Hammerless Lifter

[jefferyconnor]

I thought I came across a post discussing these but can't find it again with a few different searches. Does anyone have pictures they could post? Also, I was wondering if anyone has a estimated production count? If I remember correctly there were some made into the 1900s. Were they made on unique or special frames or modified top lever frames?
Having taken a couple Parkers apart and looking at diagrams, I'm developing the idea lifter guns had a simpler, more direct acting means of working the locking bolt. I've never handled a lifter but evidently shooters back then ultimately liked the top lever better. I'd welcome anyone's thoughts on that subject also.

[Bill Murphy]

The lifter action is very easy to operate. I seem to remember something about a hammerless lifter or maybe it was a Lefever conversion that I remember.

[Dean Romig]

Yes, and whoever designed and built it, it was experimental and never went into production by either company.





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[Brian Dudley]

The gun in question was likely the Hammerless conversion of a lifter done by Lefever arms. It was sold by Morphys maybe 5-6 years ago and is currently for sale by Puglisi. It can be seen on GI. This gun was actually converted to a manual side cocking hammerless.

Mr. Herzog owns a top action hammerless conversion. Likely also done by Lefever, but that gun is not marked as such, but the mechanics are lefever. That one was converted to an automatic hammerless action utilizing lefever cocking rod design.

Lefever was the inventor of the first commercially sucessful hammerless shotgun in America. They did hammerless conversions to many different hammer guns in the earlier days. Likely any gun that was sent to them by a customer. Much like breechloading conversions from mizzleloaders. It was a way for the earlier talented gunmakers to stay working with jobs and helping people stay up to speed with modern firearms technology but not have to buy a new gun.

Certainly any of these conversions were done in low numbers and would be rare to find today.

[Daryl Corona]

I love the underlifter design and can't understand why it went out of favor. As far as ergonomics is concerned it's a no-brainer.

[jefferyconnor]

https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/shotguns/parker-shotguns-antique/parker-lefever-historic-200-grade-hammer-model-modified-by-dan-lefever-to-hammerless.cfm?gun_id=101499602
This looks like it might be the one?

[Dean Romig]

That’s the one - and Lefever incorporated their own side-cocking design too and patented it all. Everything else is Parker Bros, right down to the engraving.





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[todd allen]

https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/shotguns/parker-shotguns-antique/parker-lefever-historic-200-grade-hammer-model-modified-by-dan-lefever-to-hammerless.cfm?gun_id=101499602
This looks like it might be the one?

I wonder how much this sold for.

[Greg Baehman]

At the 2014 Las Vegas Antique Arms Show there was a 12ga. Grade 3 toplever hammergun converted to hammerless that I and others had seen and handled. The ask on it was less $4K. Here's a link to that discussion and there's a link within this thread that takes you to another thread that includes a couple of pics taken by PML. I am not sure if it is the exact same gun discussed in both threads.
http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthread.php?t=12494&highlight=hammergun

[edgarspencer]

I took a double take on that two-dog engraving on the trigger guard.

[Dean Romig]

I think it said it was a $200 grade which I believe is the forerunner to the B if I'm not mistaken.





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[jefferyconnor]

Picture of the sidelever. This strikes me as something at the very top of collector/historical interest for those that like Parkers, Lefevers, and the idea of their direct development from muzzleloaders. This conversion as awesome as it is, probably had less time involved than a muzzleloader conversion. Lefever himself likely did the work, right?

By the way, does anyone recall the asking price on this "sold" listing?

[Dean Romig]

Does anyone know the serial number that Parker Bros. assigned to this gun?





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[Brian Dudley]

The serial number is pictured in the GI listing on the trigger guard.

The gun was sold at Morphys (the year before the morphy/julias merger) for I think around $18k. Don't quote me on that, it may have been less. And it was just a couple years later that the gun showed back up in Vegas being offered by Puglisi with a much higher asking price, to the tune of like $50-60k or something. At least that is what I heard from some people that the gun was offered to.
The gun has been on GI for a while now. And it was not priced. It was “Price on Request” or POR.

[jefferyconnor]

I took a double take on that two-dog engraving on the trigger guard.

I did too. One dog is standing in front of the rock, the other one behind the rock. A regrettable mistake in composition, maybe, considering.

[Dean Romig]

Except that Glahn is known for having depicted humorous situations in his engraving, so...


But wait, that’s not Glahn’s work at all... hmmm... or is it? The serial number puts the gun within the years of his tenure.


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