Big Surprise under the Buttplate

[Paul Mazan]

I just picked up a Parker G grade shotgun made in 1890. Typically I bought one that has seen much better days and would be of little or no interest to a true collector but I love to find derelicts and get them back to shooting condition. This is a hammerless gun with Damascus barrels and barrels cut to 25 1/2 inches eliminating all choke. The interesting part is that as i was disassembling it I removed the broken buttplate and found the gun had been signed, in pencil,by what I suppose was a bunch of cowboys. That kind of leads me to think this might have been a ranch gun that they shared. Any other ideas or has anyone else found this kind of thing?

[Brian Dudley]

Neat find for sure.

[Eric Eis]

Now that's a neat find under a buttplate.

[chris dawe]

:whistle:i see a king and ulrich there

[keavin nelson]

:):Neat, I wonder how many butt plates will be looked at now?......

[Daryl Corona]

Could they be Parker employees?

[Brian Dudley]

Could they be Parker employees?



No. The one legible date is 2 years after it was made.

[Paul Mazan]

Could they be Parker employees?

Probably not. The gun was built in 1890 and the buttplate is inscribed 1892. Also on the wood I can make out the words Texas and New Mexico. I'm guessing they were putting down where thy were from.

[Mills Morrison]

That is cool. You never know what surprises you find with these guns

[George Lander]

My "under the buttplate find" was on a VH bought from a collector up North. What was found was a South Carolina hunting license from 1909-1910 issued to a 12 year old boy whose address was less than 20 miles from my home. The Parker Letter showed that it had been shipped directly there.

Best Regards, George

[charlie cleveland]

some good finds...charlie

[Dennis E. Jones]

I look under the buttplate of all the guns I buy just in case someone did put their name or something else there. To date all I've found is a picture of a woman circa 1900 under the buttplate of a drilling manufactured in 1908. Unfortunately the last rifle cartridge in the toe trap removed her face. The only other thing I've found was a bundle of matches in the butt of a sporterized Krag. Still, in both cases, it was a nice look at the past. I put my name and the year in an inconspicuous place on guns I build.

[Todd Poer]

I wonder if gun was a gift and all those fellas chipped in to buy it for someone. Just a wild guess. Maybe a letter could track to who bought the gun.

[Russ Jackson]

VERY COOL ! Great Find !!!!!!! I always look,so far I have come up empty !