Inherited an old Parker and it's loaded!

[William Brentlinger]

Hello All.

Newbie to Parker shotguns and just inherited Great Grandpa's old shotgun.
I eased the loading rod down the barrel and it shows a load is still in both barrels.:duck:

Reading posts has everything from soaking, compressed air, grease guns, to "Oh my buddy just set it off!!!"

For those experienced in getting an old muzzle loading shotgun unloaded, what is my safest bet for getting my wall hanger into a safe condition? My guess is this firearm has been loaded for over 50 years.

I have multiple black powder arms, so do understand the volatility of black power.

Thanks,
William
:bigbye:

[greg conomos]

Well if it is a muzzle loader it's not a Parker.

[Rick Losey]

as stated not a Parker Brothers

there was a British maker named Parker in the muzzleloader days as well as Belgium clunkers

BUT- to answer your question- one of the CO2 cartridge powered compressed air dischargers is best -

next best is a rod with a worm - there will be multiple layers - wad shot wad powder to remove- DO NOT get in front of the muzzle when drawing a load,


and if your "buddy" wants to set it off- i suggest you keep a solid wall and some distance between him and you - just in case

[William Brentlinger]

Thanks for the Parker info. Mine just says Parker and fine laminated steel on the rib. No serial numbers or other distinguishing marks.

[Rick Losey]

Thanks for the Parker info. Mine just says Parker and fine laminated steel on the rib. No serial numbers or other distinguishing marks.

once your barrels are safe- check the proof marks on the underside- that will tell you if it is British or Belgium

both can be viewed here

http://www.phoenixinvestmentarms.com/archives/Proofmarks.pdf

[Bill Murphy]

A worm to remove the top wads. Pour out the shot, worm it if neccesary. Worm out the filler wads. Worm out the powder.

[Brian Dudley]

Not an uncommon situation with old muzzleloaders. It is something that one should always check for.

[John Campbell]

Mr. Brentlinger:
You seem unfamiliar with these guns. Thus, I believe the best advice is to take the gun to a qualified gunsmith to have it unloaded and rendered safe. Cost will be minimal, tools unnecessary, and confidence high.

[Richard Flanders]

Roger that on always checking a newly acquired muzzle loader. I shot my original 1842 .69cal Springfield musket for a couple of years before I discovered that there was a dbl corkscrew like wad puller at the base of the bbl. Somehow I never detected it while cleaning it; everything just bottomed out solid until one day it felt different and I somehow got the puller out in perfect condition. I still use it.

[Robin Lewis]

You will need a tool that screws onto the end of the ramrod or cleaning rod that can catch the patch holding the shot in the barrel and then grab the patch that is over the powder (after dumping out the shot). As stated before, DO NOT get over the rod in case it detonates the powder!!!!

The tool you want looks something like this:

[Bill Murphy]

Yup, that's it.

[Alfred Greeson]

Please, the best thing is to take it to a gunsmith and let them unload it and check it for you to make sure the barrels are safe. All you need is one spark caused by trying to get the old black powder out and it is definitely not worth trying to do it yourself. It may be loaded with a ball, shot or something else that could spark if scraped and boom! Some things are well worth having a gunsmith do the job.

[greg conomos]

How are things between you and your mother-in-law?

[William Brentlinger]

Mother in-law is gone now... sigh... nice lady.

I am definitely not familiar with the inherited shotgun, since receiving only last week. Side plate was stamped with "Parker" which lead me here, and now I know that Parker Brothers and Parker are not the same.

A TC 12 gauge muzzle loader , 3 band 1861 Springfield replica, Hawken replica, many Colt/Remington replica pistols and serving on a 10 lb cannon crew have been a few life experiences.

My kit has all the tools needed to pull the load and I ordered a TC CO2 unloading kit.

Thanks for the info on proofing marks. I will be checking out what my wall hanger really is after getting it in a safe state.

P.S. I noticed the forearm shim looks like wood vice brass/steel. Some body dropped a part somewhere...