Just Got Her Home!
 

I'm posting pics of my newest acquisition; a Parker 10 Ga, lifter. I believe, thanks to this website, it was manufactured in 1881. I was hoping some of you learned Parker scholars might be able to give me some more specific "gouge" on it. At present, I intend to refinish the old gal. Not dead set on that, though. Needs some work to bring up to firing condition. As I'm on the cusp of graduating from gunsmithing school, I'm cosidering this as a long-term project for myself. I'm extremey fortunate in that I have access to several members of the American Custom Gunmakers Guild within easy driving distance of my home that I can can resource if need be. At any rate, here she is... Please let me know your thoughts. I look forward to reading them!

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One Last Note...
 

Bores appear to have some mild surface rust, but should clean up nicely!

shes a beauty..love those long barrels she should give you years of good service..good luck with the beautyfying of this gun...charlie

Looks like an awful nice, well used early Parker with lots of potential. Good luck with her and keep us posted on your progress. Perfect for big ducks and turkeys.

I was looking at a 10 ga lifter earlier this week. It belonged to a friend of mine, and had an 8000 range serial #. Kind of in the same shape as yours, needing a lot of TLC. What does that gun weigh with those 32" tubes. How common was a straight grip on those big guns?

It seems straight grips are more common on earlier Parkers than on later Parkers.

Congratulation on your purchase. You have a lot of work ahead of you. Your gun is off face witch I am sure you know. From the photos it looks like your breech face is your biggest challange. Its pretty pitted and it looks like you may have to bush the fireing pin holes. It makes me wonder what the inside of the barrels look like. Good luck with the project.

You couldn't be more right, Wayne! Re-facing the breach will be the biggest challenge by far. As I mentioned, the bores appear to have some light surface rust. I need to purchase a 10-bore brush to get an accurate feel of their true condition. My sense is that they'll clean up well. I intend to keep the original wood and not discard it, but I believe a re-stocking is warranted. All-in-all, not a bad pick up for less than $450! As previously stated, I believe I'm fortunate to have many top-shelf gunsmiths where I'm located that can pre the necessary guidance should I need help.

Harold, She weighs in at a hefty 10 lbs (give or take an ounce or two). That's a load to be humping around in the field...

a few inches of barrel do not save much - my 30" 10 lifter weighs 9 plus a little

My 10 ga lifter with factory barrels at 28.25" weighs 9.5 lbs. It is on a # 2 frame. Heavy but swings like a champ on pheasants and some clays. David

theseold big bores are heavy but you appreciate one of them when you need that extra 5 yards to bring that bird home....charlie

Eric Sometimes pic's are decieving but to me it looks like the wood is very salvagable. It may be a little oil soaked in the head. Try dissambleing your gun then soak the wood in a stiff solution of Murphy oil soap for about an hour. It will clean off a lot of that old dirty finish and give you a much better look at your wood. Not much work,you may be surprised at what you have. I also have a parker lifter 10ga along with about six others and surprisingly it is the softest shooting 10ga I own. Its also one of the lightest.

I second Wayne. The wood looks like it would clean up well. Often, they used top quality wood on these early Parkers

Great advice, Wayne. Thx! I'll most definitely give that a try before proceeding with a full-on restock.

If the wood is truly soaked with oil, you might soak it in a solvent such as methyl ethel key ton or the like for a week or so before the Murphy's. David

Yeah... There looks to be nothing wrong with that stock from a functional or structural standpoint.
A good soaking in Acetone for a while will clean it up nice. It doesnt even appear to have much oil in it either.
Granted, there may not be much room for sanding if needed. But with the overall condition of the gun, you would not want to go the route of a refinish to "Like New".
A good cleaning and freshening of the finish is all that in order before laying down new checkering.
Straight Shellac would be a proper finish for this by the way.

I have a double 10 ga with similar pitting on the face like that but mine is only on the left face . Not sure how to fix that or if it effects firing . Good luck on the project .:)