Parker with blown barrel

[Terry Johnson]

Hello all. I'm a first time poster so I hope this is the right area to request this information. I inherited a 12 gauge Parker from my gunsmith father that has a blown left barrel and this gun is not for sale. I am trying to find out what it may be worth as is and whether or not it can (or should) be repaired. It has the following identification marks (pictures attached):
Serial #90727, mfd 1899
Grade 0, VH
Frame size 2
Barrel weight 4, 30" Vulcan steel
Hard rubber dog's head buttplate
"Kf" marking on barrel flats (don't know what this indicates)

I was told that the barrel was blown by someone using handloads with cornstarch wads and about 2 1/2" of the left barrel is gone. The adjacent barrel and ribbing are separated at the end but appear undamaged. Is this worth repairing by having the barrels cut down, or should I just leave it on the wall?18313

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[Rick Losey]

Thats a shame, a good barrel guy would need to make sure the ribs are sound. But if so, a bobbing or sleeveing are the only choices I see for those barrels. And sleeving is a chunk of change to put into a VH

If I were you, since you have no outlay for what is there, I would cut those (assuming a clear bill of health on the remains) and look for an orphaned set of 2 frame barrels to make the gun more useful.
Not an easy search, but the result would be a good waterfowl piece.

[Destry L. Hoffard]

Yeah I'd agree, just have the gun cut back and shoot it.

DLH

[Terry Johnson]

Thanks for your advice. I just wanted to save cutting until I had to. Any idea if any choking would still be left with about 3" gone? Also, can you tell me what the "Kf" mark indicates?

[Destry L. Hoffard]

Any of the current repair options would far exceed the value of the gun in cost. Unless it's of some great family history or something like you're better off just bobbing it off and putting it to good use as a bird gun. With 3 inches off, very little if any choke would remain. Sometimes they'll still throw a decent pattern though. I had a BH grade that had two inches off and still would put quite a bit of shot on a sheet of paper.



DLH

[Terry Johnson]

The way I shoot I might be better off with a cut barrel! Any idea what this could cost to do and what it may be worth afterwords? Luckily, I have another Parker 16 guage VH that's only missing a screw.

[edgarspencer]

Most 30" VH guns were more tightly choked, such as Modified and Full, or, Full and Full. Parker's full choke constriction begins at about 4" from the muzzle, so you may get and upland gun out of this yet.

[Jerry Harlow]

The way I shoot I might be better off with a cut barrel! Any idea what this could cost to do and what it may be worth afterwords? Luckily, I have another Parker 16 guage VH that's only missing a screw.

I paid a gunsmith $65 (for one hour) to cut a set of blown on the end VH barrels (similar to yours), fill in the solder, and tap the rib for and install the front sight.

What it is worth afterwards varies; some would say for a cut VH $500 (which means it's worth more for parts), some may say up to $750. The rest looks to be in fairly good shape. On the gun web sites some will ask for twice those amounts for a cut gun.

But if it was your father's personal gun there is no price since it needs to be handed down through the generations. If it was his personal gun and you have the money to spend have the barrel sleeved/replaced. If it was just one he acquired, cut it and still hand it down since it was his, in my opinion.

Someone can measure it now before you cut it to tell you if any choke will be left in both barrels and how much.

[Brian Dudley]

As many have stated earlier, I too would say that cutting these down to 26" or 27" is your best option. Just get back into the tube before the damage, pick the closest even figure and take them off there.
Most likely you will not have much left for chokes. But it would meke a nice skeet or Grouse gun.
Too bad that happened, apart form some worn out checkering and silvered receiver, the gun looks to be in good shape. Would make a great shooter, which is better than it is right now.
Sets of VH barrels pop up often enough to where you could pick up a set fairly easily. And there is not much more of a common configuration that a 12g. 2 frame.

[Terry Johnson]

Thanks everyone for your help. My father acquired the gun as a project and I believe he also intended to cut it down, so that's rhe best route for me. He was a gunsmith for 60+ years and I've inherited lots of "project" LC Smiths, Winchesters, Mausers, and various other firearms with new and used parts galore. In addition, I have lots of tools, gauges, reamers, etc. that will take me the rest of my life to figure out how to use. It's gonna be fun.

[edgarspencer]

"Fun" doesn't begin to describe it. Sounds like the kind of place I want to go to when I die.

[Ed Blake]

If you are concerned about choke, perhaps Brileys in Houston could install thinwall chokes if there is sufficient wall thickness at the muzzles. Personally, like others I would just cut the end off and shoot as is.

[Jerry Harlow]

This is just my opinion, but rather than try to find an exact length to cut it back to like 27 inches, I would save as much barrel as I could, even if it ended up 27 5/8" or some oddball figure. The barrels I had cut on the blown 20 VH for someone else came out to some oddball length, but they still had enough choke left to throw something other than cylinder patterns.

Briley told me they can put tubes in 95% of the barrels they receive, but if you cut them all the way back to where they are straight tubes of the bore diameter and the barrels are not very thick, there is nothing there to do anything with even with thin-wall tubes. That was the case with a set of 26" barrels that had been cut back from 30" I sent them. As we have discussed before, they can get very thin just before the chokes, but hopefully not with this number 2 framed gun. I'm betting if the chokes had not been altered beforehand and as much as possible is saved, one will have a little choke left on this gun.

[Richard Flanders]

I'd just cut it down to 26" or 27" and shoot it. Eventually, if it's done nicely, you'll forget it's even cut since it will look fine and be a pretty decent preserve or upland gun. That gun could have generations of use left in it.

[Mark Ouellette]

Have the barrels trimmed back to where they are safe and functional. Do not worry about choke constriction or lack thereof. You will be amazed at how far a gun will shoot with modern ammo.

Additionally, without any constrictions shooting steel or HeviShot is possible. Of course the recoil from those loads will probably take a heavy toll on the gun's buttstock.

[Pete Lester]

If it were me and the gun came from/belonged to my father cost of repair takes a bit of a back seat. I would get those barrels into the hands of someone like Mike Orlen in MA who has given me great service in the past. I would have the barrels cut to either 26" or 28" even if possible and have Mike install permanent soldered choke sleeves rather than choke tubes. Mike's prices are very reasonable. I can't find a more current price list but just a few years ago, trimming the barrels, resetting the bead and installing two choke sleeves ran under $300. I'll bet it won't cost a lot more today.

http://users.dls.net/~rdouglas/MikeOrlen.pdf

Update: It appears Mike's prices for this work have not changed, I found this over on Shotgun World where he is a moderator.

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=36237

[ed good]

after surgery, suggest you shoot gun and see how it patterns for you. if you desire tighter patterns, barrels could be jug choked, which typically results in improved cylinder patterns from a cylinder bore.

[Brian Dudley]

One thing is for sure... if I were ever going to have a set of barrels blow. I would like them to be like these ones did. Better than in the middle. At least you can save this one without too much trouble and still have a working set of original barrels out of it.

[wayne goerres]

that has to be kind of scary to have the barrels blow like that.

[greg conomos]

Don't worry a bit about chokes, it will still shoot fine. Many believe that chokes detract from the calamitousness that is the very essence of shotgunning.

[Terry Johnson]

I truly appreciate everyone's input and I believe cutting the barrel is the best route for me. Is there anyone that can tell me what the "Kf" mark on the underside of the barrel flats means?

[Dean Romig]

Kf is the stamp of the barrel inspector Walter King, son of the Parker Bros. Gun Works superintendant for roughly 30 years Charles A. King. So the "K" is for King and the "f" indicates 'finished'.




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[Bill Zachow]

Because of the format of the "f", it more likely was an abbreviation for facit, Latin for "made it".

[Brian Dudley]

Here is a set of 30" VH barrels on GB now.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=311101672