John let us know approximately where you live and maybe one of our members could “loan” you some shells. It makes me happy to read these kind of stories

Thank you all!

Mills, I have joined today. I figure that I need to get the research letter on her.

Stan, I hope it does get Bill some business, although he is not sitting idle for business. He has several racks of guns awaiting or in process of work. He advised that it might take 2 years to get mine done because of his backlog. Fortunately it was less than that. I told him that I was going to post some pictures. He probably won’t see it because he doesn’t do computers, but he sure does the old fashioned gunsmithing skills well. He is a quality guy. It cost more, but he had the vision to put on wood that is quite above the original grade, and I think that it paid off. I had asked if I needed to get stock measurements, he felt that he could make it good without that. I wondered. But in practice dry fire with snap caps, the thing really seems to really snap to a cheek weld that puts me looking as flat down the rib as I could with careful placement. Even with a straight English stock.

Richard, your comments really made me feel good about taking the chance. Maybe the example will salvage some other old soldiers. They may not get top dollar in an auction since they are not “original”, but there is some value to having them back to their original glory, while some “originals”, while more collectible, have faded somewhat. There is merit in having been well preserved and cared for, and there is merit in resurrection.

Thank you all again. I don’t get to spend a lot of time on forums, but I am so glad that I found this forum.

Is it a 12 gauge or 10 gauge? Looks like a 10 gauge, in which case, shells are going to be tough to find. 12 gauge is much easier. You might be able to find some 10 to 12 chamber inserts and go that way

Mills, it is hard to have perspective in those pictures but it is a 12, and a light 12. It has 2 1/2” chambers and is on a 1 frame. I almost feel like it handles lighter more like my Ruger Red Label 20 than my Red Label 12. It will be interesting to see how the recoil feels with low pressure shells.

I am not familiar with the gauge inserts.

Edit: I am not sure what that scowl emoji is doing at the top of the post. I didn’t put it there intentionally.

Mike, I live about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta, and that is a very generous thought. However, I would not want to impose on someone in times of such supply chain issues. Not sure when I would be able to repay the “loan” in kind. Money is not much of a substitute.

Watch the RST website for 12 gauge.

Mills, the low pressure world is new to me. I have looked at their website, as well as others such as Poiywad, and it seems like there is a systematic supply chain problem, like so much else these days, or is this the way it usually is? It almost sounds like they are shut down by supply issues. How often do they usually put new inventory up on the site in normal times? Even then, their limit of 5 boxes a month would not go far in season. I am going into the third season of training my yellow lab and will probably go to a preserve several times a month for live bird training. If I start shooting the Parker for that, and practice, that would be tight. (The trainer that I work with there shoots a Parker, and when I sent him pictures, he said he’d bet it would become my go to quail gun, as his was. Although, his is a 20th century vintage that can shoot modern shells. In fact, it was a conversation with him and a hunter with an L C Smith after a training session that turned me on to the possibility of restoring mine.) I thought about reloading, but it looks like nobody has components for these 2 1/2 inch low pressure shells either, at least for now. It is almost like the gun will be forced to be a wall hanger for some time. I will try to monitor their site, but the question is how often will they post new inventory in these times? And it sounds like it will be sold out almost overnight.

Someone needs to get a few boxes of shells to John. We need a followup report on this gun, to include pics of it in the field taking birds!!

Wow, that's quite a restoration! I think I'd have to name that gun Lazareth.

A few more pictures in better lighting
 

Thanks for all your comments and complements. It may be overkill, but FWIW I thought that these photos taken in the sun show richer images worth seeing:
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Looks great!!!

If you think that John's resurrected Parker is nice, you should see his dog he hunts over. Pointing yellow lab named Buck. Fine dog hunting for a fine man with a fine gun. Now I have to get out of here because I cannot afford to be here.

Rob - Welcome!

There are entry level Parkers readily available. That's how we all started on this journey.






.

Still, he is a Parker man
 

Thank you Rob!

Rob guides and trains out of South Fork Hunting Preserve near Royston, Ga. He has been helping me train Buck for the past 2 seasons, and we will be connecting again the coming season. He has been great at bringing Buck along, in spite of me. When Buck instinctively went on point with the first set of quail they put out, Rob jumped on that as something to develop. He understands training for the joy of a hunting companion instead of an intense trial competitor. Makes for easy going, enjoying-the-pleasure-of-the-hunt outings, where part of the pleasure is the dog enjoying his natural instincts without big pressure. Yet, meanwhile, he helps the dog develop deeper skills as we go; and he keeps training me. Buck has fun too!

Rob:"Now I have to get out of here because I cannot afford to be here."

Now, don't let him out of here too easily. He hunts with, I think, what was his mother's Parker. He will have to tell you what model and year. But he knows his guns. I guess he sees some of everything shot by his clients. It was sitting around with him and a fellow, who had an L C Smith, after a training hunt, talking about their guns, when I lamented the poor fate my gun suffered before my dad found it rusting away in an attic of a house he bought, that they got me turned on to the possibility of restoring my gun. So Rob gets some credit for my gun getting restored. The other guy mentioned Turnbull, but Rob said there were other quality gunsmiths closer to Georgia that I could show it to for advice on possibilities. That led me here, which led me to Bill Schwarz.

Rob deserves to be here!

Dean, thank you for the warm welcome. I just posted a whopper story called "A Tragic Story With a Happy Ending" in the new people section.

John, Thank you also for the recognition. You can't imagine how much I'm looking forward to cooler temps when we can run dogs and miss birds!

Dittos. Got to work on rustling up some low pressure 2 1/2's so I can get some pictures of "Lazareth" (courtesy of Todd Allen) shooting (or ME missing) birds for Richard Flanders.

Dove season is around the corner. Just sayin'

I appreciate the fact that you were willing to resurrect your Parker. I admire anyone that is willing to save these fine old shotguns. I was told by several people that the Parker 12GA, DHE, 30", #2 frame that I have was not worth the money it would take to restore. Not being a very bright fellow, I decided to have it restored anyway. I am also one that "cannot afford to be here", so it is one step at a time. This Parker may be the only chance I have at being a custodian for a "D" grade Parker, so it is receiving my attention. Thank you for bringing this one back to life.

There is something very satisfying about bringing a worn gun back and being able to leave it better than you found it.

Mills is so right on! You can be proud to carry that gun Just remember the times you played with it and then your kids also The gun has a soul I t was just waiting for the right person to put it all together. I know from experience about these old hammer guns they grow on you, congrats Gary

Seeing that gun looking that good almost makes me want to go break the stock on one of mine. ALMOST! Did you get the barrel wall thickness measured? There are low pressure option besides RST.

John, if you reload for your shotguns you can remedy the lack of 2 1/2" shells. You can cut down 2 3/4" hulls, get some Ballistic Products (or another wad) in 12g short wad configuration. Get an "Advantages" manual from BP and get to reloading. Just remember the 2 3/4" and 2 1/2" lengths are for the fired hull, not the loaded hull. Takes a little time cutting down the hulls but once you have a stockpile of short hulls you'll be good to go.

And it's a 1-frame 12ga???? Oh my! Makes it all that much more worth the expense. The bbls and the wood are gorgeous. What a beauty!!

Richard, I have been off the forum for a time between the holidays and traveling, and while searching for low pressure shells and/or appropriate reloading components.

Hodgdon sent me a reloading table for 2 1/2" shells with low pressures. I think I can source all the components, EXCEPT the powder, which is their Universal. Seems simply unavailable:banghead:, although I am on a waiting list at one vendor.

HOWEVER, through the hunting preserve's connection with a fine gun dealer, I managed to score a couple of boxes of RST 2 1/2 light loads.

So, yesterday I took "Lazarus" on a training quail hunt with my dog, "Buck". It was a great day all around. The dog hunted great. So did the Parker. I did not realize how much better it seems I would shoot with a gun that fits so well.

Remember that 3", of 30", were cut off because of a crack at the muzzle, and it is virtually a no choke gun. This worked great at most quail flush shots, and I took down one bird with one pellet in a shot that I knew was just under the bird. The apparent wide spread was just enough. However, it did quite well at several long shots. It cleanly hit a bird that my companions, both of whom are guides, estimated to be 40-45 yards away. When I have a better supply of shells I need to pattern the barrels.

Anyway, Richard, you asked for pictures from the field. Nobody took the time to take action shots, but I am attaching an after hunt picture with the Parker in hand.

Yes, the gunsmith measured and approved them before we decided whether to proceed with the restoration. Then he proofed them with RST's afterward.

I would appreciate leads on other low pressure vendors. I also tried Polywad, but they are in a similar situation to RST.

Thanks. I have purchased the Trim Doctor 2 from BP, and am shooting regular 12 GA 2 3/4's in my Red Label to repurpose the hulls. The manual didn't have options for around or below 7,000 PSI pressure 2 1/2's with components I have been able to source yet, but I will keep trying. As I posted to Richard, Hodgdon sent me a table for 2 1/2' in that range, several 6,700's, but I have not been able to find any of their Universal powder, which all the loads specify.

Well, my dog trainer said that he bet it became my favorite quail gun, and after only 1 hunt I am tending to agree! Especially after I quickly learned to re-cock the hammer after a shot.:rotf: I am too used to the auto-cocking O/U!

Thanks! The 1-frame's light weight makes it a pleasure to carry, and with the low pressure shells the kick is less than my heavier 12ga Red Label--or maybe the better fit reduces the FELT recoil.

For those who have followed this thread, I have 2 updates, one good, one bad.

Good: Parker Pages just published an article I wrote, essentially based on this thread. Thank you to all here that guided and cheered me on in the journey and to Mike Koneski for editorial skill.

Bad: My yellow pointing Lab, Buck, pictured in the article has just been diagnosed with a sarcoma in his left wrist. We are seeking oncology consultation. I have written about it and requested suggestions and advice in a posting in the Man's Best Friend topic of this forum: https://parkerguns.org/forums/showthread.php?t=44920