I really wish i could just do it now, but i just dont have that money going into collage. Maybe if i sold some things, but even than i might bring 2,000 with all i could think of. Cant sell my truck haha. Trust me i would pull the trigger right away on restoring it, maybe ill find a way.

Stephen,

Having to wait a few years before restoring your family treasure may well be good fortune. We all have our favorite gunsmiths who we would recommend to restore your historical piece of art. Take your time learning about Parker guns. Get to know the members of the PGCA and they will share information with you. Attend a big SxS shoot or two per year. I go to Hausman's Hidden Hollow in northeast Pennsylvania where there is a large band of Parker guys and gals that readily accept new guys like me. The Southern SxS in North Carolina is a bigger event held in April and would closer to you than Hidden Hollow. Anyway, having face to face conversations with Parker collectors where they can examine your gun will be a great investment in time and money. Plus, if you do not have a great time at these shoots you are not human!

Ask the more experienced collectors of who could restore your Pigeon Gun accurately. For certain your gun needs to be restored accurately to how it looked when it was sold. Also inquire about the cost of such restoration and the time required. A year for this gun would not be unreasonable. Most good gunsmiths are backed up 6 months to years for their restorations. I do however think that most would fit an AAH Pigeon Gun into their schedule because your gun is so rare. As for cost, once again ask the PCGA members. An inaccurate or mediocre restoration would be a waste of money because anyone that could afford a restored Pigeon Gun would want it to be accurately restored so that their peers would marvel at how the gun would look like it had just left the factory at Meridian. Remember the for restoration to consider the factors of Skill, Accuracy, Time, Cost, and to a lesser degree, Market Reputation.

So, take your time. Do not let any gunsmith touch your gun, even for a simple repair, unless the "Parker Guys" approve of their work. Do no damage. By the time you have saved enough to pay for a restoration you should have gained enough knowledge and have a few Parker mentors to guide you toward making the correct decision.

Respectfully,
Mark

Any of us on here would attest to the fact that there is nothing wrong with leaving something be as is for a while. Even thought it may itch at us. The hard part is over for you, and that is just having possesion of it.

And believe me, to expand on Mark's comment above, a correct restoration will show it's benefits if the gun were ever sold. You would be surprised how easy it will be to get top dollar for it.

Brian,

Thanks! As for fine collectables like Parkers, many of us may someday have to thin our heards. At ninety years old I''ll probably be down to a but a few of my favorites. If at that time I needed $XXXXX to pay for my or a family member's medical bills, my most prised Parkers might have to be sold. That is when a perfect restoration will afford me not only the restoration cost but also the appropriate time value of money.

Mark

The collective advice you get here is invaluable. It's why I joined PGCA and you should too. There is no other place you could go to get better advice. All of these fellas are extremely helpful. And it's free, except for the $40 it cost to join.
I'm fairly new having only been a member for a couple of years so I dont have the experience others have so the advice I can give you is limited. The best advice you have rec'd here is go slow and only do a correct factory new restoration. The bad news is it's going to cost a lot more then you think but you'll get your money out of it if done correctly.
I have the same concerns as Dean, ie whether anyone will still be around who is qualified when you get around to doing it. The biggest challenge for you seems to be the engraving and barrels. They will probably be the biggest expense too. To insure they are done by someone qualified, maybe you should consider doing it in sections. For example, scrape up the funds to do the barrels. That will take some time to do and give you a chance to save up for the next part of the project. It may take years but so what? You'll have a lifetime to enjoy it along with the satisfaction.
There will always be someone who can, for example, refinish a the stock. But you'll need folks with years of experience to get the engraving and barrels right. That's why you might want to think about getting started.

Good luck! Ray

Good luck! Ray

Several months ago I looked at a BH that all the engraving was worn off, looked alot like yours. The only thing I could figure was somebody let the thing rust up and then tried to get it off by buffing or steel wool, such a shame to see.

I don't mind taking my time, and appreciate the advice. I'm just worried about them not doing their restorations anymore. Maybe I could write them a letter or e-mail? And Ray i did join the PGCA and am just sending out a research letter too today.

Holy cow! I'd sure like to have that gun tell it's story on just where it's been! You're a lucky fellow Stephan. I hope you are able to enjoy decades of shooting that beauty. In the end you will never regret spending the money to get it properly restored. A better investment you'll never make....

Ill be sure too update on the history of the gun. Ill have to ask some other family members who know about about it. And hopefully that and the research letter, however long that may take, and you'll have the history. It seems like you all appreciate both the history and the guns.

When I visited Brad's shop, he showed me a work in progress where very ornate engraving had been removed. Through a process, he revealed the pattern. An engraver was then able to meticulously chase every line. I saw the results "in the white". It was pretty spectacular. So....... almost anything can be fixed :)

Several years ago, a friend found an outrageously engraved SO Beretta that had been heavily used and neglected by a South American shooter. The engraving was filled with rust and appeared to be heavily pitted in places. He sent it to Rich Cole and it came back looking wonderful. Rich disassembled the gun and put it through a procedure that only he can tell us about. It was a chemical process and did not involve reengraving. It doesn't hurt to ask.

i dont want to try that, sounds like it could go wrong. On a lesser gun i would look into so thank you very much, if i buy one ever ill make sure to get informed.

Thought I would bring this thread back up see if anyone knows whatever happened to this gun.

If this was my gun, I would have Brad Bachelder of Grand Rapids work all wood and have Dan Cullity of Sandwhich, Mass work all metal surfaces. Cullity is a world renown Master Engraver and restorer/builder of fine weapons.
However, I'd have Brad Bachelder do any case coloring as Cullity's colors are not consistent with Parker factory colors (Ryan Cullity, Dan's son acknowledged this to me yesterday) Brad's colors IMHO come as close to original Parkers.

Dan Cullity definitely for the engraving and barrel work but Chris Dawe would by my first choice for the wood work.





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Steven, Take this from an old guy who has been down this road. Don't get hung up on having someone local (Florida?) to do the work required. Seek out the best craftsman for engraving, barrel work, metal work, and wood work. Send the gun to them. They deserve and earn what they charge for their high quality of work! You will always appreciate best quality of work long, long after you forgot what you paid to have it done.
All the best,
Buddy

I had Dan Cullity do a partial restoration probably 20 years ago, or as he called it a hunters special on an old beat up Fox A 16 many years ago. Reblued the barrels, recut checkering, refinished wood, and added nice recoil pad. We left the nicely patinaed receiver alone. I really enjoy shooting this gun now.

I sure would like to see a scan of the letter he sent for. According to my records, this gun had a pistol grip stock when it was first sent out in early 1898. Supposedly, it was also sent out with no safety. Did our original poster ever get his PGCA letter? And what makes us think that this gun came from the factory with a skeleton buttplate? Sawing enough wood off the stock to install a skeleton plate will make it too short to appear or shoot like original. This gun was probably originally sent out with a Silver pad.

Bill, what records do you have that would suggest no safety? It is not listed in the serialization book with any options. Not that safety delete is an option in the book anyway.

I agree on the pad. By the look of the screws used, it looks like factory work.

The original order specified "no safety". On November 14, 1907, Shoverling, Daly, and Gales returned the gun for installation of a safety, and to tighten the gun for a charge of $3.50. The gun was restocked more than once and a "soft rubber butt" was installed at one of those restocks.

Well, our OPs last activity (period) was 2012, so i dont know if we will get any answer as to if anything was done with the gun.

It was such a great story. I had not yet caught the Parker "bug"when he first posted, so today was the first I had seen this thread, thanks to Mike for bringing it back up. To have such an incredible gun passed down as a family heirloom.... Seriously?? This is the stuff of a fairy tale. Sure makes you hope that that young fellow comes into a stage in life that will allow him to do a proper restoration of a once in a lifetime (if that frequent!) gun......

Dave

It's been over six years since this thread started and Stephen may or may not still own this gun. If he does and he checks back hopefully he will see what his family Parker could look like and find a way to get it restored. It won't be cheap and may not be financially sound but it would be a shame not to save that fine old Parker.

Sometimes you will have folks post stuff and then they go off the radar. Same thing happens on the Fox site. Ask some questions and then they fade away. Would be interesting to see what happened to the gun.

My guess is that someone made him an offer he just couldn't refuse.

Larry, who did the restoration work on your gun?

Chris,
Abe Chaber did the work on this gun. I use others from time to time but with Abe being in state I can drop guns off and eliminate the costs and risks of shipping.

Did he have Geoff Gournet address the engraving?

Chris,
The engraving was not touched. I showed this gun because the engraving style was so similar to the gun in the original post.

I was as intrigued by how his great grandfather could have come into possession of the gun as I was by the gun itself. If what the OP stated was true and great grandfather was a poor man it's got to be a great story. It looked to me like the barrels had been clipped a little. Who would do that to a gun like that? I have a feeling this gun will resurface again.

The two photos are not of the same gun. It is easy to think theybare at first glance.

Mike Franzen, "how grandpa came to own the gun" is an interesting subject. When I was in college, I shot skeet at a local Izaak Walton League, along with a couple of guys who were also in the University. One was a gun bug, the other not so much. A couple of years went by and we lost contact. One night, "not so much" called and told me to come to his home near Annapolis to look at a gun for him. It was a rainy Sunday morning when I arrived at his home on the Severn. On the dining room table, he had laid out a worn and abused prewar Pigeon Grade Superposed and a gorgeous AHE Grade Parker trap gun. He asked if I were interested in the Browning and I told him I was not. He then said that I would be buying the Parker, because he had some expenses he had to take care of. I told him I couldn't afford the Parker and he replied that I could afford it. He said that I would write him a check for $2200.00. So that is one way "Grandpa" can end up with a hot Parker. I protested that the gun was worth several times what he was asking. He rose above my protests and forced me to take the gun.

And then the alarm clock sounded and you woke up. And that my friends is "the rest of the story".:)

No way, Larry. This is not a normal fable from the forum. I am not that talented a writer. I displayed the AHE Trap at the West VA hoedown run by John Allgood and others. It was enjoyed by those who picked it up. Unfortunately, it was not the hit of the show because a B Grade hammer gun and a flock of Becker Foxes were also displayed.

good storey bill...i would be broke in a situation like that...charlie

Anybody want to check the membership roster from a few years ago to see if Stephen Lyons is still a member?

Not in the Autumn 2016 roster.

Not in the '15, '14, '13 or '12 rosters either. I guess he didn't join or elected not to be listed.