Wall-hanger or shooter?

[Tom Goldasich]

A while back I bought an 1874-made Parker Lifter but had it shipped to Turnbull for inspection and a resto-quote. They said it had too deep of pits in the chamber to be safe, and that it was only a wall-hanger.

Aren't those old stub twist bbls thicker than most? If not safe, I have a near complete parts gun that is mechanically excellent.

Opinions please?

[Brian Dudley]

If they told you it was unsafe, then it is unsafe.

I don’t know what else I, or anyone else on the internet (without inspecting the gun), can tell you.

If you doubt the professionals opinion, then there is nothing left to do than take it out and shoot it and find out.

[Mills Morrison]

I will second guess a lot of people but not Turnbull on a Parker.

[Rick Losey]

as they say, don't ask the question if you don't want an answer

there are guns relegated to the wall for good reason, and you got the reason from someone who knows what he is talking about. So, keep your fingers and hang it up, or try and find new barrels to be fitted to it - but unless this one has some special value- that is likely a loosing proposition

[Jerry Harlow]

Deep pits in the chamber is a lot different than pits half way down the bore.

[dan myshin]

Wall hanger or shooter??? Let's review what we know so far. After examining your firearm, an expert; with education, training and experience that far exceeds your own, has offered an opinion that your firearm is not safe to shoot. What else needs said???

[Tom Goldasich]

Thank you all; as I said, I just wanted some opinions.


Enjoy your holiday weekend.

[Mike Franzen]

There’s nothing wrong with getting a second opinion. Send the barrels to Kirk Merrington in Texas. Many consider him the top barrel man in the country.

[todd allen]

There’s nothing wrong with getting a second opinion. Send the barrels to Kirk Merrington in Texas. Many consider him the top barrel man in the country.
Absolutely! Worst case scenario, you have the BBLs lined, and step it down to a smaller gauge.

[Tom Goldasich]

I should have mentioned that there is only one deep pit that I can see in the chamber. Over all, the bbl is shiny and not pitted much. However, I suppose it only takes one deep pit to cause trouble.

Is it possible to spot-weld a single area?

Thanks again.

[Mike Franzen]

Tom, if you are serious about finding out if your gun can be safe to shoot then you need to send it to Kirk Merrington. He will evaluate what you have and make recommendations how to proceed. Most of us posting here will not give advice on the safety of any set of barrels. The best we can possibly do is point you in the most prudent direction and hope you can make a good choice. Anyone telling you anything absolute about the safe, shootability of your barrels from a post on the internet is a fool and anyone taking that advice is foolish as well. The barrels are the single most important aspect of a gun. There are only a handful of truly qualified experts that can telll you whether or not the barrels are safe, can be repaired, should be altered or be replaced. I recommended Mr. Merrington because I have used him for this exact same situation. One thing I would like to see you do is post the guns serial number on this thread.

[Todd Poer]

Tom you have come to right place and unfortunately silence maybe deafening on this issue. I have found that there are a lot of reasonable minded people and experts when it comes to these guns on this forum and it sounds like you have heard from some trusted industry professionals as well . Btw there are not many on here that will wave the surrender flag on any old gun and they like to see them restored if possible, but clearly there are limitations. Essentially I have come to learn here that the term "wall hangar" pisses some folks off and because there has been some history of disparaging old Damascus or twist steel barrels. But even then they look closely at safety issues even with fluid steel barrels if they hear pitting in the chambers.

Also I know it was holiday weekend but I have seen some folks that would typically defend the use of damascus barrels posting on other threads topics but not post anything or really weighing in regarding your thread seeking an opinion. I am not speaking for the forum and not rendering an opinion about the forum or anyone in particular but just noting an observation.

Btw I leave you with a question knowing what you know at this point. Is the risk reward worth it. Only you know the answer to that one. All I know is that I would hate to hear about you as part of statistic case study. Other than that welcome to the forum and let us know what you find. BTW if you really want an Old Parker 12 gauge underlifter model, there are better candidates available for purchase and use that don't have issues at such a critical part of a guns operation.

[todd allen]

I would like to see some pictures, to get a better idea of what we're considering here.

[Tom Goldasich]

Thank you all again. I'm going to close the subject now. The only use I can think of, other than a parts-gun, is theatrical use. Someone can cut down the bbls for an "alley-cleaner" in the best Old West tradition. I do not have a decent camera.

The serial #4162.