Thinking about making an offer on a 28 gauge, but.......

[Michael Pescatore]

Greetings,
My name is Mike and I'm located in Tucson, AZ. I signed up this morning, so I'm a brand new to this site and to Parkers in general. I'm usually found on the Shotgun World Winchester forum, reading and posting about model 12s, 21s and 42s, but someone I know has a 28 gauge Parker and he's thinking of letting it go.
I know very little about Parkers, never having owned one, but I've read that the 28 gauge is somewhat rare. I've seen it twice, and I took a few pictures of it. It appears to be in very nice shape, having been restored at some point.
It is an O frame with 28 inch barrels. My bore gauge read .548 on both barrels and they are like mirrors. The left choke came in at 19 thou and the right at 11 or so. LOP is 14" from the front trigger and 13 and change from the rear, with a widow's peak dog's head plate and grip cap. I did not measure the chamber length. The serial number is 106284. It points beautifully, w/double triggers and I'd guesstimate the weight at 6 pounds or so.
I'm thinking I might make an offer on the gun, but I'm more than slightly out of my depth here. The trigger plate screws look slightly buggered. I'm not sure if the barrel has been trimmed/cut, and I don't know if the blued top lever and safety should be case colored instead.
I've seen some sales at auction houses on line for similar Parkers for anywhere between 8 to 13 K. The owner hasn't come up with a price as of yet. So I thought I'd post some pictures of it here to get an better idea of what I'm looking at. Any guidance or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Mike
Tucson, AZ

[Phillip Carr]

I don't think the quality of work is very good. It might make a decent shooter but it’s far from a collector. I would not venture a guess on value. Others might have different opinions.

[Chris Robenalt]

Checkering is recut not the greatest, borders aren't correct. Looks like a toe repair. Barrels look to be cut. I'd rather have the 3 barrel reproduction 28 that's for sale in the listing here this morning. Money better spent. Don't throw good money after bad! I speak from personal experience Mike.

Chris, AZ

[Bill Murphy]

The gun suffered a very unskilled refinish (not a restoration) and a just as unskilled reassembly. No refinishing of this gun added to its value and surely diminished any value it had. The fact that it is a 28 gauge doesn't mean that it is more valuable than an original condition 12, 16, or 20 gauge. No one on this site would recommend that purchasing this gun would be a wise move for your collection. Of course, there is always a price point below which a gun like this would be an OK purchase. What is that price point?

[Michael Pescatore]

The owner hasn't specified an exact amount, but I'm thinking it might be somewhere between 9-10K.

[Russ Jackson]

You haven't mentioned the frame size ,but at a little over or around 6Lb. and the early serial # for a 28 Gauge Parker , I would assume it is an O Frame 28 Gauge ,much less desirable in most folks opinion than a OO Framed 28 Gauge , that is with Grade and condition the same ! As everyone has said more of a refresh than a restoration ! So far no one has said about the bottom trigger plate sticking down on the one side so badly and not even close to fitting , Bill mentioned not reassembled very well after the refresh ,probably what he is referring to ,but since the gun has been recase colored and with that poor fitting trigger plate ,I would be very concerned about the frame possibly being warped ? All that said it is a 28 Gauge and has desirability , Just my opinion but if you are looking for a 28 Gauge and you decide on this particular gun ,I wouldn't get in too deep ! I wouldn't be too surprised on a Gun Broker auction it may bring close to 8 Grand if you weren't real familiar with Parker guns fit and finish but I wouldn't think any where near 10 Grand ! Of course again ,Just my Opinion ! Good Luck with it should you decide to purchase the gun !

[Phillip Carr]

The owner hasn't specified an exact amount, but I'm thinking it might be somewhere between 9-10K.

Mile RUN don't walk away from this gun. Thanks for posting what you believe he is asking, but that price range is crazy. Since you are more familiar with Winchesters let's say you see a 1876 with a cut off barrel, wood poorly checkered, horribly refinished, repaired , how much would it affect value?
Don't forget you don't know the wall thickness of the barrels.
Save your money.
A old whore with poorly applied makeup and a patched up dress.
I live in Tucson. PM me with your telephone number if you want to chat.
Phil

[Michael Pescatore]

Well, it looks like those who weighed in here on this just saved me from taking a serious bath on this. My sincere thanks to all who pulled me back from the brink.

[Chris Robenalt]

Mike, take Phil up on his offer, Ive known him for years. Theres not a better guy to get to know and get advice from! He has always gone out of his way to help me buy a good gun. As I mentioned earlier, there's a nice Reproduction 28 3 barrel set listed in the "for sale" section. It's alot more bang for the buck! I bought a Reproduction 28 from a friend a few years ago, and I couldn't be happier! It shoots great, it's new, it's very tight, and it's DHE, a few grades above what you're looking at. Yeah, it's not an early Parker, but it's a Parker. While the original Parker may be more desirable, the Reproduction is more affordable if you're in the income bracket that I am. I would definitely contact Phil, he'll point you in the right direction.

Chris, AZ

[allen newell]

Mike, get a 28 ga Reproduction. You won't be disappointed. Walk away from this Parker. It's not worth it.

[Brian Dudley]

The barrels are not cut. Overall a lot of the work done was bot done well or could have been done better.
In regards to what is blued and what is not, the guard, safety and triggers on this grade are blued. Everything else is case colored.

For the money that you are tossing around, a good original gun can be had.

[Dean Romig]

...and nobody has mentioned the blatantly obvious fact that the roll pin was reinstalled backwards and it is most certainly a 0-frame gun evidenced by the lack of lightening cuts in the water tables...





.

[Kevin McCormack]

Lightening cuts notwithstanding, a 28 gauge with that low a SN would most certainly have been an O frame gun.

[Chris Travinski]

I'll never understand a restored gun with bad screws.

[Bill Murphy]

Screws are a minor problem compared to a warped floorplate, badly ground down on the edges as well as other parts that were roughly prepared. The refinisher used sandpaper or a buffing or grinding wheel to clean up the parts. It was also case colored over pits. It can't be repaired for any reasonable cost. Most Parker collectors would consider $3500 to be too much. Sorry for the late post.

[Patrick Lien]

The owner hasn't specified an exact amount, but I'm thinking it might be somewhere between 9-10K.

This looks like a great opportunity to learn a lesson with your wallet!

PML

[Garry L Gordon]

Michael, I think you just got your money back and then some on your PGCA membership.

Share a photo of the 28 Parker you finally buy, and good luck finding the one that works for you. They are great bird guns.