Fair Prices

[CraigThompson]

I'm curiouse to know what fair ballpark price is for damascus barreled Parker 10 gauge .

What I am asking is whats the most to pay for internal hammer guns in shootable condition !

V , P , G grades that are 50% with shootable bores and tight !

[George Lander]

Craig: It depends mostly on the condition especially the barrels, pits, wall thickness, dents, loose ribs, etc. I don't think that they made the V Grade in Damascus or in 10 gauge.

Best Regards, George

[Dave Suponski]

George, Parker did in fact make VHE guns in 10 gauge. They are later guns and are few and far between.There are about 20 of them documented with barrel lengths of 28,30,32 and 34.


Craig, Twist barreled 10's are available in P(N) grade and Damascus guns are out there in G(E)grade and up.

[CraigThompson]

I've actually seen one VH in person here in Virginia that was for sale !

And like an idiot I let it get away as the guy wanted $1800 and the metal was very easily 96% !

And there was another on Gunbroker in the last couple months that I think was a V or P !

[Eric Eis]

I've actually seen one VH in person here in Virginia that was for sale !

And like an idiot I let it get away as the guy wanted $1800 and the
metal was very easily 96% ! Which one, :crying:. :banghead: or :cuss:, been there..... Eric

[Destry L. Hoffard]

My magnum 10 gauge has V grade Remington barrels on it but they've been factory fitted on an older G grade action. Somebody must have had a damascus gun and then sent it back to the factory for a set of those new fangled black barrels that would handle those big long roman candle cartridges.


Destry

[Pete Lester]

I am not trying to be flip with my answer. You should to expect pay what you think is a fair price based on looking at and evaluating various guns that meet the criteria you are looking for. You will in relatively short order develop a sense of what a particular gauge, grade, and condition is going for depending on condition. These guns especially NH and EH 10's are well over 100 years old. They all generally have some flaws. Might be worn checkering, lack of barrel finish, cracked stock head, pitted barrel, off face, or a combination. Many of these things can be fixed so another trick is to know the cost of the repair and weigh that against the purchase price to figure where you'll be when the gun is "done".

Now you said, your criteria was shootable bores, which I take to mean some pitting and 50% and tight. I'll hazard an educated guess the range will be $800 - $1800 give or take. As condition goes up, so does the price. Here is an example of such a gun in that range, NH 10ga here:

http://www.stevecobbguns.com/amersg.htm

Good luck, another thing that can be hard to find in the old 10's is modern dimensions. Most of them were made in the era where shooters preferred a lot of drop.

[Mark Ouellette]

Craig,

The Parker 10 gauge guns regardless of gauge are rising in value. The 2 & 7/8" "Short Ten" is a very effective cartridge which is becoming more popular within the Classic SxS realm. I think we have 10 active Short Ten shooters on this forum. The guns in shooting condition on the market, be they Parker, LC Smith, or Lefever, and others to include English guns, are not staying on the market long.

To add to what my 10 bore colleague Mr. Books stated, $800 minimum for a good shooter (mechanically solid gun, tight action, that needs NO repair) in 20% condition is not too much if you like the gun. If you find one cheaper let me know :)
A 50% condition 10 gauge Parker would be much more!

For what it's worth,
Mark

PS: Please consider spending $40 to join the PGCA. The collective advice provided in this thread will save you much more than that!

[Pete Lester]

There are just 10 of us? I am really enjoying the Remington 1894 10ga I picked up earlier this year. Overall I think the Parker is a better built and better looking double but the '94 is very pleasing to me and I am shooting it well this spring on crows.

http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3477

BTW a 10ga VH(E) if you can find one again, if it's in any kind of condition it would be well beyond the range I gave.

[CraigThompson]

There are just 10 of us? I am really enjoying the Remington 1894 10ga I picked up earlier this year. Overall I think the Parker is a better built and better looking double but the '94 is very pleasing to me.

http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthread.php?t=3477

You should try my pre 1897 W.C. Scott 10 !

I've shot straight rounds on both the skeet and trap fields with it as well as used it recently in the dove fields and the deer woods with very good results .

I also have an old Ithaca 10 gauge SxS with 2 7/8" chambers and fluid steel barrels . This one we've had for 30 years and I've yet to fire it although it's in very nice shape ! Perhaps later this spring !

The old W.C. I have belonged to my grandfather for 50 years before I got it . He had used it to shoot mainly turkey and hawks . Granted he shot hawks with it many years ago !

[Mark Ouellette]

Mr. Books (as Scatman Crothers addressed our fictional hero),

Let's say there are at least 10 active ten gauge Parker guys who actively participate in our discussions. There are also others who occasionally comment.

Hmmm, a 10 guage Parker? You better buy it before I do!

Mark

[CraigThompson]

There are just 10 of us? I am really enjoying the Remington 1894 10ga I picked up earlier this year. Overall I think the Parker is a better built and better looking double but the '94 is very pleasing to me and I am shooting it well this spring on crows.



Last year we sold a pair of Remington 1894 12's thru our shop in Virginia for a gentleman in Vermont that used to be a Gun Show dealer . One was reall really nice except sone one nad taken wire and made a picture of sorts in the buttstock of a setter . Anyways finish wise wood and metal was at or above 90% !

[CraigThompson]

Mr. Books (as Scatman Cruthers addressed our fictional hero),

Let's say there are at least 10 active ten gauge Parker guys who actively participate in our discussions. There are also others who occasionally comment.

Hmmm, a 10 guage Parker? You better buy it before I do!

Mark

While I have alot of intrest in 10 gauge guns period !

I'm also getting intrested in the 8 gauge as well !
A couple of my friends have 8 bore rifled british guns , personally I'll be happy if I am able to fire birdshot in a nice old 8 gauge shotgun sometime be it a Parker or whatever !

[George Lander]

My very first (or perhaps second) collector gun I acquired when I was about eight years old. A friend of my Dad who ran an AMOCO service station had taken a Parker 10 gauge hammergun in trade for some gas. I had a H&R 16 gauge single barrel that my Dad had given me and we traded even. I even got a box of Super-X 10 gauge #4's to go with it. I have never shot it but I plan to get it re-stocked & shoot it with RST loads. It has Damascus barrels and is in very fine condition other than the wood which is a homemade job.

I have been fortunate enough to acquire a ten gauge Parker hammergun SN 5473 in "like new" condition that was featured in a DGJ article, two eight gauge hammerguns: a James Beattie and a Joseph Braddell, and a four gauge hammergun by Edward M. Reilly in it's original trunk case. I really like the big bore guns.

Best Regards, George

[CraigThompson]

I have been fortunate enough to acquire a ten gauge Parker hammergun SN 5473 in "like new" condition that was featured in a DGJ article, two eight gauge hammerguns: a James Beattie and a Joseph Braddell, and a four gauge hammergun by Edward M. Reilly in it's original trunk case. I really like the big bore guns.

Best Regards, George

You sound kind of like a close friend of mine !

My friend pig hunts every year in Arkansas and his pig battery consists of three CZ550's in 375 H&H MAG for his "light rifle" , a 416 Rigby as his "medium gun" and finally a 505 Gibbs as his "dangerouse hog gun" . And believe me when I say this guy uses these !

Personally I topped out with the 416 REM MAG and in shotguns my old Ithaca MAG-10's with 2 1/4 ounce turkey loads were enough !

However after shooting my grandfathers W.C. quite a bit over the last couple years I wish to add a Parker 10 gauge hammerless to my "accumulation" and dare I venture to say possibly a hammerless Parker 8 gauge :whistle:

To be honest I would find it quite satisfying to work up a decent smokeless buckshot load for a Parker 8 gauge and shoot some poor unsuspecting Virginia deer at 35 yards or less :bigbye:

[Bruce Day]

I hunted hogs for three years in the thickets along the Red River in southern Oklahoma. Two years out of the three, the hog came after me. The first year I used a 30-30 and was way undergunned. The last couple years I used a 30-06 which was enough if I hit the hog in a vital spot. My crawl through the brush handgun is a .357 mag but you need to hit them in the head with that when they are head down and charging at you. You would not want to get pushed to the ground by a 400lb hog.

All in all it was great sport and I felt like a redneck Robert Ruark or Karamojo Bell.

Bwana Bruce

[CraigThompson]

I hunted hogs for three years in the thickets along the Red River in southern Oklahoma. Two years out of the three, the hog came after me. The first year I used a 30-30 and was way undergunned. The last couple years I used a 30-06 which was enough if I hit the hog in a vital spot. My crawl through the brush handgun is a .357 mag but you need to hit them in the head with that when they are head down and charging at you. You would not want to get pushed to the ground by a 400lb hog.

All in all it was great sport and I felt like a redneck Robert Ruark or Karamojo Bell.

Bwana Bruce

My friend "The Pig Hunter" only see's sport in hog hunting and bear hunting .

He laughs at me for liking to shoot deer !

But strangely enough he takes all the venison I can give him which is usually somewhere in the 10-12 deer a year category :rotf:

[King Brown]

I don't understand the hankering to shoot a gauge bigger than the need. Seriously, I'm not being mischievous. Maybe it's because I'm a meat-and-potato guy who chooses the best shotgun, rifle, fishing gear, boat, aircraft, truck or car for my mission. I know all about sentiment because I'm as hooked solidly there with the notion of another time and another great gun. Is that it? With sensible loads regardless of gauge, I can't imagine it being a bigger bang. Help, please.

[CraigThompson]

I don't understand the hankering to shoot a gauge bigger than the need. Seriously, I'm not being mischievous. Maybe it's because I'm a meat-and-potato guy who chooses the best shotgun, rifle, fishing gear, boat, aircraft, truck or car for my mission. I know all about sentiment because I'm as hooked solidly there with the notion of another time and another great gun. Is that it? With sensible loads regardless of gauge, I can't imagine it being a bigger bang. Help, please.


You have your right to your opinion just as I or anyone else has the same to their opinion !

Personally I believe if we all agreed on what guns to use or shoes to wear it would be a pretty boring world !

If it were a totally utilitarian world there would be no 410 bore or 28 gauge or 204 Ruger etc etc etc !

There are very few rifle cartidges or shotgun gauges or bores that I don't like !

And while I am not trying to argue with you , you use the word "best" , in my honest opinion there is NO ONE best for anything be it shotguns , flyrods or whatever !

I suppose in my own situation and many others , the desire or want for 8 gauge , 10 gauge , 28 gauge or whatever is because it's there !

Remmember there is NO SUCH THING as overkill dead is DEAD period !

[Bruce Day]

You don't believe in matching the gauge to the game? Like a 10 for geese and a 20 for quail? You believe in shredding the game?

[Pete Lester]

There is matching gauge to range as well as the game bird. The mighty 10 shines at long range and far superior for pass shooting waterfowl.

Crow shooting, can't hit him too hard, shredding is fun, shooting the tall ones is fun too.

Roosters jumping far ahead late season, tight choke 2 frame 10 would be a dandy gun for that too.

[Mark Ouellette]

King,

Bigger bore, better pattern especially with big shot!

A 1 & 3/8 oz load from a 10 gauge is much better than the same from a smaller bore.

It's as simple as that.

Respectfully,
Mark

[CraigThompson]

You don't believe in matching the gauge to the game? Like a 10 for geese and a 20 for quail? You believe in shredding the game?

Don't believe you can't shred birds with little guns also !

If we were preserve hunting with side bets , I've seen the days that I shot quail on the rise with a 28 and there was nothing left fit to eat .


But as to the 10 gauge being a goose only proposition I personally think far from it !
My 1 1/4 ounce loads of #8's work great for late season dove shoots :cool:

[scott kittredge]

You don't believe in matching the gauge to the game? Like a 10 for geese and a 20 for quail? You believe in shredding the game?

if i had one gun to buy 100 years ago, knowing what i know now about 10's it would be a 30 in. 2 frame .025 by .025 choke 10 ga, you can shoot 1 oz to 1 3/4 oz loads and the guns is 8 3/4 lbs, boy does mine shoot GREAT from trap ,ducks, geese, turkey, deer and my best hunting CROW! scott

[Bill Murphy]

I would order a ten gauge two barrel set, on a #2 frame, one set of barrels like the 27" ones on my 7 1/2 pound DH, one set 32" for a weight of about 9 1/2 pounds. Those under 8 pound #2 frame tens are not rare, just scarce. I have a nice ten gauge EH 28" gun that weighs about 7 3/4 pounds and is quite a bird gun.

[Kevin McCormack]

Best heavy brush/close range/hands-and-knees wild hog gun I ever saw was a good - shooting lever action or rolling block .45-70. As Elgin Gates once said about big-bore cartridges for rhino and Cape buffalo, "Make the first one count, because he'll never feel the second one."

[Bruce Day]

Best heavy brush/close range/hands-and-knees wild hog gun I ever saw was a good - shooting lever action or rolling block .45-70. As Elgin Gates once said about big-bore cartridges for rhino and Cape buffalo, "Make the first one count, because he'll never feel the second one."

That's probably right. There are hog hunters who use nothing but those short barrel lever action Marlins in 45-70. The recoil on those things will rock you back.

Lots of talk about 10ga's.
Here is a CH 10damascus /12 Bernard on a 2 frame. The 10's are light 26" uplands and the 12's are heavy fowlers. With the 10's the gun is a tad over 8lbs.

[CraigThompson]

That's probably right. There are hog hunters who use nothing but those short barrel lever action Marlins in 45-70.

I've spent a considerable amount of time over the last 10 years working with Marlin's in both 45-70 , 444 and 450 Marlin . And let me just say out of the 90+ Marlin's I "had" the only ones that remain are two dozen chambered for 444 and another for 45-70 !

And ALL of them are cast bullet only rifles :cool:

I think whole heartedly that the 45-70 is a better cartridge then the 444 for larger game . But for some reason I got hooked on collecting the early 444's that were made from 1964 to 1975 . I now own one that was made in each year as well as duplicates and small variations . That accounts for 23 of them , I also have one rifle from 2001 with the faster twist and ballard rifling so I can shoot 400 grain cast !
And strangely after getting all the 444's I found they were a blast to shoot cast in at game and targets !

[CraigThompson]

Lots of talk about 10ga's.
Here is a CH 10damascus /12 Bernard on a 2 frame. The 10's are light 26" uplands and the 12's are heavy fowlers. With the 10's the gun is a tad over 8lbs.

I really like that gun !

Don't know if I need as high a grade as a CH but I sure wouldn't turn it down !

[Bruce Day]

The usual Parker 10ga is a #3 frame 30 or 32 choked f & f and will weigh around 9lbs. There are some upland configured 10's like mine above, but they seem to be uncommon. Most Parker 10's are damascus barreled grade 2's, but there are some fluid steel guns throughout the grade range. There are even some later V grades with long chambers.