parker P grade 8 gauge
 

Wondering if you can help me post a picture of my 8gauge. Thanks

I would be happy to assist if you wish to send the pictures to me at coues3pt@gmail.com I will post them for you.

Phil

Aaron's wonderful old Parker 8 gauge.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...ons8gauge1.jpg http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...rons8gauge.jpg

What a beast of a Parker! Please tell us more about it... measurements etc.

Those barrels look like 40 inches :eek:

What are the barrel lengths? Is this gun really marked P? It must be a late serial number to have that mark. What is the number?

That frame looks small next to those barrels. I wonder what frame size it is.

This gun was lettered 10 years ago by Ronald Kirby from original records. It has 34inch barrels and the frame is a 7. I have all the antique 8 ga. Reloading eguipment for it including about 10 winchester leader 8 gauge paper shells that are high brass. Barrels retain a really nice damascus twist pattern and wood is very good. Case colors i can find only here and there. Can anyone tell me how many they made and how much insurance coverage i need, thank you all so much! I believe the serial is 32xxx.

Grade Zero top action hammer eight gauges, 70 made, 32 of them were 34" guns. If your gun is truly a P grade or Grade 1, 72 of them were made in eight gauge, and 29 were 34". Can you tell us about your PGCA letter, where your gun was shipped, and what Mr. Kirby said about the grade. These guns are worth thousands of dollars, details of condition dictating how many thousands. Your gun looks like a nice one. I have a Zero grade 34" top action eight gauge, but would like another. You can't have enough eights.

please tell us more about your 8 ga...it looks to be in good shape..do you shoot the 8 ga any..they are fun to shoot or hunt with..theres been a lot ofd discusion here about these old guns..we never get tierd of talking or hearing about another one... charlie

What is the weight of your 8ga hammer? The last one I handled was about 16 lbs. what a monster!

Well, it was ordered from baucher bros. In june 1883. The letter is at my parents but he said it is a P hammerless? The hammers added later or is it a mistake. Weighs almost 15 lbs., plain twist barrels-did they stamp the grade on this gun and where can i find it, 90% of case colors under forearm and some by barrel lug. Bore has some minor pitting but definately shootable. Hasnt been shot since1967. All proofs are nice on goes back to1875. I wish i knew more. Is the grade of the shotgun stamped on the lug where the frame size stamp is? Confused.

If the grade is stamped, it will be stamped on the water table of the action. Before worrying much about other details, get the letter and the gun in one place and tell us what you see. The "proofs" you refer to are probably patent dates which don't tell a lot about an individual gun. A 15 pound eight gauge would be an exceptionally heavy Parker. Your gun, if characteristic of the gauge, would more likely weigh from 11 to 12 1/2 pounds.

The letter says 14 lbs 8ozs. As far as memory goes i dont think anything is stamped on watertable. Along with the 7 stamped on the lug there is also a 2 in a circle.

If you give me the serial number, maybe I can clear up the confusion on grade. If you don't want the serial number made public, e-mail me at pgcaresearch@verizon.net

A picture of 8 gauge Winchester shell from Aaron

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...302_193257.jpg

14-8 is a heavy Parker eight.

just the rite weight to tame those big loads of shot...the barrels must weigh close to 10 lbs ...bills right about most parker 8 ga weigh in around 12 to 12 1/2 lbs...me i like them heavy weight guns..do you know the chamber lengths..hope you have 4 inch but this is rare most are 3 1/4 inch..the 2 old parkers i have are 3 1/4 and the old f a loomis is 3 1/2 inch...i seen a modern day single barrel 8 ga the other day on auction site that was listed with a 4 1/2 inch chamber....charlie

It states in the letter 14 lbs and some odd ounces. All i can,say is it's a beast. I just leave it broken down in the safe. Is there anything i should know about proper cleaning? Thanks.

Keep it rubbed down with an oily rag. When you find time, try to scrub the bores out with some oil soaked steel wool on the end of a long dowel. I would tell you to use a bronze brush, but such brushes are hard to find that large. As long as you get brown oil on the steel wool, you have rust in the barrel. Take your time and be thorough. We would like to know more about your letter. Our researcher is looking it up, but may not share with us. Where is Baucher Brothers and is that the correct spelling?

Stay tuned, I'm looking it up!

Aaron sent me the serial number, thanks Aaron!

What you have is a Quality R, Top Action hammergun in 8 gauge with 34" barrels. If you want to give it a number grade, it's a grade 0, the lowest grade gun Parker made.

How did I determine the above? The Order Book doesn't give the grade but gives clues. The clues are barrel steel, grip type, and price. In this case, it lists the barrels as P.T. (plain twist), capped (grip style), and the price of $95.00. Next we go to the Stock Book which lists the barrel steel as P.T. which we know from the Order Book. On higher grades it usually gives a grade number along with the barrel steel but with P.T.'s it doesn't so no help there. It also lists it as a Top Action gun so obviously Ron Kirby's letter is wrong! The rest of the Stock Book lists the dimensions and weight as 8 gauge, 34" barrels, 2 3/4 DAH, 14 1/4 LOP, weight 14 1/4 pounds.

So how did I come up with a Quality R? You have to go to the Parker Price lists from the year the gun was made and find the grade corresponding to the price listed in the Order Book. We don't have a price list for 1884 but we do for 1882 and 1886 and the listings are the same. Parker at this time charged an additional $35.00 for an 8 gauge gun over the price for a 10 gauge gun. I took $95.00 which is what is in the Order Book and subtracted $35.00 for the 8 gauge barrels, that left $60.00. The 10 gauge gun that listed for $60.00 was the Quality R. Aaron, send my your address and I'll type up a new research letter for you.

It is long gone merchandiser from Minneapolis, mn. Not sure if i spelled it right.

Thank you so much, can you give me an approx. Value of the gun. I need to get it insured. Thank you.

you can get a 8 ga bronze bore brush off ebay about 7.00 dollars polus shipping i seen it last nite...just punch in 8 gauge bore brush on there... i m gonna get me one... charlie

Maybe Chuck can give us a correct spelling for the dealer so we can start some research. Value is contingent on details of condition, which means pictures and more pictures, also more pictures of the bores. If you wish to sell, join PGCA and post on the for sale forum. Insurance value? Maybe $4000 or $5000. That's about what they would pay you, regardless of what you insure it for. Don't waste your money, just keep it locked up.

Aaron, if you get a written appraisal from a legitimate auction house of note or a known expert in the appraisal of fine arms an insurance company would be compelled to insure it for its collector value (at a premium determined by the insurance company) - which could be well above the value Mr. Murphy has suggested would be an insurance pay off amount.

My R Grade 8 gauge on a 7 frame with 36" Twist barrels weighs 13 lbs. 6 oz. Just got it back yesterday from Brad putting it back on face. Looking forward to July 1 when Arizona law to allow the use of an 8 gauge goes into effect. The 8 gauge, and my Burnham Brother J1 call have a date with some coyotes.

Nice!

look out coyotes... what load do you plan on useing for these varmints...no 4 buck is good coyote medicene... ARRON you gots to hurry up and tell us how that old 8 ga shoots....charlie

As long as my parents are around it will have to remain in the safe. Because of value, rareity, and family value unfortunately they wont let me shoot it. I always have my imagination I guess sorry guys.

Charlie,

I will use some #2 That Tom Armbrust loaded for me awhile back.

them no 2 s are good ..boy old tom loads a fine shell..he s loaded some for me really nice fellow....

Collector value and replacement cost, in my opinion and based on 30 plus years of observing and buying Parker 8 gauges, would be about double Mr. Murphy's suggestion. Many more and better close up pictures would make it much easier to place a more exact value on the gun. From the pictures shown, I would state that it appears to be in much better condition than the average hammer 8.

I agree with Bill Zachow on the price level.

But I have to say...my eyes could be wrong but that LOP doesn't look like it's 14" +. I know the big frames skew appearances but I still wonder if the stock has been cut down.

I concur, that if the gun is clean, unrusted, and original, with unpitted bores, the gun would be worth what Mr. Zachow suggests.

The stock hasnt been touched its been in a parlor closet for the last 100 years. NOTHING has been altered or replaced.

More pictures I have asked Aaron to provide more detail pictures of the water table barrel flats, etc. Hopefully we will get these shortly.

http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...609_154123.jpg
http://i557.photobucket.com/albums/s...609_154123.jpg

Phil did I send you 8 pics or only those two. Let me know so i can send the rest for some reason you didnt get them. :)

I'll send you the rest of the pictures tomorrow to post thank you.