I would say that there is a 99.9% probability that the stock is original. I'd bet money on it.

Not necessarily, but it does strongly support it.

My 99.9% figure is not based solely on the serial number under the trigger guard but it seals the deal for me. The small chip on the left, the fitting of the skeleton butt plate and the overall look of the stock. Solid evidence for originality is there, in my opinion.

10 ga
 

That's good enough for me too, Tom. Of course it's my gun, I might be a little biased, maybe .1%?

Enjoy your gun and rest in the knowledge that it is all Parker. I hate to make a categorical statement, but I think I am justified in this case even without having the gun in my hands.

If you want to put a little money into it, you could have the barrels done right and have the barrel end engraving picked up. If it was me, I would also have the skeleton butt plate engraving re-cut. It looks like that was polished off.

My theory of why the drop points were removed.......the refinisher might have tried to sand around them and maybe took off too much on the sides so both sides no longer matched. He probably kept trying to correct the problem and damaged them to the point where it made sense just to totally remove them. A pure guess, but its the only thing that makes sense to me. I don't think anyone with half of a brain would remove them on purpose unless there was a reason to.

The person who did the refinish was not competent, in my opinion. But, except for the drop points, he did not do anything that can't be easily fixed, including the checkering. If it was my gun I would go for it. I can fix the issues myself but even if I couldn't, the gun is worth making things completely right. That's a damn nice gun.

10ga
 

Thanks, Tom, I am thinking along those same lines. I really like this gun, but just can't get my head around the metal work that was done to it. I think the bluing is rust blue, but don't know what a restoration would cost. Hate to put into it more than it's worth. Jim.

It's worth a lot more than you would have to put into it. I would start by focusing on the barrels and check the prices for doing the barrels right. If you do this, be careful who does the work. Folks here can steer you in the right direction. It's not that big a deal to have them done right.

Or you can just leave it like it is. It's still a fine gun even if the refinishing deviates a bit from Parker methods. Just shoot it, enjoy it and don't worry about it. If you decide to correct the finishing errors, that's fine too. I like your gun!

Geoffroy Gournet would be my choice to do any engraving work.





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Well, I got the letter on this gun today. Gun was shipped in March of 1894. Returned to Parker in June of 1905, by R.H. Mitchell, Hoisington, Ks. Interesting instructions for alterations to be done by Parker. "Make shoot close, clean & rebrown barrels, Bend stock 2 3/8", if possible, & remove saftey & plug hole". Make shoot close & bend stock 2 3/8"--what the heck was he asking for? Can any one explain this to me? Thanks, Jim.

My guess is the guy that sent it back is the pigeon shooter. He wanted the chokes tightened up and the stock raised to 2-3/8 drop at heel. He also wanted to get rid of the safety. In short, make it a live bird gun.