Robert, The sense of loss we know has no name but we know it never-the-less. The South of my knowledge knew it. The inheritance of a defeated people. I am alarmed to see such feelings expressed by our President to the world about a people who have not been defeated. This correspondence awakens in me the remembrance that only those who had the courage to face any and all challenges had any chance of success. Success was not available to all but those who fought for it at least passed on to their descendants a sense of urgency and hope for the future. There is no place on earth that has a greater hold on my emotions than the Low Country. Alas I have removed myself from it because of a new loss. I have been replaced by richer immigrants who are fleeing from places like New York and have the cash to buy the locals out. My property taxes rose to over $35,000. for two very old small houses which were connected by doors but together had no more than 3000 sqf of space in a desirable part of town. For that tax I could not expect police protection from the drunks who made the night hell , nor would the city clean up the broken glass left by such people. Together with the cities' tourism bent and as my neighbors left and I was isolated in a neighborhood of strangers, I voted with my feet. David

Gentlemen:

I wish to contact anyone who could put me in touch with a person or business, that could provide me with a part for the Parker Hammer Gun #46871. Specifically, I am looking for the split leaf spring for the trigger(s) return. I am attaching a photo of the failed part. The gun was handled poorly and maintained worse. In cleaning up and de-rusting, I found the leftside mechanism to be bent along with the triggers with the broken spring. As was previously reported, the stock is broken (eight small pieces in the area of the receiver) but I will work on that. This will take some work, but I think I can get this into a functional state (no, I don't intend to use it ) for historic purposes, family hierloom as it were.

Any help in finding a source would greatly be appreciated. Thanks.

Bob Tarbox

Now, I will attach a photo, I'll get into this pretty soon.

I had that part made for me by Louis Rotelli but I don't see a mention of him in the membership list. I would think that a clock maker of Parker gunsmith could easily make that part. David

Robert
There is an excellant gunsmith,Jim Kelley, in Darlington that does a lot of Parker work and has an extensive stock of parts. There are several of us Parker collectors in Georgetown and we all think very highly of Jim and his work. Jim can be reached at 843-393-3931. My wife is friends with your daughter Meg and if I can help let me know.
David

Thanks to both Davids for responding, I am working with a local gunsmith currently and I will know in a week or so if this works out. He said he had made one of these before. We'll see.

Regarding my relationship to Meg, she is a fine young lady, however she is the daughter of my cousin, and not my daughter. When her Grand Parents lived there, I was privileged to have some mighty fine seafood dinners in her dinning room.

When I was discussing with the gunsmith, about procuring a replacement spring, he mentioned that if I had brought the gun to him to fit the replacement part, He would have to disable the gun by removing the firing pins since it was a twist steel barrel. Needless to say, but I did not leave the gun in his hands. I am aware of the potential safety issue in blatantly using some current factory loads in the gun, but to disarm the gun without owner consent doesn't seem right to me. I'm not aware of any law to that effect, but if there is, please let me know.

I will keep you advised regarding my success in finding a suitable replacement spring, and if I need further assistance here, I will advise the forum.

Thanks for all your help.

Robert, I think you would be doing us all a service by informing us of this gunsmith's name so that we may be sure not to inadvertantly send him any of our guns with composite barrels.

There is no such law and he has no right to disable anyone's firearm based on his superstitions.

Dean:

Let me discuss this with him further before I make his name public. There may be a misunderstanding, and I don't want to make a mistake here.

Thank you for responding regarding the law. I knew of no laws requiring this action, however, I will try to find out if there are any such laws at the local laws.

There aren't any local laws either, he's just operating under the assumptions of many years and what is says on the flap of the Winchester, Remington, Federal shell boxes. It's only been in the past 10 years or so that guys have started shooting these types of guns again.

When I was a kid in the 70's and 80's, everybody assumed that if you even held a box of nitro powder shells near one it would explode and kill everybody within five miles. The fictional stories I've heard some of these gunsmith / gunshow cranks tell about seeing guys blow these things up and the resulting destruction to gun, man, dog, and surrounding spectators was comical at the time and even more so today.


Destry

I have been collecting Damascus guns, let's see, my first Damascus Lefever was about 1957, when I was 11 years old. I just shot my first smokeless load out of my Grade 1 Damascus hammer gun at the 2007 Southern Side by Side, the first smokeless load I have ever fired out of a composite barrel gun without inserts. I loaded black powder for 50 years, read Sherman Bell's research, waited a couple of years, and bit the bullet. It was a great 50 years, however, with dozens of great guns shot and cleaned, from 20 gauge to 8 gauge. I'm not much for selling Parkers or Lefevers, so I still have most of the Damascus guns I've fooled with over the years. I was slow to convert, but now I know what the pressure characteristics are of both black and smokeless powders, thanks to Sherman. I own a wall thickness gauge and a couple of bore micrometers thanks to Manson and Tony, and a cabinet full of machinist's measuring tools, thanks to Linda's Dad. I am no long afraid. Even before Sherman, I was a bit suspicious of the Damascus warnings when I saw a ten gauge Damascus Purdey hammer pigeon gun at a Richmond gun show that had British nitro proof marks for 3 1/2" shells, proved at 4 tons as I recall. If there was ever a gun that I'm sorry I passed up, that was the one.