Great story Lindsay. I too have hunted at Woodmont and it's a shame that it's no longer there. The "expert" you met really did'nt know anything about double guns, Parkers in particular. Your gun should be shot and enjoyed just as your uncle did. From the looks of the wear on the gun he used, but not abused, that nice Parker. If it had been unfired and in the box that would be a different story.

What's the frame size! Look at the bottom of the barrel lug.

Frame Size
 

I finally looked at the bottom of the barrel lug - it shows 12 and the one half - pictures attached

As I suspected from the less than 7 pound weight, it's a 1/2 frame gun. Parker didn't start making 12ga 1/2 frame guns until after they were purchased by Remington in response to a demand for a lighter weight 12ga gun. 1/2 frame guns are scarce but not rare and do bring a higher value. There are collectors who collect 1/2 frame guns.

I'm not going to venture a guess as to value but I can tell you that I was talking to Steve Barnett recently about 1/2 frame guns and he told me he sold a VHE with a lot of case colors remaining for $7500. Your mileage may vary!

One More Question
 

Chuck, thanks for your reply! One question - since I am a rookie at this, what do the numbers actually mean for frame size? Is it an actual measurement of something on the frame?

Lindsay, to answer your question on the size of the 1/2 12ga frame, the distance between the firing pins was 1 1/16", the same as the 1 frame. The distance across the breech was 1 5/8", the same as a 0 frame. The distance across the hinge was 1 1/2", the same for frame sizes 0/00/000. The size of a 1 frame was 1 5/8". The height of the standing breech was 1 5/32", the 0/00/000 was 1 3/32" and the 1 frame was 1 3/16".

As you can see, the receiver had dimensions of a mixture of 1 and 0 frames. This made the gun lighter than most 12ga guns. There is a link found on the PGCA home page under FAQ's that has some more info on frame sizes.

george this is the first mention of a 8 frame gun ive come across...does anyone have a gun of this frame size they could tell and show us some pictures of... charlie