My 0 frame 16 opens just fine with the hammers cocked
Attachment 105704

Mine also.

My 12ga. grade2 opens fine with hammer cocked.

Pulled out a few guns to get to the back of the safe (always the one you are looking for) to get to my grade 3 hammer gun. After struggling I looked for the top lever and realized it was an Under lifter. Oops!

So Milt, does your lifter open with the right hammer cocked? Asking for a friend. :rotf::rotf:

Two other 12g fish-tails in the safe. Both 2 frames. The G grade is HL so it’s moot. The 12g hammer gun will not open with the right hammer cocked. Dean, you had that gun for a while until it came my way.

Any of several reasons could be the cause of it not opening with the right hammer cocked, not the least of which could be the Vulcan Steel barrels… or maybe because it has an add-on Monte Carlo stock, or or maybe the A grade forend tip. But I’ll bet it’s because of the mismatched C and B grade replacement hammers….:shock:





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Can we pick just one reason and stick to it?? 😂🤣🤪

In fact, that highly engraved A grade forend tip is the exact one we used to create the Distinguished Service Pin.

… but I digress. Back to the original topic.




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Here we go. 1 frame 12 gauge (left) and 0 frame 16 (right)

Mills those are sweet!

Thanks Keith! I had the 16 freshened up last year and this photo reminds me the 12 needs attention too. The 12 is Harry's go-to Parker for double gun events

I had never noticed before that the top tang of your 2-frame(?) 12 is another half again as wide as your 0-frame 16. Can you measure them and let us know?

And how close are the in serial number?



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Are those steel barrels on your 16, Mills?

Yeah, what's with that ejector stop plate???





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Zenni is having a 30% off sale right now.

Not sure what is going on. It came to me that way.

FWIW both guns handle a bit heavy for their frame sizes

Look at the negative space, its almost like it was designed that way!

Finally found my 10 ga hammer gun #3 frame. It will not open if the right hammer is cocked. The serial number is 55,2XX.

Jack

Just happened upon an article in a an early Double Gun Journal which made me remeber this thread so I wanted to mention it. Written by Charlie Price for the Volume Four Issue 4 edition entitled "The Parker Fish-Tail Top Lever". It discusses a lot of the itms brought up in thisthread, but also touches on some other points. Some of them are: the order book in mid-1884 had a not to "Make hooked top lever so gun will cock when open"; Many early top lever hammer guns before the fishtail had the lever offset to the left; and there is a picture of a 7 frame 8 gauge with a fishtail that will cock while open, but if the gun is cocked when closed, the gun will not open when cocked.

It's a pretty interesting article if interested in the subject and worth a look if you have the Issue available.

All of the hammerless Parkers with fishtails occur between 66,000 and 74,000 serial numbers. There have been rumors of ones outside that range, but rumors only.

Charlie Price was and still is one of the most esteemed and highly revered Parker collectors and researchers.





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The rumors have grown wings and risen.

The 3 guns pictured in the article with fish-tail levers were a 10 gauge D Grade 2 frame No. 96343, a 10 gauge EH Grade 3 frame No, 69232 and an 8 gauge P Grade 7 frame No. 84027.

I have a lovely little 0 frame 16 gauge #69134. It doesn’t show up in the ID &Serialization book.

I have a 3 frame 10 gauge that opens with the right hammer cocked.

Were those the two that you bought as a pair on GB ?

That is them