Jim Kremmel
03-25-2021, 05:42 PM
Hello Parker shotgun forum, I’m joining from Eastern Pennsylvania in my 61st year. After owning several LC Smiths over the years, I was given a Parker and a project she is. I followed the instructions under technical data here, and it appears I own a PH model hammerless shotgun made in 1907 with 30” barrels. The frame size is 1-1/2, and it has Twist steel barrels. Barrel weight is marked as 314 with the 14 raised, I’m assuming this is 3 pounds 14 oz. The barrels are a smooth plum brown with lovely Damascus figure, except under the forearm which is the splinter type. All serial numbers are matching on all the components. The gun is very tight, with no movement at all in the breech. Engraving is very nice though more geometric rather than artistic which sounds right for this model. Even the screw heads are engraved. Both barrels ring like a literal bell, much brighter than the Smiths I’ve owned. I have not cast the chambers, but I’m guessing 2-1/2” or 2-5/8”. She has warts, a couple of which may be fatal to me being able to do some rabbit and grouse hunting with blackpowder shells which is my goal. The right barrel is blown out at the last 1” of muzzle, and has what I’d call worse than average pitting in a few places. The left barrel is quite bright with what may be a couple pits, though I need to clean it more. I don’t own a bore gauge but since most firing seems to be on the right it’s probably pretty tight this not fired much. The wrist was repaired long ago and has some ugly epoxy like red stuff on the surface of the wood that is starting to flake off. The stock is rock solid but I will need to investigate that. The repair included an extra screw or maybe nail in the tail of the trigger guard. It’s a mess, and will have to be dealt with before the gun can be disassembled. So, I plan to take a month and learn all I can about this model before starting to conserve it. Since in my opinion it has no collectors value in this condition, i’ll have to decide what to do about the barrels, and stock. The resources here seem endless. I’m not sure a factory letter will add much other than historical perspective since it’s not collectible. Look forward to chatting and learning. Jim