Meaning of x

[Daniel G Rainey]

While checking out my 1906 GH 10 before turkey season, I noticed an x on the fore end iron. Could someone please explain the meaning of the x.

[Mike Franzen]

That's a good question. I've wondered about that too. I was told a guy at a gun show it meant the gun had been to the Remington factory. Somebody here will know the real answer.

[Daniel G Rainey]

If the gun had been send back to the Parker-Remington factory the letter on the gun says nothing about that.

[edgarspencer]

This has been brought up many times in the past, and while no one has brought forth a definitive answer, I am quite certain it has nothing to do with a return to the Remington factory. I have a few guns with this mark, and have had a few others which have moved on, and in two cases, I can most positively say the guns have never been to Remington. Had a gun gone to Ilion for any sort of repair work, it would have Remington repair codes stamped on the left barrel flats.

[Dean Romig]

Further, there would be nothing in a PGCA Research letter referencing the gun having gone to Remington for service. I submit that we have no (or scant few) records of that kind of information.

There is some confusion between those stamps being a + or an x. In fact they might be either. There are a number of stamps on Parker guns that we do not know the meaning of, other than they may be inspection stamps or stamps identifying a certain worker or contractor. There is speculation that a + on the barrel flats near the breech may be an indicator that a barrel was bored oversize and this may be true but there is no actual record in support of that theory. There is a section in The Parker Story beginning on page 569 dedicated to markings on Parkers and the chapter is very informative. See the illustration at the top of page 573 for the + at the breech of each tube. It could be an x but that would toss out the idea that it might indicate the tube being overbored.






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[Mike Franzen]

The OP states the X is on the fore end lug. I have seen guns marked exactly the same way. When looking at it there would be no question it was an X as opposed to a +. "Gun Show Guys" seem to always have an answer.

[Dean Romig]

Right, ask a "gun show guy."

Maybe a worker named Xavier.





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[JohnCzarnecki]

1890 CH, letters as to being returned to factory in 1908 to open chokes, but that's it.

http://parkerguns.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=721&pictureid=8690

[Mike Franzen]

Nice bbls. Anyone else have an "X" gun?

[Dean Romig]

I have several and a couple with + stamps too.





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[Alfred Greeson]

I was told it indicated that the gun was a special order gun. Some characteristics just make them more interesting but as suggested, maybe we should ask Xavier or in the South, someone called Bubba can usually provide a good answer, he can be spotted by the white scar across the bridge of his nose, normally associated with continuous drinking of moonshine from a mason jar.

[William Davis]

My VH has the X. Nothing unusual about the gun.

William