tang show its originality and gentle usage.. Very nice Gun...

[Mills Morrison]

Beautiful gun! Really nice for a D grade too. Looks like a C grade. You should be proud