My First Parker!
 

Greetings and Salutations!
I just purchased my first Parker Bros. shotgun. It is a Hammer/Lifter model in 12 gauge. It is a rather plain gun with straight grip, no checkering, and no engraving. The plain twist barrels are 32" with the following markings: the right flat has a 0 ('Zero' Grade?) and 4 12. Forward of the right flat is 13. On the bottom of the lug is o 2. The serial number is 10250. All visible numbers match. Overall, the gun looks great! Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the bores. The exterior of the barrels has been taken care of and they are a light tan color. The trigger guard retains some bluing, but the rest of the metal has turned brown. I hope to learn a lot from all of you here! Cheers!

Mark: Welcome. Lots of knowledgeable folks here. Your gun appears to match the factory specs for 10250; namely, 0 grade, plain twist, underlifter hammer gun, straight grip stock, 12 gauge, 32 inch barrels No extras out of the factory. The lug stamp indicates a 2 frame gun. 4 12 appears to be the unstruck barrel weight being 4 pounds 12 ounces. The 12 should be a superscipt slightly above the 4. I leave it to others to comment on the 13.

Are the bores "pitted" or just dirty?

We enjoy pictures and would like to see your gun.

I note you understand what you have gotten into when you call it your "first" Parker.

Cheers,
Jack

Thanks for the Welcome and good info, Jack. I have been scrubbing the bores this morning. Yes, they are pitted and not so pretty! The majority of the pits are just beyond the chambers. There was something on the outside of the barrels that caused Hoppe's solvent to bead up on the surface. Maybe some sort of shellac? Was that a common practice years ago? I will work on some photos. Do I have to put them in Photo Bucket first?

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Okay, here are some photos. I hope this works!

That was easy! I also found a tiny J.S. stamped on the center lug. Is this an inspector?

Yes,I stands for John Stokes a Parker Bros. barrel contractor.

Mark, With an eye to the possible meaning of the 13 and/or the o stampings, have you measured the bore diameters yet?

I do not have the capability to measure the bores. I kinda wondered if the 13 had something to do with bore diameter. There is a 0 on the lug and the right barrel flat. I don't know if one, or both, of them refer to the grade.

I finally have everything disassembled. There was quite a bit of rusty dirt/dried up oil/sweat deposited in every nook and cranny! The hammer and tumbler assemblies rock back and forth in the sideplates, ever so slightly. When measured with a digital caliper, I could find only .0005" difference between the hole and the shaft! I thought they would be all tuckered out. There is an awful lot of steel in this gun! Very well built. The original order tag is available for it, too. I just mailed off my dues for the PGCA and will be looking forward to the newsletters. Cheers!