20 gauge damascus Parker

[Ken Descovich]

I think I caught the Parker bug. I picked up a 20 gauge parker with two 28 inch barrels one has damascus barrels and the other I am not sure of, as it is not marked. They both have matching serial numbers and the gun is completely matching serial number 77292. Any comments would greatly be appreciated. I have tried to post pictures but I keep getting a error.

Ken

[Bruce Day]

D3 H O C 16 28

[Bill Murphy]

Tell us when you are ready to email your pictures and someone here will volunteer to post your pictures for you. We need pictures of the outside of the gun obviously, but also pictures of the flat parts of the barrels and receiver. You have a very coveted gun for Parker collectors.

[Ken Descovich]

Bruce,
Thank you for your reply, this gun is definately a 20 ga with 0 frame and is a DH grade I wish I could get the pictures to post. The second set of barrels has two stars on the left barrel and three stars on the right barrel.

Ken

[Ken Descovich]

Bill,
Let me know where to e-mail the pictures I am ready to e-mail them. My e-mail address is maynard_rifles@att.net

Thanks,

Ken

[Ken Descovich]

I am able to down load the close ups but not the full view pictures, here you go.

Ken

[Jay Gardner]

How about shots of the sides of the receiver. I'd love to see the engraving.

[Dean Romig]

I'm bettin' the original Damascus barrels are 16 ga. like the book says.

[Ken Descovich]

More pictures.

Ken

[Ken Descovich]

Dean,
Here is a picture of the end of the barrels with a 16 gauge shell.

Ken

[Dean Romig]

Thanks Ken - that certainly puts my theory to rest. I guess it's safe to say you tried them in the other end too.... :duck:


By the way Ken, that's a very nice DH and in great condition too. I'll bet a previous owner was afraid to shoot the Damascus barrels. A lot of people were so afraid of Damascus that they replaced and junked the original barrels or scrapped the entire gun. You are very lucky to get that one. Congratulations on a great find!

[Ken Descovich]

Dean,
Yes, I looked for signs of sleeving and attempted to put the 16 gauge shell in the breach of which it was a no-go.

It seems obvious the 2nd set of barrels were done latter on, does anyone know who made extra barrels for parkers that had these type of markings? What might the stars represent? Chokes?

Ken

[Eric Eis]

The replacement barrels could have been made by Atlas which imported the barrels from Italy? I think, but it was common back in the 50's and 60's when everyone was scared to shoot damascus barrels.

[Bill Murphy]

That is one fine and valuable gun and the new barrels look to be high quality also. How about someone coming forward to post the pictures that Ken is having trouble with? I am not able to do it. The barrel flat markings should tell us the origin of the new barrels.

[Ken Descovich]

Bill,
For my own curiosity what do you value this gun at. I have no intensions of selling it just would like to know how well I did.:corn:

Thanks,

Ken

[Drew Hause]

Atlas Arms in Chicago offered replacement barrels for Smith and Parker guns using tubes made by Vickers (England) and fit and finished by Armaf in Belgium. These have a 1954 proof date code. Courtesy of Jim Akins.

http://pic20.picturetrail.com:80/VOL1373/6511424/19686599/290090544.jpg

Some Smiths were rebarreled in the 60s by Armi Sarezzo and will have Italian proofs.

[Ken Descovich]

Here are two pictures of the steel barrels without foreign proof marks, still considered atlas? Nobody has an idea what this gun is worth?

Ken

[Gary Carmichael Sr]

Eric can tell you what it's worth, what say you Mr E

[Ken Descovich]

Thanks Bruce,
As I say I do not plan to sell the gun. I added pictures of the skeleton buttplate and the sides of the stock. I guess I lucked into this one. Does anyone know how many were made in this configuration?

Ken

[Dave Suponski]

Ken, What a great gun! Congratulation's..:) I would say $6000.00-$7000.00 but that's just my 2 cent's worth.

[Ken Descovich]

Sometimes it pays to be the early bird at a gunshow. If it wasn't for all the great information provided by the Parker Gun membership and forum members I might have just walked past this gun.:)

By the way both barrel bores are bright and shiney.

Thank you all!

Ken

[Eric Eis]

I think both Bruce and Dave are in the ballpark $5000 to $7000, the gun does need some work so it would not bring more I am thinking somewhere inbetween those numbers. But hell what do I know....

[Bill Murphy]

I have not yet seen a post that says that Ken can't get a 16 gauge shell in the breech of the original gun. The book says it is a 16 gauge gun, I think it is a 16 gauge gun, and posters are appraising it as a 20 gauge gun. Ken, a 20 gauge DH grade Damascus barrel gun in worth about half again as much as a 16 gauge Damascus barrel gun. What gauge is your original Damascus barrel gun? It is one wonderful gun and we want to give you a correct appraisal.

[Dean Romig]

Bill, read the second post on page two of this thread where Ken says he attempted to insert a 16 ga. shell in the original Damascus chambers and got a "no go".

[Dave Noreen]

According to the table in The Parker Story there were 129, 20-gauge, Damascus barrel, DH-/DHE-grades made. The most common barrel length for them was 28-inches, with 69 made in that length. However, I'll be willing to bet that a very small percentage of them were made with the half-pistol grip this gun has. Very nice find.

A buddy of mine since Cub Scouts, bought a DH-Grade 12-gauge at Frederick & Nelson in Seattle, in 1967, serial number 88224. It has "S.F. Cal. Apr 8, 1899" carved in one barrel channel of the forearm. It has sported Italian steel barrels all these years, but we are still on the lookout for the original Damascus barrels. Any of you guys got them?

[Bill Murphy]

OK, Ken's 3:15 PM post on 8-30 says that he can't get a 16 gauge shell in the Damascus barrels and there is no sign of sleeving. I guess the original gun is a 20 gauge. Now Ken needs to get the gun in the hands of a Parker expert with a set of bore gauges. It would be worth it to Ken since a D Grade 20 gauge Damascus gun is a very coveted gun in Parker shotgun collecting circles.

[Dean Romig]

Ken, despite advice to the contrary, I don't think I'd jump right onto cleaning or refinishing anything about that gun just yet. Once you do anything to that gun you can't undo it. Go slowly. Don't do anything you might regret later. Don't do anything to that gun that may negatively affect it's value. If you watch "Antiques Road Show" or have had any discussions with people who have been in the antiques business for most of their adult lives you must know that "cleaning", "refinishing" or in any way removing original patina can have a devastating effect on value. Yup, it's nice to have a clean gun but I think the Damascus pattern is quite visible and the wood figure and grain are lovely with the character age has given it but it is the original finish that you should preserve and protect.

[calvin humburg]

All i'd do to it is shoot it. And oil it gently. WOW!

[Ken Descovich]

Here is a picture with a 20 ga shell chambered and a 16 ga shell trying to chamber.

Ken

[Steve Huffman]

Ken, The picture with the damascus barrels and shell next to the side do the lines on the rib go all the way to the end ? It looks to on the left side as I look at it