My “New” Lifter – Possible Barrel Issues

[Jay Oliver]

I asked the forum a few months ago about a 10 gauges with 2 7/8 inch chambers. I appreciated all of the feedback I knew it wouldn’t be long before I bought one. I found a nice early $100 grade that I just had to have and it just came in mail today. So here are some pictures and I really like the gun. This is the nicest Parker I have bought to date. Gun was made in 1874, serial# 3644with 32” barrels(barrel weight is 5lbs. 4oz.) choked IM/LF. I got the Parker Research Letter and the gun was sent back in 1886 for a trigger and then again in 1891 to be restocked. I was planning on bringing it and shooting it at the Southern. However…

There were some hairline cracks (or what I think are cracks) in the barrels. The bores are clean with no pitting. I had thought I would have the barrels refinished anyway would that fix the cracks? I am planning on shooting RST loads for the time being, is there a safety concern?

Thanks in advance, I went from a being happy as could be to considering if I should return it. If is a matter of some barrel work I will keep it.

I’ll be at the Southern on Friday and Saturday and look forward to meeting/talking with members.

Jay

[Jay Oliver]

Here are the barrels. I thought the bores were perfect, but there some evidence of light pitting. After closer inspection I do believe the crack in the first 2 pictures below goes all the way through the barrels. This one may have to go back. Please let me know your thoughts. I have contacted the seller, but have not heard back yet. Thanks again! Jay

[Brian Dudley]

That doesn't look good. That's for sure. People out here have had such thing welded.

[edgarspencer]

My untrained eye seems to think you have a pretty handsome $125 grade, but I could be mistaken.
The good pictures you posted, when blown up, show a very disturbing 'indication' on the right barrel. There are a few very good NDT procedures which will confirm this, and are not costly. Given the location, so close to the highest pressure point, not to mention it's proximity to your hand, is what concerns me the most. Cracks, like what I suspect you have, from a visual inspection, when located well down the barrel, are repairable with laser, or micro TIG welding, but welds in a highly stressed area should have a post weld stress relieving heat treatment; something which is costly in this case as it would require a complete breakdown off the barrel.
It might be wise to forewarn the seller that you wish to do further testing.
In the meantime, I would strongly suggest not shooting the gun. This, coming from someone who is known for throwing caution to the wind on many occasions.

[Jay Oliver]

Thanks for the reply Brian, you would think that something a major as that would have been in the listing. There is no way I would shoot this. Even though I also got 3 cases of RST 10 Gauge shells in the mail today. I may only be able to return the gun for store credit, but that is better than having something with these condition issues. Talk about a let down. I had to break this into 3 payments and make up some creative "stories" to tell my wife...

Looking forward to seeing you at the Southern. I will be shooting Parker #1219 that I bought from you last year.

[Jay Oliver]

Thanks as well Edgar, I think that is what is frustrating, is that the rest of the gun is such good shape(which is why I bought it). The crack by the breach is definitely through the barrel. I'll see what I hear back and keep everyone posted. Looks like I'll be shooting 12's only for the Southern...

[Steve Huffman]

Store credit would not sit well with me ! How could a dealer over look and not list the faults we can clearly see .

[Jay Oliver]

Seller just contacted me after seeing the pictures and said send it back, which I will. Still a beautiful gun though...

[Steve Huffman]

Good Man ! Its a nice looking gun,maybe he could discount the gun enough and you try and find a set of barrels .

[Mills Morrison]

Jay, I have Parker 1217.

That sure is a nice Parker, besides the barrel issues.

[greg conomos]

My opinion is that refinishing will not fix the cracks.

[Jay Oliver]

I sent the gun back first thing this morning. I really wish the barrel issues were just cosmetic. I shouldered it one more time before I packed it and thought about how unfortunate the situation was. This was my first D grade and a 10 with everything I wanted: 32” barrels, English/Straight stock, chokes that I liked and it felt good. If only…

Given what I paid I didn’t feel like trying to find other barrels and felt it was best just to return it. I’ll be on the lookout for another one soon. I didn’t see anything online last night that I liked, but I am sure there is one out there for me. If nothing else I'll need to find a nice 10 since I have the RST shells now.

Thanks for all the responses and letting me vent as well as work through the situation on the forum.

This time tomorrow I’ll be at the Southern and hopefully have forgotten all this.

Thanks,
Jay

[Drew Hause]

Jay: that is clearly a weld fracture, and looks to be between 2 rods (down the middle of a scroll), and not at the ribband edge weld. There also appears to be an impending fracture at 90 degrees almost forming a cross. It's possible this is the result of a repaired dent. Do you have the wall thickness measurement there?
The fracture looks to be about 10" from the breech and it is my opinion that no repair attempt should be made at that location.
Sorry for your let down (been there myself :( ), but thanks for posting. I added one of your images here, with an attribution
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/18015717

Can't make The Southern this year, but please say 'hi' to all the Parker fellas for me.

[Mike Franzen]

Jay that's too bad about your gun. I have a 12 ga lifter that had an issue uncovered during prep for refinishing. You can search my posts or read an article I wrote titled "Space Age Parker" in one of last years editions. I had extensive testing done but with a positive outcome.

[Jay Oliver]

Drew, I was unable to take any barrel thickness measurements. As I get more into my Parker hobby/addiction I am realizing I need to invest in some tools would be beneficial and help me make some of my own evaluations. I am glad you were able to use one of the photos.

Mike, I did look at what you went through and I would likely be going down that path if I was unable to return the gun. It looked like you did get positive results. Under different circumstances, I would have kept the gun and looked for ways to fix and use it. However, I didn’t believe I was buying a project gun and am glad I was able to return the gun, even if miss it just a little. I’ll get over that.

Thanks for the comments,
Jay

[Mike Franzen]

I think you made the right call