New member from Wisconsin - Barrel marking questions

[John Fritzke]

Hi all,

I paid my dues a few weeks ago and already had my first Parker lettered. It's a VH, 1 1/2 frame, 12ga, 28" barrels, made in 1915. I've been able to decipher most of the barrel markings including grade, frame size, barrel weight (3lbs 8oz), but I'm confused by the rest.

What does the C next to 1 1/2 represent?

How about the small HT on the flats?

I assume the circled V on the flats and the V between the lugs indicate the grade.

What does the circled JG stand for? Finally, what about the cursive letter next to JG? It could be a V, but I'm not sure. I'm guessing at least one of the above is a proof mark, but I'm not sure which.

Otherwise, the gun seems to be in pretty good shape. The case hardening color has worn off everywhere but on the water table and under the opening lever. There's no rust that I can find, and the barrel bluing is maybe 50% remaining?

Thanks for your help in advance!

[Dean Romig]

Not a bad gun at all for your "first" Parker.... (there will be more)

The V represents Vulcan Steel barrels. It is a Grade-0

The JG is the mark of James Geary barrel maker for Parker Bros.

The HT is believed by some to represent Heat Treated and Annealed meaning the barrels.

The frame size is 1-1/2

The "C" on the lug looks more to me like an incomplete 0 but that wouldn't make any sense any more than a C in that location.

The "cursive letter" next to the JG looks to be the 'ampersand' we see on later Remington guns which is one of the "unknown" markings.





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[Randy G Roberts]

Hey Dean the HT is there but no A. Late Friday or ???

[John Fritzke]

Not a bad gun at all for your "first" Parker.... (there will be more)

The V represents Vulcan Steel barrels. It is a Grade-0

The JG is the mark of James Geary barrel maker for Parker Bros.

The HT is believed by some to represent Heat Treated and Annealed meaning the barrels.

The frame size is 1-1/2

The "C" on the lug looks more to me like an incomplete 0 but that wouldn't make any sense any more than a C in that location.

The "cursive letter" next to the JG looks to be the 'ampersand' we see on later Remington guns which is one of the "unknown" markings.


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Thanks, Dean!

I'm by no means an expert, but the possible ampersand confuses me because the serial number (171xxx) puts it in 1915 or 1916, which I'm thinking is before the Remington era. Was it possibly added during a repair in the 30s or 40s? Either way, I'll try to get a good closeup photo and repost.

As far as "first" Parkers... I'm already bidding on a "second".

[Steve Huffman]

Nice honest looking gun enjoy it !

[Dean Romig]

Thanks, Dean!

I'm by no means an expert, but the possible ampersand confuses me because the serial number (171xxx) puts it in 1915 or 1916, which I'm thinking is before the Remington era. Was it possibly added during a repair in the 30s or 40s? Either way, I'll try to get a good closeup photo and repost.

As far as "first" Parkers... I'm already bidding on a "second".

There are a few stamps that present more questions than answers.

I don’t see a Remington repair code so I don’t think the answer lies there.





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[MattHaney]

:knowbetter:Here is a 1922 vintage VHE with 3 Remington repair codes and the ampersand (&). I don't know what the "N I" next to the ampersand is. (Sorry, didn't notice this thread is over a year old....:knowbetter:)

https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/3933d30d-9687-4db5-a82f-f4f9885dccda/downloads/VHE1.jpg?ver=1594600109918

[Dave Noreen]

With the PARKER GUN WORKS OVERLOAD PROVED stamps those are a set of Remington barrels from 1934 or later. Looks to me like DJ 3, WF 3 and XK 3. I would suspect the WF 3, August 1937, was when this set of barrels was fitted. DJ 3, September 1940, and XK 3, December 1941, are for other repairs.

[MattHaney]

That's interesting David. Thank you. That had not occurred to me about the proof stamp being Remington era. This gun is brand new to me, so I'm still learning about it. I read the date codes as: XD3 (1935), WF3 (1937) and DJ3 (1940). I wonder if the gun could have been finished out of sequence as the serial number is 200xxx, supposedly a 1922 number. It could have been re-barreled during the Remington years. I wonder if Remington would have re-proofed and stamped if they did something like lengthen the chambers. I don't have the letter yet, so we'll see what it says.

Mr. Fritzke, I apologize if I took your thread down a rabbit hole.---Matt