Another lightweight 16-bore O-frame

[John Havard]

I don't know why I'm so enthralled by these tiny 16-bores but I am. This one is a damascus GH with 26" tubes. Made in 1904, this one tips the scales at a smidge over 5#9oz. 13 7/8" LOP to the front trigger with 2 3/4" of drop. Too short and too much drop but few things in life are perfect.

Having just received it yesterday I pulled out my bore gauge as well as my Hosford wall thickness gauge. My biggest fear was that the super light weight indicated barrels that were too thin. Thankfully that was not the case.

Both barrels appear to have been lightly honed inside because the right tube mikes out at 0.667 and the left at 0.665. Both bores are mirror bright. Using my Hosford the minimum amount of wall thickness I can find anywhere in either tube is 0.025", with good wall thickness through and several inches beyond the end of the chambers (which are still 2 1/2" in length).

All in all this little GH wears its 109 years quite well. There are several dents and dings in the wood, the checkering has begun to fill in with some honest wear and (probably) waxing, and the D4 damascus barrels have a few dull spots on the outside. It matches the serialization book data to a "T". Since I have decided to keep it the next order of business is to get a PGCA letter.

This little gem will be on top of Pan Ridge with me this fall in the Wrangells putting a few ptarmigan into the pot. At just over 5 1/2# it won't overload the SuperCub.

[Dave Suponski]

What a great little 16 bore. Congratulations John.

[Rick Losey]

what a great honest little gun.

sweet

[charlie cleveland]

thats a mighty nice little gun you got there..i like the barrel weight which appears to be 2 lbs 14 ounce its always a great wonder to me how they get these barrels to weigh so little but still be shootable.. this barrel weight is lighter than a lot of 20 ga s and maybe some 28 s and 410 s..the parker amazes me about every day with a new find..congratulations on having this gun....and sharing it with us... charlie

[Bill Murphy]

What a great gun. Those barrels and that gun are about as light as they get.

[John Havard]

Charlie,

Actually the unstruck barrel weight is 2 lbs and 12 oz - really light!

[Dean Romig]

A nice well cared-for gun. You'll enjoy that one for sure.

Thanks for sharing.

[charlie cleveland]

john that 16 ga barrel of yours weighs what my 20 ga barrel weighs 2 lb 12 ounce... i no your gonna enjoy toting this gun at the end of the day... charlie

[David Holes]

I wonder how it recieved such nice damascus. D4 ?

[John Havard]

David,

I have a 1-frame 16-bore with D4 barrels also - same as the barrels on a couple of my DH's. Don't know for sure but it must have not been all that rare since I have two G's with D4 damascus?

[Dean Romig]

I have three 16 ga Damascus GH guns all with D4 Damascus. Not so unusual at all.


I just looked at my 12 ga. GH No. 67669 (Dave has seen this gun... the one I tripped and fell with on a brick walkway) and it has D3 Damascus barrels with a distinctly different pattern. Drew would know about it... it appears to have seven steel blades in the crolle.

[Rich Anderson]

I have a couple of grade two guns with D4 damascuss as well. I don't have a 16 O frame that light however. Congrats on a nice gun. I use a Galco slip on pad to add that little extra length of pull. I put some foam spacers in it and can add about an inch to LOP.

[David Noble]

Sweet sweet sweet! Good find. I know that will be a joy to shoot. Nice to look at too!

[edgarspencer]

I just bought a GH, 2 barrell set from another PGCA member. They are both marked D4

[Russ Jackson]

John ,Great find ,I really like the small bore Parker guns ,they are a pleasure to look at and a joy to carry ! Congrats. on a beautiful little gun !

[Bill Zachow]

Are we really sure that the 4 is part of the damascus designation? I have number of G grade guns with the D designation. However, the noted 4 or other modifier is significantly away from the D, as follows: very late damascus G, 220657, D with 4 above and to right; very early hammerless G, 57816, D with C above and to the right; top action hammer G, 43810, D with J above and to the right; lifter G, 19134, D with nothing; lifter G, 18716, D with small m above and to the right; and finally lifter, 14830 D with nothing. Personally, I don't believe the letters, numbers, or nothings have anything to do with the Damascus designation. What do you all think?

[Dean Romig]

Bill, you're probably right in that the 4 immediately to the right of the D may not be an indicator of the grade of Damascus.
I am actually counting the ribbands between weld lines on my guns.

Uh-oh... here we go again. Drew, help us out with this again.

[Rich Anderson]

Edgar you retired guy have all the disposable income for Parkers esp two bbl sets:rotf:

[John Havard]

I'm far from an expert but here's a copy and paste from the FAQ dealing with damascus:


Left to right: 'D4' - Quality 4 Damascus, 'C' - likely barrel maker or finisher,
'4, 1' - pre-finish barrel weight, '3' - Grade 3 or D, '2' on the lug - frame size. Courtesy of Greg Baehman

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Qwr22LRzAl8EbBo3u2Gqvpo55bHB05pxwFSoFO70SSh9fsanv2 IybJ4cviCPBb1Ri6xtgOq0XLyxKVLQdHWNqHAh-eOShrrbtXtNdQQLqOv

GH courtesy of Dave Miles

[John Havard]

Here's a photo of the research letter - it's exactly like it was when it left Meriden except for the fact that someone whacked off the butt, added a recoil pad and shortened the overall LOP. Still weighs the same. It's interesting to me that it was ordered and shipped in 1906 but the SN dates it to 1904. Is this unusual?

Anybody have a 0-frame whole butt stock they don't need?

http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/tt113/JCHavard/IMG_4599.jpg

[Bill Murphy]

I agree with Bill Zachow. I suspect the the stamped numbers have nothing to do with Damascus quality. But maybe we are mistaken.

[wayne goerres]

Quick question for the 16ga fans. I have a p grade with 28" twist barrels that seem to be a little heaver than most listed weights for 16s mentioned on this sight. I just weighed mine on a postage scale and it weighs 6lb 14.4oz. What is the usual weight for Parker 16's.

[Dean Romig]

Yours is right in the ball park. What is your frame size?





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[Russ Jackson]

My 16 Ga. PH , O frame with 22" Barrels weighs in at exactly 5Lb 8OZ just the same as most double 0 frame 28 gauges !

[wayne goerres]

It is a 1 frame Dean.