How hard to find barrels?

[Steve Leffler]

So I am a new Parker owner and only own 1 so far :) On GB right now there is a 16ga VH receiver without barrels or forearm. I would love to buy it and find/buy a set of barrels for it. All you more experienced collectors- how hard is that to do and is it worth it? If I can find barrels how hard are they to fit? For those who have completed this project was it worth it in the end?
Thanks for any and all advice.
Steve

[Bill Murphy]

Find a complete gun in average condition. Trying to put a Parker together from parts is a thankless job that does not usually result in a positive situation even for experienced hobbyists. Sorry.

[charlie cleveland]

well said bill... bill is tellin you straight... charlie

[Dave Noreen]

That is a well stated response. Bill, in a lifetime of cornering the market on most orphaned Parker Bros. barrels could probably tell us two or three positive stories!!

[Kevin McCormack]

Bill and I have certainly been "victims of the fury" over the years! My most recent heartbreak came when I finally got all the metalwork completed on a great little 16 ga. DH Damascus gun, only to have the stock break completely in two through the wrist!! I was so disgusted I put the wreckage in a plastic tub and sold the whole thing for salvage at our most recent local gun show. The first guy who looked at it bought the whole thing; his classic comment was, "I can always use parts!". May the Force be with him.

[Dean Romig]

I've had three sets of orphaned Parker barrels snap right onto a gun as if they were made for it but that is just plain dumb luck. I wouldn't buy a barrelless gun expecting ever to find a set of barrels that would fit with a good deal of persuasion from a very qualified smith, much less a set that just snaps right on... this just 'never' happens.

[Pat Dugan]

I don't mean to be contrary, but I bought a 1 1/2 frame 12 ga Vh with a straight stock that was in excellent condition along with a number 2 frame forend for $200. Bobby Bray some years later was selling a lot of Parker parts that he got from a retired gunsmith. He had a 1 1/2 frame 30 in barrel for sale for 4 or 5 hundred dollars and the serial number was 1000 off from the receiver so I gambled foolishly and bought it . Much to my surprise it fit just like it was fitted by my Gunsmith in Ellijay. The Gunsmith told me I was very very lucky. The gun works perfectly with no matching serial numbers.
The next set of Barrels I bought, was from a Super Honest member here that said the Trojan 20 gauge barrels he had were not being used and that he had just had them re-blued. Well I bought those and sent them to be fitted and low and behold some one had cut too too much metal off trying to fit them without a gunsmith. That cost me more than the $400 too good to be true Trojan barrels to get them fixed. That was my last barrel purchase thinking it could have been worse.

[Dennis V. Nix]

I have not tried to match shotgun parts such as barrel to receiver but I have a few times regarding rifles. After a few times doing this I have found that I never got my money back out of it because though the gun shot well it was a mix of different numbered parts and nobody wanted it except as possibly a parts gun of their own. My most recent example was a Pre 64 Winchester 70 Featherweight receiver, a standard barrel and a stock I had purchased at a gun show. I had a gunsmith put it all together for me and it consisently shot 3/4 inch groups with handloads. When I needed to sell it nobody cared how it shot, only that the parts were mismatched. I suspect shotguns would be the same. Lots of time and money put into a gun to get it to shoot well only to have a clunker when trying to sell it.

[charlie cleveland]

i have one of those mismatched numbers gun i call it the johney cash gun it being made of so many differant parts...but i tell you its one pretty looking little 20 ga and points like my arm..i even added a differant forearm release myself one off a high grade gun.gives the little g grade parker a little class...im well satisfied with well mismatched parts..thanks to russ jackson for putting this little 20 ga together and sellin it it to me... charlie

[Destry L. Hoffard]

It's nice to hear positive stories about barrel fittings. All my shots have been in the negative, painfully negative the last time I tried it.

DLH

[Joe Wood]

I just recently purchased a set of Damascus #1 frame 12 gauge 30" barrels. Came from a Gunbroker auction. Just thought it'd be an interesting project. Barrels have arrived and they're in very nice untouched condition. Of the three Parker's I have in that frame
size they're almost perfect for one of them and thankfully about one or two thousandths oversize, even in the dolls head. Heading to the gunsmith (a good one) next week. Then off for a new B&W finish, which I think I'll age down a bit. Have absolutely no "need" for them but think it'll be fun. No way I'll ever recover what the final price will be but what the heck!

[charlie cleveland]

hang in there JOE... charlie

[David Holes]

I like the extra barrel idea. I picked up a 1 frame twist for the hammer gun and fit it myself. The end of the muzzle was messed up so I wacked 2 inches off. Beings it was pitted from one end to the other , I picked up a bore hone to clean it up a little. Now I have two barrels, 1 full and full, the other skeet and skeet. I have less then 100.00 into skeet barrels and they are on the gun more then original barrels. The D2 barrels go on when I need pretty. Kinda like having choke tubes I guess. Dave

[Russ Jackson]

Steve , I haven't had many occasions or need to fit extra barrels but ,I have had quite a few Parkers around the house at the same time and just for fun tested barrels onto different guns to see if they would fit ,and on a few occasions I had Barrels fit like they were made for the gun ! The one item that you do need to know ,occasionally the barrel will go on the gun and the Barrel Hook will Hook and then won't release ,you don't know this until it's too late ! If you do try to fit extra barrels you need to proceed with caution or it could get very expensive , shipping and having a professional figure out how to remove the barrels ! Once I got very lucky and there was enough room with the Barrels open that I could get a screw Driver on the head and had enough room for the bolt to pass by the frame ! I believe if you Unscrew the small Bolt holding the Hook to the barrels and remove it you can still tell if the barrels would fit the frame and the hook would be removed ,then the hook easily can be bolted back in place ! I had never tried this but as I said ,I got lucky and have not tried fitting barrels since ! Maybe some one with more experience will chime in here ! Best ; Russ