Gh or Dh

[Bill Bolyard]

While I was at a friends hunting camp last weekend his neighbor brought over his Parker that was given to him in the 70's by a friends widow. In the Parker ID book serial #76079 is listed as a D grade, but the engraving look's like a G. Was the earlier D grade engraving different from my later DH?

Bill

[Gregory Miller]

If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck. Nice old G.

[Gill Frye]

My book has it listed as a D2 which is a G grade, the gun you have pictured sure looks like a G grade to me.
Regards,
Gill

[Dave Miles]

Bill, looks like a G grade to me also.
By the way, Sadie is doing great. What a personality. Loves playing in the sprinklers, stalking birds in the yard, and harassing the heck out of my older dog.
Oh I forgot, chewing up the wife's plants and flowers.

[Bill Bolyard]

Gil,

The book indeed says it is a D grade, it also is marked on the water table as a D, but it sure looks like a G to me. Dave how about some pics of your pup.

Bill

[Eric Eis]

"The Book" is often wrong so Bill it looks like a G and that's what I think it is

[Bill Bolyard]

Here is a picture of Freddy the owner of the gun he is 79 years young, and still working his farm.

Bill

[Dean Romig]

Wait a minute.... Some are saying that the "book" shows it as a D and others are saying the "book" shows it as a G.... something's fishy here. What "book" is being used as a reference?

A D2 is a Damascus barreled grade 2 or G grade and a D3 is a Damascus barreled grade 3 or D grade. In either case there will be a D stamped on the barrel flats under the right barrel near the front of the flat and if it is a grade 3 gun (D grade) there will be a 3 stamped nearer the breech of the flat on the same barrel. A grade 2 or G grade gun will usually not have the numeral 2 stamped at the breech end of the flat of the right barrel.

[Gill Frye]

I looked it up in the Parker serialization book and 76079 is listed as a D2 gun, 12 gauge with 30" tubes but Freddy looks pretty serious in that picture so if he says it's a DH then so be it...lol.
Regards,
Gill

[Bob Roberts]

Dean, I may be out on a limb here, but I thought I understood that the grade letter and number are usually below and above the serial number midway between the front and the rear of the right barrel flat and the D without or with a 2 or 3 directly above it positioned close to the front of the right barrel flat is a designation for "damascus" and the 2 or 3 numeral is an indication of damascus quality not gun grade. All my Parkers are 2 or G grade guns and they variously exhibit D and a D with a 2 or 3 directly above. At present I have two barrels in for black and white refinishing, one marked with a D2 and one with a D3 and I'm really looking forward to seeing the the difference in patterns when completed. My bet is that the gun in question is a G with a better quality damascus set of barrels.

[Dean Romig]

Hi Bob,

I expect that you will not be able to discern the difference in Damascus pattern between the G and the D grades.

The letter designation and the numeral designation of the grade are seperated by the serial number but only on the water table, not on the barrel flats.

You are correct that the "D" on the barrel flat is the stamp for Damascus on grades 2 through 4 and sometimes 5 and 6 but usually a grade 5 and 6 are "Finest Damascus Barrels" as indicated by a "DD" or double D stamp on the right barrel flat.

As I understand it, the numeral stamp toward the breech end of the right barrel flat is the grade designation, e.g., 3=D, 4=C, 5=B, 6=A, 7=AA. Again, I have never seen a 2 in this position indicating a grade 2 gun. These numeral stamps hold true for fluid steel barrels as well on nearly all the guns I have examined.

As an example, take a look at this CH grade (4) with Bernard barrels. On the water table is the grade number above and the letter designation below seperated by the serial number. And on the right barrel flat is the B for Bernard forward of the numeral stamp of 4 for the for the grade of the gun.


.

[Austin W Hogan]

About 85% of all damascus barrelled Parker guns were grade 2 , so the D was sufficient most of the time. The added letter or number separated the few higher grades. The reason for the stamp is that , prior to finishing and bluing, the rough barrels looked alike to the workers in the shop.

Best, Austin

[Jim Williams]

Hi Bob,

I expect that you will not be able to discern the difference in Damascus pattern between the G and the D grades.
.

I'm not sure if this is what you meant, but there is a definite difference in the damascus pattern of G grade (D2) and D grade (D3) barrels. The pattern on the D3 is smaller, and tighter. It is also a much bigger pain to refinish (harder to get good contrast). Perhaps you meant if you didn't have the two together to compare along side each other? But even then you can IF you are familiar with the difference. Forgive me if I misunderstood the statement. I DO know that YOU know your Parkers!

Jim

[Dean Romig]

Jim,

I will say that every set of grade 2 and grade 3 Parker Damascus barrels that I have examined have been '3 iron crolle'. I have never seen '2 iron crolle' on a Parker hammerless but I have seen a distinct difference between early and late 3 iron crolle patterns. In my experience, I have not been able to discern any difference between the barrels of a grade 2 and the barrels of a grade 3 of the same manufacturing period.

[Bill Murphy]

I hope that we have determined that the gun in question, Fred's GH, is a GH or Grade 2, and the book agrees with the grade of the gun, D2, which is a Damascus, Grade 2.

[Bruce Day]

I hope that we have determined that the gun in question, Fred's GH, is a GH or Grade 2, and the book agrees with the grade of the gun, D2, which is a Damascus, Grade 2.




Couldn't be righter. D2 in the gun listings of the Serialization and Identification Book is explained on p.62 of the same book in the explanation of the grade codes as a "Grade 2 guns ( grades E,F,G and H) with damascus steel barrels".

If there is confusion about the meanings of terminology in the Serialization Book, the same book contains pages of explanation in the front. Charlie Price also included many photographs of barrel flats and frame water table markings with explanation.