Casing a DHE - Top Lever Stays Over Right

[David Verhine]

Background: Parker Repros DHE, 20, 28, P serial number on 20 if that matters.

So I've always wondered why the top lever stays hard over right when the barrels are removed, other than the fact it helps re-assemble them. My problem is that with the top lever locked to the right, I can't close my case lid.

I've always just released the lever by pushing down on what I think is the bolt (#38 - exploded diagram).

https://i.imgur.com/gFuBxFz.png

Am I missing something?

[Richard Flanders]

You don't push down on the bolt. You push down on the part below the bolt, at the bottom of the slot in the receiver. I can't find the part on this blowup. Don't use anything metal like a screwdriver. Use a pc of dowel or the eraser end of a wooden lead pencil to avoid marring the part. And hold the lever to the right as you push on the release so the lever doesn't snap hard to center.

[keavin nelson]

It is part 41,42,43 in the exploded view

[Chris Robenalt]

It's part #41. To release lever, push the lever gently to the right and hold, take a small screw driver or long key, and push down on part #41 gently while releasing the lever back to center.

[David Verhine]

I misspoke, you're right it's not the bolt. We're all talking about the same thing. Here it is:

https://i.imgur.com/i4Ff272.jpg

So, I guess my question is did Parker Bro's always intend for the individual to have to use something to release the top lever? Seems interesting to me.

[Chris Robenalt]

Yes, that little part below the bolt. The barrels push that down and release the lever, and the bolt engages. I'm not sure of Parker's intention for releasing the lever without the barrels on the gun. Most all sxs are the same way. The barrels close and release the lever by pushing down on a spring loaded release pin. Brian Dudley may be able to explain this concept a little better.

[Rick Losey]

well, not being a wise guy

but the lever stays right because it is supposed to - it needs to be there to reassemble the gun of course

why do you need to release it to case the gun? what type of case?

[Scott Gentry]

If you push top lever slightly to the right then push down on trip lever should return to center. Is important to do this before placed in case to avoid lever damage/breakage while stored in case. If this doesn’t work you need to get to smith.

[David Verhine]

well, not being a wise guy

but the lever stays right because it is supposed to - it needs to be there to reassemble the gun of course

why do you need to release it to case the gun? what type of case?

It's a Winchester case sent with the repro.

If you push top lever slightly to the right then push down on trip lever should return to center. Is important to do this before placed in case to avoid lever damage/breakage while stored in case. If this doesn’t work you need to get to smith.

Thanks. Just never ran into this on some other SxS like my BSS's. I figured it can't be good to store something under tension since over time it may weaken. I wasn't knocking 'em.

[Paul Harm]

Do you also release the hammers, or leave them cocked, under tension ? Not to be a smart a$$, but I don't store my guns where they're going to get beat on and break a top lever. It's easy enough to release the top lever but the last thing I'd worry about is the spring loosing it's tension. All my hammerless guns still fire just fine after a 100+ years of staying cocked while being stored. Sometimes we worry too much .

[Chris Robenalt]

Storing fully assembled, use your snap caps. Storing broke down in a case, I hold a block of wood against the receiver and fire both hammers into it. I don't like tension on the springs myself. I don't sweat the small stuff, I just shoot them and hunt, then wipe em down.

[Greg Baehman]

It's a Winchester case sent with the repro.

Technically speaking, your Parker Reproduction case was made and supplied by an Italian firm named Emmebi. And if we're going to be speaking technical :), the snap caps that are in your case, I do not believe, are the snap caps that were originally supplied with the gun. To my knowledge, original Parker Reproduction snap caps were stamped "PARKER Reproduction" (not Winchester) and were made and supplied by Parker-Hale in the UK.

I don't quite understand why you cannot close the lid on your case with the toplever locked to the right? Although I typically release the toplever when casing my guns in their original cases, nonetheless; all lids have still been able to be closed with the toplever cocked.

[Bob Brown]

I always center the top lever. It only takes a second and I don't like things sticking out where they could get broken or cut the cloth if it shifts in a hard case. It might be put away for a quiet drive to or from the range, but it also might be going in a take down soft case for a trip in a boat or on a quad. It doesn't take much to thumb it to the right before putting it back together.

[Richard Flanders]

I like to take the strain off the top lever spring. Just seems the polite thing to do...., BUT DON'T USE A SCREWDRIVER OR ANYTHING METAL TO PUSH DOWN ON THE RELEASE !!! YOU WILL DING IT UP.

[todd allen]

A Bic ink pen works perfectly for releasing the top lever. (Opposite end from the ball point)

[Dave Moore]

I always bring the top lever back to center, it does not take much to release the catch.
I usually use the earpiece on my glasses because I always have them right there.

Over the years, we have had to have two different repros repaired that broke the top lever from putting the gun in the case with the lever extended. The top lever on the repro is cast and very weak. They both broke in the same place, the narrow point just aft of the screw.
We have never seen an original Parker top lever break.

[David Verhine]

All, thanks for the input.