Unfortunately for John's gun we have neither the order or stock book. There is a return for a new hammer in the order book but returns never identify the grade, just work done and price.

Don't get hung up too much on grading these early guns. When doing a letter and the order book is available I determine the grade of gun by the price in the order book. If I don't have the order book but do have the stock book, the grade number is listed along with the barrel steel. Examples are Dam2,Dam3, L1, Tit3, W7, etc. I'll use the stock book info to grade the gun, then go to the price list for that year or a year close to it and if the prices haven't changed it that year range, I'll put the price list year along with the grade and price at that time.

John's gun was made in 1878 and the price list doesn't give a grade. It lists different prices along with the guns specifications. In John's case it's clearly a D(3) hammergun which sold for $125.00. The letter would state it's a $125 Dollar Grade gun. The next price list is 1882 and Parker changed over to calling guns Quality Grade guns so John's research letter would have shown it as a Quality D. Later (around 1918) Parker dropped the "Quality" designation and just called them by their letter grades.

Clear as mud, huh!

Thanks Chuck. Clear explanation, but learned you cannot always rely on the Parker Story volumes to be set in stone.

And as Chuck will attest, it can be even more confusing in some cases because Parker Bros. often discounted guns for reasons that were not recorded and the lower than retail price can be misconstrued as a lower grade than what the gun actually is.

And, as well, a Grade 3 with Damascus barrels is shown in the Serialization book as a D3 and later when Titanic barrels were introduced (1897) it was shown as a TI3 (Not, as some believe, a T13).

This is a most interesting thread for me, not just because John's gun is drop dead beautiful, but my 12465 is a close shirt tail relative; differences being, it has 30" plain twist barrels, no checking and no engraving except "Parker Bros." The barrel flats show only "U 5"; the lug shows the sn and frame size (2). The water table shows only the sn.

These early grade 3 hammer guns had considerably less engraving than their top lever grade 3 guns. Dean, John, and my gun (http://parkerguns.org/forums/album.php?albumid=436) have the same engraving pattern and ball grips. Does anyone have a grade 3 lifter with similar engraving to the grade 3 top levers or was the sparse engraving standard on grade 3 lifters? My S/N is in the 17K range circa 1880.

Chuck, I have a Grade 3 lifter with no dogs but birds.




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It looks like the animals engraved varied but the basic pattern is the same for the 3 guns. Dean's doesn't have engraving on the side of the bolster. What year is that gun Dean? It's got the keyed for end . Is it a ball grip or just a round knob?

It is an 1875 gun, no. 5949 and it has a really nice full ball grip. Pictures to follow as soon as I can get to my laptop.

OK, here are some pictures of the ball grip. These kinds of grip - the contour and feel - the easy way it pockets itself into your hand - may well have been the great-grandaddy of today's 'palm swell' grips.

We can also see why the forend checkering patterns were laid out like they were... it was all designed around the early 'keyed' forend latch system.




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How about rabbits!

Nice guns Jeff.

I wonder if Calvin's gun with the running rabbit on the bottom of the frame is a Grade 3?