Family Heirloom - Parker DH?

[Nathan Hocking]

Hello all,

I am trying to help my dad identify two shotguns that he recently inherited from his father. I would be very grateful for some help from the experts (relative to me, anyway) identifying this shotgun and understanding if/how it is unique, as well as what it may be worth.

The S/N stamped on all 3 pieces of the gun is 212399. I believe this is a hammerless Parker DH Grade 3, with a Titanic Steel barrel, manufactured in 1925. I don't know what the T with the circle, the HT A in the triangle pattern, the 4 superscript 4, the J.G. in the circle, or the 12, 2, or 3 markings mean. Picture of all the important parts are below.

Please note that (speaking on behalf of my dad), we are not interested in selling the shotguns, and I am definitely not trying to use this website as a platform to peddle a family heirloom!

Thanks so much in advance for any expertise you are willing to share about this shotgun.

Kind Regards,
Nathan

[Jay Gardner]

Wow. Just wow.

[Michael Moffa]

Very nice DH"E".

[James L. Martin]

Very nice DHE 34 inch straight grip

[Steve Huffman]

Serialization has this listed as a 2 barrel set Do you have the other set ? Nice gun for sure ,your forend picture has a 1 on it so it goes to that set is there a 1 on the barrel
as well ?

[Reggie Bishop]

What’s not to like? Nice original long barrel straight grip Parker!

[Randy G Roberts]

Whoa! That's got my attention. I like the character of the aged and somewhat flattened pad. I like it all. Nice gun Nathan. That's a keeper. Congrats.

[Nathan Hocking]

Serialization has this listed as a 2 barrel set Do you have the other set ? Nice gun for sure ,your forend picture has a 1 on it so it goes to that set is there a 1 on the barrel
as well ?


Interesting!

I'll have to ask my dad about a possible second set of barrels. But I think he would have mentioned that, so I'm guessing, "no."

[Chris Travinski]

Wow!!!! You'd spend a lifetime looking for another one like that.

[Harold Lee Pickens]

Randy, I knew that one would get your attention. I saw that 1 on the fore end and was hoping for a look at the #2 barrels and fore end. Nathan, that gun is a knockout!!! The engraving is still so sharp and defined.

[Steve Huffman]

Is it me or the picture but does the barrel lug and hook and ejectors look like they have been blued ?

[Mark Ray]

Holy Smokes......that is one nice gun....i couldnt own it because i could not make myself shoot it!!!!!

[Brett Hoop]

Nathan
Nice Parker. HT - thought to be heat treating. J.G - barrel inspector. 4/4 raw barrel weight. The 3 on the frame under serial number - Grade 3 and it has ejectors instead of extractors thus a DHE
34” barrels - desirable long barrels, we get a little giddy over this length of barrels because there weren’t that many of them to begin with and fewer survivors it seems. And they provide a longer sighting plan that may or may not be an advantage particularly at the clay target games some of us like to play. And the they are just cool. Straight gripped guns always draw attention as it seems there were fewer of those originally produced also. Yours has nice looking walnut. The squished pad tells us it’s been there a long time.

Do yourself a favor and join and become a member- it saves money on the letter you should look into obtaining. And the quarterly magazine Parker Pages is very well done and always informative .

Although there are many very knowledgeable ( much much more so than, I) folks here that can tell you some of the details. I would be writing down everything your family can tell you about their history with the gun because that knowledge can be lost so quickly and maybe the most valuable part of any heirloom.

[Jeff Kuss]

:rotf:You boys all need to take a cold shower to cool down. I know I did!

[Dave Noreen]

I believe this is a hammerless Parker DH Grade 3, with a Titanic Steel barrel, manufactured in 1925. I don't know what the T with the circle, the HT A in the triangle pattern, the 4 superscript 4, the J.G. in the circle, or the 12, 2, or 3 markings mean. Picture of all the important parts are below.


The gun is a Quality DHE, which is also known as a Grade 3.

The T in the circle is the barrel steel type marking -- Titanic

The 3 near the rear of the right barrel flat is the grade as is the 3 under the serial number on the watertable.

The J.G. in the oval is the mark of James Geary contractor/foreman of the barrel making department.

The 4 superscript 4 is the weight of the unfinished barrel set.

No one is really sure about the HTA, but speculation is High Tensile Alloy or Heat Treated Annealed.

The 2 on the barrel lug is the frame size -- the number of sixteenths over one inch of the center-to-center firing pin spacing. In this case 1 2/16 inch or 1 1/8 inch. If the other marks on the bottom of the barrel lug are 12 (I can't make them out in the picture) that is the gauge of the gun.

[Dean Romig]

A beautiful Parker!

I sure hope you find the #2 barrels and forend.
That gun sure has been kept well - look at those colors!





.

[Harry Neil]

Very nice...Thanks for the post....

As far as shooting it, it may be a little tippy....but I would make a good effort in working it out...May be a great Sporting Clay SxS shotgun...

[keavin nelson]

What a great start to a Parker collection, you could look quite awhile to find one as good original condition! Very nice!

[Dean Romig]

Guns of that level of original condition are in the finest collections.





.

[Dave Noreen]

Looks to me like those barrels were reblued with the blue on the lug and ejectors.

[Michael Moffa]

I wonder how it is choked with those long barrels. Smart money would be on Full/Full but I'm betting on cylinder/cylinder for elusive grouse in a redwood forest.

Spin

[Jeff Peck]

Beautiful !

And with a title like this, can't believe no one has asked yet !

Are you adopting!

😀🤣

[Eldon Goddard]

If that is the first shotgun. I am interested to know what is the other you are trying to learn about?

[Nathan Hocking]

There are indeed two fore-ends for the "Parker DHE 34 straight grip" (thanks everyone for the great info!!). However, unfortunately we only have one set of barrels. It obviously came with two sets because of the two fore ends (only one of which fits the current barrel set). Also, my dad told me that he remembers his dad taking some guns to get blued when he was a kid (so in the late 60s, early 70s), which would explain the blueing on the ejectors for the first shotgun.

Here are some pictures of the second shotgun. We also have some "paperwork" that came with the trojan, as well as an issue of a 1965 guns and ammo magazine that my grandfather saved since it was about Parker Shotguns and he owned two of them. Will post those in a second. Hope you all enjoy seeing this stuff!

[Nathan Hocking]

I wonder how it is choked with those long barrels. Smart money would be on Full/Full but I'm betting on cylinder/cylinder for elusive grouse in a redwood forest.

Spin

Not sure, but the shotguns would have been used (probably almost exclusively) to hunt mallard ducks in the state of Maine.

[Nathan Hocking]

My grandpa was meticulously organized, and had a file with information from the Parker Trojan. These old notecards are pretty cool, and I am guessing probably fairly rare.

[Nathan Hocking]

An issue of G&A with an article on Parker Shotguns that my grandpa saved and filed away in a folder. Obviously he saved it because he owned two Parker Shotguns.

[Nathan Hocking]

Do yourself a favor and join and become a member- it saves money on the letter you should look into obtaining. And the quarterly magazine Parker Pages is very well done and always informative .


I'll look into it. Is there a thread on the forum that talks about the details of membership? What is the letter you are recommending obtaining? Thanks!!

[Harold Lee Pickens]

The hang tags are a great extra to have with your gun. Some even sell the hang tags they find and try to reconnect them with the gun owner. I have the hang tags for my VH 16 1 frame. To have the hang tags from the DHE would really be something

[Dave Noreen]

Very nice Trojan. How wonderful to still have the original hang tags with the gun. Interesting that the hang-tag for this 1924 vintage, 2-frame, 12-gauge, says "Use Shells...2 5/8...Long" and that it was targeted with a 1 1/8 ounce load. A load of 1 1/8 ounce of #7 Tatham Chilled Shot goes 336 pellets -- 225/336 = 67%, 250/336 = 74.4%.

I have saved pictures of other 12-gauge hang-tags that show "Use Shells,,,2 3/4...Long" and were targeted with 1 1/4 ounce of #7 1/2 Tatham chilled shot which would be 431 pellets.

I have saved another 12-gauge hang tag of 1929 vintage that says "Use Shells...2 5/8....Long" but it is for a much lighter weight gun.

[Brett Hoop]

I'll look into it. Is there a thread on the forum that talks about the details of membership? What is the letter you are recommending obtaining? Thanks!!

Nathan

Upper left corner of forum page you should see a tab for PGCA Home.
There you can see membership tab and information.

There may be records available on your gun and you can check that on the home page also.

Membership comes with the greatest benefit being the folks you may meet that are fellow members and willing to help with your education on the Parker gun.

PS- I think you’d want to check into the Research Letters section of the Home page. It’s good news.

[Dean Romig]

Right Dave, both 2-frame guns with different loads - I wonder why?

It's great to read the "Directions" on that hang tag where it discusses the fact that dropping the hammers is perfectly okay to do but that an ejector gun requires a different procedure to prevent damage to the stop plate..... something we all were discussing here on the forum just yesterday and this morning.





.

[Dean Romig]

Nathan, are you in Maine?





.

[Dave Noreen]

Right Dave, both 2-frame guns with different loads - I wonder why?

The Trojan of this thread which we know is a 28-inch barrel, 2-frame, weighs 7 pounds 7 ounces by the tag. The other tag I was looking at with the 2 3/4 inch 1 1/4 ounce load is for a 30-inch, 12-gauge, gun that weighs by the tag 7 pounds 10 ounces. I don't know the frame size.

For some reason more pictures of 20-gauge tags have come my way than 12-gauge tags.

[Nathan Hocking]

Nathan, are you in Maine?





.

Dean - my dad's side of the family is from there, and he grew up there. No one in my immediate family lives there anymore. Wonderful place, though. You?

[Dean Romig]

The high condition DHE is also a 2-frame. One of the first few pictures on page 1 shows the lug with the 2 stamped.





.

[Dean Romig]

Dean - my dad's side of the family is from there, and he grew up there. No one in my immediate family lives there anymore. Wonderful place, though. You?


I live in Mass but own property in Maine and spend a great deal of time there.





.

[Dean H Hanson]

Nathan, Thank you.... Shoot straight and be well.

[Richard Flanders]

The engraving on the DHE is spectacular! The Trojan was clearly his working brush gun! What a great pair to inherit.

[Jim L Lawrence]

Double "Wow"! An incredible, beautiful gun. You guy's are very lucky.

Jim

[Larry Stauch]

Looking in the book I see less than 800 34" barrel guns, not including the single barrel trap guns, out of the 240,575 (242,487 total - 1912 single barrel trap guns), Parkers made. Roughly .003325 or .33%. Obviously, they made some guns longer, but those are fewer by far.
Beautiful gun.

[Brian Xavier]

Happy to be here but a bit embarrassed .. I recently after a few years of searching finally picked up my first Parker side by side in 12 gauge ... it’s as pretty and fit as I knew it would be . I have the serial number of “170402” and through this site I now confirmed it was built in 1915 ... I have two over unders and I have no clue how to break down this gun ! There is no lever on the hand guard ... can anyone help me out here ?

[Rick Losey]

Brian - welcome

it might have been better to start a new thread rather than piggy back on another topic

but, I am guessing you have a Trojan model - you can go to the home page and on the left you will find a link to "Parker grades" scroll down until you find the pictures of the Trojan - the action profile is a little different from the other grades so its easy to identify

If my guess is correct - Trojans came with a snap on foreend - those pull off from the front(get a finger under the tip and pull it down and away from the barrels). Some of them can be very stiff.
one of our members had a tool designed to make removal easier - you might check to see if he has any left
http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1531&highlight=tool