BH 86227 nursed back to health.

[Brian Hornacek]

I came across 86227 a few weeks ago on line with a poor description and in its current dirty state. I could not make out a lot of details of the gun but could see the 3 stags, double doge on each side, some kind of runnin critter on the trigger guard and birds on the breaches. You all know I am a sucker for a project, diamond in the rough kind of guy. The barrels looked fantastic and I could not make out much damage to the wood. Also, clean screws are a sign of a good project. I made myself believe that if the barrels were that nice outside there had to be some condition overall.

The letter is quite nice and refers to the oval in the stock side and another set of 26” 3 blade Damascus barrels that where lost in time (I would love to find a set to bring it back together if you can help).

Brian Dudley received the gun Monday and started the tear down cleaning process. He said it may not be the filthiest gun he has dug into but it is close. To get the barrel off he had to take the receiver apart to give you an idea of what he had on the bench. It is a 1 1/2 frame and everything is as solid as can be. Here are a few pics and Brian or I will add some later when it comes back together with a replacement Silvers pad.

Nice shot of a b4 and after on a corner of the FA to see what was under the gunk and the stock after an alcohol cleaning.

Thanks Brian Dudley and I owe you a few good cigars for this nasty thing!

Have a great weekend Parker friends!

[edgarspencer]

I would be willing to wager that receiver will pop with just a cleaning. It appears it was entirely covered with linseed oil.
I am very fond of early B grade guns. My 16 is an 1892 gun.

[Drew Hause]

Brian: the barrels are 6 Iron "Turkish"
The arrows indicate the straight ribband end weld lines, with a smaller 'scroll' where the edges were 'jumped', with 5 full scrolls in between (with a wavy 'zipper' weld down the middle).
Is there a 'DD' or 'D6' on the R barrel flat?

https://photos.smugmug.com/Damascus/Parker/i-WHprg73/0/K3DzRtj58CRTNFd5wTbtnVVDRQHhjMMdw3Gv49rtL/L/Parker%20BH%206%20Iron-L.jpg (https://drewhause.smugmug.com/Damascus/Parker/i-WHprg73/A)

[Brian Hornacek]

Yes sir Drew, I believe that to be the case on the original 30” barrels pictured.

The second set of 26” barrels that are lost were referenced in the letter as “3 blade Damascus”.

Thank you, I love your detailed evaluation!

[Chuck Bishop]

Nice letter, I wonder who wrote it? That sure looks more than a 2 1/2 DAH. Have you measured it?

[Chuck Bishop]

Reexamining the stock book, it may be a "3" instead of a "2". You be the judge. The top is 86227 and the bottom is 86228.

[Brian Hornacek]

It’s 2 Chuck, the gun went back a 3rd time BMD thinks with a barrel wedge installed and it has all the signs of the stock being bent down, too bad there is no record of the last repair.

[Chuck Bishop]

Sorry, forgot the attachment

[Craig Larter]

Brian very nice example I really like the BH grade. I own 86376 and the engraving is a clone. Well done!

[David Livesay]

Sweet, I can't wait to see the after pictures.

[Kirk Potter]

Very nice, I’m sure it will turn out great.

[Dean Romig]

It’s 2 Chuck, the gun went back a 3rd time BMD thinks with a barrel wedge installed and it has all the signs of the stock being bent down, too bad there is no record of the last repair.

Brian, Parker Bros would automatically upgrade any gun that came into the shop for any reason with the new bolt and replaceable wear plate (wedge) at no charge and rarely a mention of it in the books.





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[Brian Dudley]

This gun is fitted with the 1905 style wear plate. So it was back at the factory between 1905 and 1910. Which is after the second return mentioned in the letter.

[Brian Hornacek]

Brian did a great job on this old gal. Some before and afters and a few close ups of the receiver. Next stop off to get the stock bent back to how it left the factory……I hope!

It’s a great gun.

[Kirk Potter]

Very nice, I’m partial to grade 5’s. I especially love the engraving pattern on this one with the positioning of the dogs.

[Brian Dudley]

Yes, I do hope that the bending goes well. We are hoping that since it was bent previously that it will go well again. I will likely freshen up the wrist checkering after that. The objective up until now has been to just carefully clean and see how much it came back.

[Dan Steingraber]

Another beautiful B Grade Parker.

[Craig Larter]

Really great job Brian, a light touch perfect! Here is a BH only 149 serial numbers apart and the engraving looks identical to my eye.
Good luck bending the stock, fingers crossed.