Dirty Tricks

[Aaron Beck]

With the intention of shortening the learning curve I am hoping this thread will be a place people will share thoughts and experiences on evaluating Parkers. Particularly guns you might encounter at a gun show, auction, or in an in-store inspection setting. In other words, you have a relatively little time to make a decision. The recent post about the punched up breach engraving got me thinking about this. Some guns are poorly repaired and some are shoddily but deliberately repaired in an effort to turn a buck. It is a fine line in many cases, the end result can be the same, with the buyer taking on more work than he might bargain for.
I am hoping to hear about less obvious examples than say barrel condition (thickness, bore condition, ring, hunch), action condition (on face), and stock appearance.
To start I will recount that I once bought a gun where the hook had been built up with some clear glue (also described recently) The gun was tight but the glue wasnt apparent, perhaps it looked like a bit of grease on the hook. After some solvents and a bit of shooting the glue started to peel up. It still works as a shim but the gun wasnt quite what I had hoped. One lesson learned. Please help with others.

[Ed Blake]

A modest mopping of the bores with oil will disguise lite pitting and frosting

[Garry L Gordon]

I’ve read that talc can disguise some pitting. Heavy grease can limit some looseness. I find the light at many gun show venues makes examination dicey. Buying from a reputable person costs more?… or does it?

[Dean Romig]

Post very clear hi-res pics of the gun right here on the forum for opinions as to originality and condition.

There are a hundred or more things to be aware of or to watch out for when considering a gun to buy.





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[Brian Dudley]

The easiest way to avoid mistakes is to simply know what you are looking at. Take the time to educate yourself and learn what is right and wrong. There is no substitute for Knowledge and experience.

[Dean Romig]

True Brian, but we all hope to find a shortcut or two along the way. I've been stung back a long time ago and like my dear old Mom used to say, "Experience is the best teacher - She tests first, then teaches."

And then there is "Good judgement comes from experience... and experience comes from poor judgement."





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[Russell E. Cleary]

This list from Michael McIntosh:

When examining, before bothering to have gunsmith look at it:

--sight down the barrels, for dents, and bulges; including down the rib
--ring barrels
--look for barrel shortening
-- with fore-end off, check for play
---note buggered screws (means buggered inside)
--use snap caps
--pull trigger with safety on; then click it off, and see if triggers move
--see if ejection is together; and try one at a time
--check stock for cracks

[John Davis]

As mentioned above, bad light sells bad guns.

[keavin nelson]

If you are buying at gun shows, I carry with me:
- bore light, chamber gauge, choke gauges, hand loop, tape measure, one of Dean's forend tools. Sometimes I will have a three piece rod in my backpack.
If the bores are dirty or heavily oiled, and I am seriously interested, I will ask to have them wiped.
Look for differences in finish condition. Barrel bluing/browning better than the action colors and or stock?

And then there are the on-line auctions. Any of them. Even with good pictures, much can be hidden.

One of my very early auction buys was a Parker G, with a badly broken stock. Otherwise in good condition, screws, barrels, all functioned, etc. I didn't discover for several weeks when I had time to dissemble the gun, that the firing pins had been ground off.:shock: See Dean's comment about experience!!!:)

[Mills Morrison]

All of the above. I will add that there is no short cut to experience and there is a certain amount of risk. If there are unanswered questions, there is more risk and I just discount what I am willing to pay.

[Aaron Beck]

Thanks to all. The shortcut for experience is sharing in the experience of others.

[John Albano]

One thing I have noticed is that it is a lot easier to buy than to sell!

[Russell E. Cleary]

One thing I have noticed is that it is a lot easier to buy than to sell!

I think that applies to all of our hobbies.

[Rick Riddell]

It happens. Some sellers are not forthright, That grade 2 I picked, I knew there were issues, but not the ones that were revealed after it arrived. It’s all a learning curve, I don’t think I would take the same chance on a gun of a higher price, but for the cheaper ones you’re always rolling the dice!

[Gary Carmichael Sr]

I have bought and sold some very nice guns, A few years ago I bought a Colt hammer shot gun, bores were nice and bright, with the exception of one minor pit in the barrels, I sent the gun off to have the brls honed, The gentleman called me and informed me that someone had "polished" the bores with " liquid solder" and it was a mess. So the brls were trash and since they were 34" hard to find. So that is my horror story of a high grade colt, And by the way the brls did ring, but not as they should, my bad Gary