The bores are what's important, and even if they are safe, if you ever try to sell the gun first thing people are going to look at are the bores...Being that it is lose and bad bores this just seems like a money pit to me. I would walk away.

Minimum barrel thickness is what's important. If you love the gun (sounds like you do) then my 2 cents is to tell them you will buy it contigent on having a barrel inspection done by someone with the proper tools. You'll pay for the shipment to and from the barrel guy and you'll pay for the inspection itself. I think the barrel guy can also provide his opinion on whether the gun needs to be tightened up and an estimated cost to fix (if necessary). A good smith will charge about $100 for that service and he can turn it around really quickly (maybe in one day). One I can personally recommend is Dewey Vicknair. He works on lots of Parkers for members. Dewey can advise you what you have and provide real numbers for consideration.

sam: sounds like you really like this gun? if so, buy the damn thing and be happy with it.

Sam, I think ultimately it is your choice and whether or not you will end up happy with the gun years from now. I can well remember shooters buying Springfield and Mauser rifles in the 50's and 60's, putting on a new Fajen or Bishop stock, bending the bolt and mounting a scope. Hundreds of dollars would be spent making a, "custom", rifle. In the end though it was still a Springfield or Mauser cheap sporter unless it was done by the likes of Al Biesen, Jerry Fisher, or Griffin and Howe. If your V grade Parker was engraved by somebody with the experience and quality of Kornbrath, Muerrle, John Warren, Claus Willig, (you get the picture) it will always be simply a nice V grade shooter. Give thought to what is wrong with the gun rather than how nice it looks on the outside. I like the comments above: What is the thickness of the barrel walls, just how loose is it and how much will it take to fix it so it isn't loose. If it is loose from normal shooting then that sounds to me like one heck of a lot of shooting for that gun. Also you said the gun is refinished. Engraving covers up a lot of what's wrong with a gun's outside finish. Are there pits you can see under the new finish? These are things to consider. In the end the choice is up to you. Personally I would rather have a plain jane but in good shooting condition V grade that has not been played with. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Vicknair's Opinion?
 

Tom, Thanks, I sent a file of pix of the gun off to Dewey. Let's see what he says.

Sam,
A lesson we all have to learn, is to buy as much condition as you can afford. There are a lot of nice guns out there for the $3000 price range you are talking about. Most of them will not have the issues that this one has. I like Eric would walk away from this one.
Jeff

You're probably right, but I tried trading my two standard V's for a higher grade or better condition V on PGCA earlier and no one was interested. Thanks for everyone's advice. Guess I've got to go with my gut on this one.

The barrels can be "faced up" and made tight and the pitted bore can be honed. However one can only hone so much. To reline the barrels is expensive...around a grand.

Here is the deal. The gun sounds like a pretty gun and being a Parker it will hold its value even if worked on. Are you spending more than you will recover if you sell the gun? Probably, but I never buy a gun for investment. I buy them to shoot, or just plain fondle and put back in the case.

I have passed up on many more guns that I should have bought and did not, than the other way around....

Sam, you've received a lot of sound advice here... what is the latest development on this VH?

I see Steve has chosen to quote me as his lead-in for a reply to a month-old thread... I wonder why?
Possibly he believes my opinion is unfounded?

Don't look too deeply Dean. Your post stimulated a thought and that's all. I never criticize someone's opinion, so please don't gleen offense.

A month old? I don't care. Does anyone? Something posted a month ago is still as valid as ever isn't it? Sure it is.

Concerning the condition of shotguns. I have bought some pretty sick ones and paid to heal them up. Of course it is always a toss up if the expense is justified. Justified? I paid $1200 to "bring back" an ancient 1850's Hardy Bros. muzzle loader that isn't worth much. I'll never recover the money, but she is a pretty thing today. I used to shoot it when I was a high school kid. My dad bought it for my 16th birthday. Here she is:

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...hotguns019.jpg