Mr. Carter I believe they were in that highly engraved gold inlaid V grade that walked in to see if we could recognize who might have done the work. The owner said they were to hold in the shells as has been described. Jim

Shell holder
 

Mr. Jim you are probably correct. Maybe we'll see it again sometime. Cheers, Tom

I am going to try again to attach the photo. I ordered a research letter. It will be interesting to see if this extra is mentioned.

Very interesting... I've never seen that before. Looks like it could be quite effective. I wonder what kind of shooting or hunting situation would benefit from that.... ?

I have 3 L.C. Smith guns with that type cut in the barrels. Never really thought much about it I guess. Jerry

Dean I was wondering the same thing. If they are there to keep the shell from falling out of the chamber it does not make much sense to me as one would have to turn the gun up side down before this would happen. From my experience and with most of my non-ejector doubles, the spent shells do not easily fall out but have to be removed by hand. It would seem to me to make more sense that they are there to bleed off gas to reduce recoil. Maybe the research letter will provide an explanation.

Jerry you say you have an LC with cuts like this in the barrels. These are not cuts but spring-loaded pins.

Has anyone seen a Parker with this option? Does anyone have an opinion if this is a factory option or an aftermarket add on?

Gordon, I'm going to say it is not a Parker Bros. factory option. There is no mention of such a device in The Parker Story or any other printed matter devoted specifically to Parker guns that I'm aware of.

I have personally never heard of this particular device but I would love to learn more about it.

I think the dimples on my Smith guns are not the same thing that's pictured here. Jerry

The cuts on the extractors are to clear the firing pin tips and are not necessary on Parker guns as they have rebounding locks, however L C Smith guns do not, ditto with Fox and Ithaca. Over the years I have observed the wire spring gismos on a few guns. They would be handy if you were crossing a lot of fences while hunting.

Jim A.