Purchase this gun?

[Cliff Brown]

Hello everyone,
I am new to Parker guns and would like opinions on this gun before I deciide If I should purchase it. This is an 1887 hammer gun, with mirror bores, serial #51179, 30" 12 guage twist barrells, #1 frame and I believe 4 lb barrells. There is a slight wobble in the lockup, but so slight I missed it the first time checking out the gun. the barrells ring like a bell.
Pictures of this gun are in my album on this site entitled "considering this parker" In your opinion, what would be a fair price for this gun?

[Bill Murphy]

A lot depends on the bore diameter and wall thickness. The gun appears like an average example in the poor pictures. The bore diameter in that era should be about .745 or a bit less. Four pound barrels should be in the thirties for wall thickness.

[Cliff Brown]

Did the best I could with the pictures, a difficult thing to do with the overhead lighting in the store. guess it will be another trip for the required measurements of the bore and wall thicknessw This is a learning experience, thanks for the info.

[Steve Huffman]

Well its not in the book. I see no pattern on the barrels have they been blued ? If so be very careful .Have you taken a barrel wall thickness ? Mirror bores on a 0 grade may mean honing which may make it a true wall hanger . Did you weigh the barrels or go buy the weight on the barrels ?

[Cliff Brown]

Well its not in the book. I see no pattern on the barrels have they been blued ? If so be very careful .Have you taken a barrel wall thickness ? Mirror bores on a 0 grade may mean honing which may make it a true wall hanger .

Thought I had mentioned it. Yes they are blued barrells however the barrells ring like a bell. Is there something else to look out for if they are blued? To my untrained eye, I do not see any sepreation in the rib if it was hot blued. Looking at the picture comparisons on the Tech page I put this as a #1 gun. I know the detail is poor in the pictures but they were taken in the store under very bad lighting for camera work.

[Dean Romig]

It is Grade-0 and I don't see keels beneath the ribs which is usually an indication of cut barrels. Seems to be in average condition given its age and grade.
The barrels make the gun so be darn sure the barrel walls aren't too thin and that there is at least some choke remaining... depending on what you hope to shoot with it it may not have enough choke.
Be careful what you pay for it.

[Cliff Brown]

What am I missing? How do you tell a 0 from a 1 grade? I am going by the pictures on this site of the different grades. I know it does not show up in the posted pictures, but there is a leaf or floral design around the side plate screws as well as one on the top barrell rib near the receiver or on it, just dont recall. i know it is tough to judge because of the pictures, but what would a gun be worth in this condition if the chokes and barrell wall thickness are all right? Or maybe I should just let it be untill I learn more about the parkers. thanks for the help

[Steve Huffman]

OK, from the pictures and nothing else $ 475.00 and I would not buy it from the pictures for that,now what do they want ? If the barrels are cut wait for another gun . IMHO. I just checked there is surviving records for this gun so a letter can be gotten for this gun and clear alot up for you /us $100.00 none member $40.00 PGCA member maybe a good investment

[Cliff Brown]

Thanks, that is what I wanted was a ball park figure. Too bad I cannot get better pictures to post. They are asking $800 but not knowing what exactly to look for in a parker, or what is a fair price for the condition of the gun, I have no clue. I learned something from these few posts and that is more valuable than making a mistake and learning the hard way. (getting tired of doing that) So a special thanks to all who posted.

[Bill Murphy]

$800 usually buys a pretty good gun, without any problems, for an experienced Parker collector. The pictured gun may not be of any interest to such an experienced collector if it has any obvious problem.

[Cliff Brown]

This gun does not appear to have any mechanical problems. the hammers have strong springs, the firing pins move freely and the springs for the firing pins are doing their job. the triggers break crisp but feel a bit heavy to me. the only rust on this gun is on the bottom of the trigger guard. they are 30" barrells but how to tell if they are cut is something I cannot detect. A prior poster stated that in his opinion judging by the pictures they were not cut. I will be out near the store again tomorrow and can measure the bores, there is not much else I can do. what I do not like about the gun is the bluing that was applied to the barrells. However, I do not detect any problem with the solder between the ribs and the barrells ring like a bell. I would prefer the look of the twist barrells. to remove the blueing from what i understnd is quite a task. How long does it take to get a response for a letter on a gun?

[Steve Huffman]

Cliff
Go to the Parker home page and click on the fifth line down that says research letters you will be able to down load a form and read about it

Steve

[edgarspencer]

From the picture you posted, looking into the muzzle end, I would say the barrels seem not to come together, which is usually a good indicator they have been cut. It also looks to be an 0 grade gun. If they are now 30" and have been cut, they may have originally been 32" and likely full & full. It's been my experience that Parker chokes seem to run close to 3-3.5", so there may still be some constriction; enough that it could still be a good walk-up gun.
Birchwood Casey sells a chemical for stripping blueing and it works pretty quickly. You could then use their browning solution, appled oce or twice and the twist pattern will still be evident. I'm not the one to say what's economical, but I don't think I'd invest in a proper barrel refinishing.