Shopping Guide For Buying A Parker

[Chuck Loveless]

There is a gun show coming up in a month and I'll be on the lookout for a 20 gauge Parker, Vulcan barrels and possibly ejectors . Besides the normal issues of a used gun, are there specific questions I should ask and answers I should get relating to Parkers? I know there is a wealth of knowledge here and any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Mike Koneski]

20g will be pricey, throw in ejectors and the price goes up even more. Longer barrels will command a higher price too. Make sure the stock is solid. A repair needed will add to the price and a new stock will cost at least $2K. Make sure it locks up tight with and without the fore-end and that the bores are good. Caveat Emptor.

[Bill Murphy]

You are searching for high original condition and a seller that doesn't value condition as much as you do.

[Dean Romig]

We could write a book on the subject but unfortunately, experience is the best teacher.
Each and every used gun for sale is different in some little way from the others. Sometimes ‘experience’ can’t simply be imparted to others.
I have often been asked for my opinion about a particular gun and I am always more than happy to do so.

Luckily for me my two “misteke” guns were very early in my association with collecting Parkers… and they are both waaay back in the rear of my safe where nobody can see them.





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[Dave Tercek]

I highly recommend that you have someone with you that is experienced. If you are new to this, you think you know a lot more than you do.
Years ago , when the Parker Collectors met in Pittsburg for there annual meeting, I thought I found the perfect 20g Trojan on a dealers table. I mentioned the gun to Ed Muderlak . He was kind enough to inspect it for me. It was a bad gun.
It really pays to ask those who know.

[Bill Murphy]

Dave, that couldn't possibly be the Trojan 20 that Ed sold for ten grand, could it?:rotf::rotf:

[John Davis]

Chuck, don't know where you are located or what gun show you'll be attending but my bet is you are going to be hard pressed to find any decent Parkers (or any Parkers at all) at most any of your run of the mill gun shows. And if you do, you better know what you're looking at. If you can make it to the Southern or the Annual meeting, the prospects will be infinitely better and you'll have lots of folks who can help you.

[Michael D Hankinson]

If you join the Group here you will have access to the ads for Firearms accessories etc. You can watch the ads and or advertise your want list, post dimensions that might fit you, well worth your $40 investment.

[Russ Jackson]

The most important issue for me is to make sure the barrels haven't been cut , If you have a serialization book ,it often times helps but if the serial# isn't in the book then you need to know what to look for ! Look at the rib matting and see if the matting " Squiggly Lines on the top rib "stops short of the end of the barrels just short or just past the front bead , with a distinct Horizontal line cut across the end of the top rib ,this is always a positive and what you want to see ,then check to see if the barrels actually touch each other at the end of the barrels ,after making positive proof the gun is unloaded ,also Parker guns have Barrel Keels installed at the end of the barrels ,tiny metal wedges ,if the triangular gap is totally filled with solder ,be very careful !

[Russ Jackson]

Uncut Barrels !

[Chuck Loveless]

I knew I came to the right place. I am a member here and a member of the NYS Arms Collectors Assocation. The show is in Syracuse, NY usually with about 1000 tables. I have looked at Parkers there before but never bought one there. There are usually quite a few vendors with doubles of all makes, thus the need for knowledge. I will definitely take my time before making a purchase since I have a 28ga. DHE Repro and a 12ga. VH, plus Ithaca's and LC Smith's. Please keep the info coming. And thanks!

[Phil Yearout]

I've bought exactly 5 guns at gun shows, mostly back when I knew even less than the little I know now, and all were pretty straight forward and hard to mess up. I've been lucky; never bought a stinker. Frankly I wouldn't trust myself to buy anything very expensive that way. All the rest I've bought from reputable dealers or site members that I was familiar with and trusted. There are a lot of shady folks out there, and even worse, a lot of folks who don't know anything but think they do. JMO.

[Bill Murphy]

Russ knows that he forgot to mention measuring bore diameter and choke length and diameter and comparing the bore diameter to known original dimensions.

[Russ Jackson]

Russ knows that he forgot to mention measuring bore diameter and choke length and diameter and comparing the bore diameter to known original dimensions.

Thank You Bill , I even take my Hosford Barrel Wall Thickness gauge if I am going to a show where I can measure thickness ! Especially with the Damascus Barreled guns !

[Loren Tillett]

As the gents here have indicated, the wealth of knowledge and genuine camaraderie of this group is what helps make the adventure worthwhile. They (we) will guide you. Ask the questions and do your research. I’ve been fortunate with the past several acquisitions due to everyone’s assistance here, both before and after I made the purchase. There are details and nuances that are important. Gun show sellers and on line dealers have a single objective. Collectors and enthusiasts have many. Caveat emptor. As someone said here, very few of these pieces have not been tampered with. Your challenge is to find out how much and how badly or how carefully that work was done. Running that down is part of the journey and the fun of assessing the potential and history of a piece. And what really makes it all worthwhile is going to the range and throwing the double to your cheek and shoulder and watching the clays go to dust…or not! I love my little 20. And the members here have helped with some special upgrades to make it all the more special. Good luck. Keep us posted. Ask questions.

[Russell E. Cleary]

Quote from a member on here with more experience than I: "For my money, the poorest value will always be the gun with "borderline" barrels".

And from my own experience: That gun with the borderline barrels can beguile you with its exceptional exterior high original condition, so that you dispense with measuring the minimum barrel wall thickness before buying it.

Late entry: I want to be clear: my buying that gun, being so beguiled; that is, having assumed that such a nice-appearing gun would have sound barrels, was a big mistake.