VH 16ga value

[Wesleymoore]

Serial number is 221981, I’d like to find out about the history of the gun and maybe see what the value may be. Thanks for any insight

[Joe Dreisch]

Welcome aboard. The gun is not in the serialization and identification book and a check of the availability of information for a research letter on our home page indicates there are no records. Please post close-up pictures of your gun here and the experts will give their opinions on condition and value.

[Wesleymoore]

I ran the serial number and it was made in 1927 but that’s all I know

[Wesleymoore]

The box lock is blues but I feel like originally it may have been case colors, there is nothing to indicate that on the gun, I’ve just seen a few from that decade that were. Hinge pin feels tight, barrel weld is sound all the way down. Appears tight on face but I know that’s hard to tell

[Bill Holcombe]

Yes originally it would have had case coloring. Many have had it wear away to a gray finish. The lever and the trigger guard should be a different color blue than the barrels.

[Wesleymoore]

They are a different color

[Michael Meeks]

Mr.Moore,

You'd have better picture quality and get more of a response on your gun's condition & value if you could photograph your VH outside on an overcast day using a red or gray backdrop. The natural lighting will help enhance details that would otherwise be obscured by shadows and glare.

[Wesleymoore]

Ok, I’ll see what I can do

[Todd Poer]

Looks like a very nice shooter to me. Hard to tell on condition of receiver, but fact it has been blued, is not good for a collector value. Do you know what length the barrels are and or what they are choked. That would be fine gun to own and shoot.

More picture and details are needed though for the pros to weign in. Most of those guns had 28 inch barrels and were choked modified/full or even full/full. Could be worth more if it was choked imroved cyclinder/modified but was not honed to that configuration.

[Wesleymoore]

The barrels are 28” and I have no clue as to the chokes of the barrel.

[Wesleymoore]

I am going to take more pictures today and post them here

[Wesleymoore]

Here are more pics, just let me know if you need any of anything in particular

[Bill Holcombe]

Looks like a nice honest gun minus the blued frame. It doesn't have case colors, but like I said most parkers, especially lower grade field guns don't.

The barrels appear to be in good shape.

[Wesleymoore]

Barrels are in great shape considering the age and the wood has a few dings but no cracks or major damage

[Brian Dudley]

Your barrels have also been re-blued. And based on the fact that ALL surfaces are blued (lugs, muzzle and even the cocking hook), I suspect they were hot blued which is an incorrect procedure for anything with soldered ribs. Hot bluing can severely compromise the integrity of the barrel set.

Also, you are missing your extractor retaining screw. You should get that installed as there is nothing keeping your extractor from falling out of the barrel set.

[Wesleymoore]

Where is the extractor retaining screw located, I’m not familiar with it

[Wesleymoore]

And where could I get one?

[Wesleymoore]

Also I checked the barrels, both ring all the way down, so I believe the solder is sound

[Michael Meeks]

Looking at your barrel flats, right behind the lug that is stamped "16" and "1", you'll see a threaded hole. That is where the exactractor retaining screw belongs.

[Todd Poer]

Wesley did you buy that gun or was it a family piece. BTW this group is a little hesitant to throw out prices on guns since its pictures and not certain what you want to do with the gun. Also not certain if you want to sell it and the purpose of you asking for a value. There is obviously a range of value on that gun. Gut tells me between $1k and $2k, but more than likely it is somewhere in between. Others may disagree or have a more informed opinion they are willing to share. Sorry for the broad range.

BTW I am basing my thought on replacement/reproduction. If you wanted a side by side as compared to some that are on the market new like maybe a Dickinson that is new and sales for about $2k. Dickinson are not bad guns for modern sxs and not suggesting it is comparable to Parker VH quality wise. Personally I would prefer to own the Parker but it is a used gun approaching 100 years old.

BTW I have a VH 16 built in 1907 that is an honest untouched gun that I will never sale or care to price but have seen some sell between $2,500 to $3,500 as collector guns.

The other day say a 12 ga VH that had pinned stock and some other issues. They wanted $2k and had a feeling they had that gun in the shop a while and wll continue to hold onto it at that price since there were some other noted issues like the wrong DH butt plate on stock and that the funiture on forarm and stock did not match up. All other serial numbers on metal matched up though.

[Wesleymoore]

I bought the gun and do not plan on selling, plan to restore it, hunt it, and eventually pass it down to my son

[Ted Hicks]

Welcome to the forums. I am not an expert like most on here, but I believe a 1frame 16 ga VH parker like yours is a very desirable gun. Hopefully the stock dimensions and chokes are suitable for you and your hunting pursuits. You can pattern it on paper to see what the chokes are like, or you could measure the constrictions to determine choke. It would be good to know what the chokes are.

And, hopefully you got it for less than collector value which leaves some meat on the bone for you to spend on fixing the metal. You might be at or a little over resale value at that point, but no matter since you don't plan to sell it.

I am just like you in that I would have the metal that should be case colored done and the metal that should be blued re-done. Then you'd have an excellent skeet, sporting clays and hunting gun that will withstand all the shooting you want to do and it will still be ready for your son after that.

[Don Hansen]

Wesley there is no easy or nice way to say this. The barrels appear to be hot blued. I'm basing this on the barrel sheen and the solder that appears to be missing between the top and bottom ribs and the barrels at the muzzle end of the gun. Also the fact that the barrels were probably reblued when the frame was blued. Any gunsmith that would hot blue the frame would probably not realize that hot blue and soft solder do not mix. Hot blue consists of an extremely caustic substance that turns soft solder (lead) into a salt. It will may hold for a while but I promise you it will eventually let go. The only proper fix is to remove all the ribs, clean them up and remove all traces of the solder on the ribs and barrels, re tin, and solder the barrels back up. They will then need polished and rust blued. Before doing any barrel work the bore diameter, choke and barrel wall thickness and chamber length should be checked. This is not a "do it yourself" project and expect to spend between $600-$900 for the job to be properly done. And that will depend on the barrel dimensions being adequate for repair. Having the frame annealed, polished, engraving redone and bone case hardened will run about another $800. We haven't even discussed the stock yet.

What I'm trying to say is you are looking at an expensive venture and will have substantially more money in the gun than it would ever sell for. And I'm not including what you have in it right now. I'm trying to save you throwing more money in.

I know this is a bitter pill to swallow but the good news is it can be used as a learning experience and all this being said you've gotten off cheap compared to mistakes I've made over the years. I work on these guys now and all I can suggest is PLEASE have a COMPETENT gunsmith check out a gun before purchasing it that can measure the barrels properly, check the stock for repairs or things needing repaired, and overall what has been done and what needs to be done. If the seller is not willing to let you do this, do not walk away. Run. It may cost you $100 but will be the best money you can spend and if they won't let you watch or show you what they are looking for find one that will. Pretty soon you'll know more than 90% of the people that buy guns blindly and "hope for the best". I know because that's what I used to do many years ago. And I lost ALOT of $$$ but gained a great education. All the best, Don Hansen.

[Bill Murphy]

True, the gun is a mess, resulting from bad gunsmithing. However, the pictures are nowhere clear enough to pronounce the ribs unacceptable for use. I would use the gun long enough for the ribs to come loose if they are, in fact, incorrectly refinished.