Parker lifter or not?
 

Any opinions on this one at the top? Claimed to be a Parker....

It has all the right lines and very well could be a Parker Bros. gun.

It has the keyed forend and the correct looking lifter and the hammer ears have the distinctive curl at the tops.

It appears to be one of those that pre-date the recessed hinge pin.

That is a round bobied back action Lifter. Very early gun.
The only thing that looks off to me is the hammer. It is a parker hammer, but the one I can see looks like a later style hammer. Like one from a top action hammer gun, not the type that should be on a back action gun.
The back actions were peppered about within the first couple thousand Serial numbers or so. And there was a good amount of variation in those early years in regards to parts and styling.

Attachment 31664

Top Gun is back action No. 1500

Second is front action No. 1219

Third is Lifter No. 17,790

Fourth is Top action No. 70,259

It's even more amazing that the middle two are also shotguns. I have always been puzzled by the concept of a bolt action shotgun.

Thanks guys.

My father has a bolt action, JC Higgins shotgun. It's a mule of a gun, twist choke included. But it goes bang when you pull the trigger, and if you accidentally drop it in 75 feet of icy, muddy water, you don't get the least bit wet. Can't say that for a Parker!

my father hunted with one for years, he bought it when he got home from WWII and hunted with it until I got him an 870 Wingmaster in the early 70's. Can't tell you how many time he took a second shot (normally one was enough) at a running rabbit, from the speed of the second shot if you weren't looking you would not have known.

may have been the Springfield '03 training before he got a Garand in Europe, but never underestimate a smooth bolt in the hands of an expert.

that third gun down sure looks like 410 mossberg i used to kill my first rooster with 1957 .I still have and love that little bolt gun

Well, this Parker has a new owner as of today....I am not sure who. But it was auctioned off so someone bought it. Anyway, it is serial 0219 which makes Brian quite correct in his assessment.

The auction guys told me one hammer was mismatched, and the barrel rib read 'Parker Bros Meriden CT Decarbonized Steel'

Let's see if it pops up in someone's hands....

It looks like I am the new owner...! I put in an absentee bid for kicks and they told me today I won it, so once I get it I will know more about just what I bought.

I still have my great grand fathers bolt action shot gun, its mauser 98 action in 16 ga. , purchased it for 4.75 after WW1, its killed more pheasants than DDT and I still shoot it once in a while. and I agree with brian dudley

Those Geha Mausers are neat creations.

I picked up the Parker today, haven't had too much time to study it yet. But, it is a rather small framed gun and I can't fit 12 ga shell into the chamber so my guess is it is a 14 ga or 16ga.

The stock has some cracks but they look quite fixable based on what I've seen other people fix on this site. The LOP is 14", not too bad for an oldie. It has the steel buttplate and as noted one hammer is incorrect and broken, too. Barrels are 29-1/2" long and one has a dent. I haven't looked down the bores yet as for some reason they have rolled up paper in them.

This gun would be a great project for a gunsmith or someone who does stock work.

A little more measuring and...it is a 14 gauge.

What's interesting is it looks to be a "1/2" frame gun. The pins are dead on 1-1/32" spacing which falls between the 0 and 1 frames. Does this sound plausible?

Greg,

Interesting. What measurements did you get for the bores?

Richard

I didn't measure them yet. I did measure the chamber diameter and it is right on the 14 ga dimension shown in TPS. A 12ga shell will 'no way' fit and a 16 is too loose.

Any and all comments are appreciated!

Very interesting gun.

Well it get weirder....the chambers measure right at .775 (14ga) then the barrels measure .731-ish which is 12 ga territory. Maybe it is an early attempt at overboring....

This is a 12-gauge gun chambered for the 12B brass Parker shells. A12B brass shell ialmist the same size as a modern 14-gauge shell. There will be Parker 12B shells at the SXS and they should fit perfectly. The .731 bore dimension is nearly perfect for a 12-bore size (0.729") indicating only slight pitting. I hope you bring it to SXS---I would like to see it.

Yours,


Richard B. Hoover

Thank you, Richard. The chart in TPS was dated 1920 which by then was based on modern shell dimensions I suppose. I won't be at the SxS, unfortunately.

The extractor was stuck but not badly; a little oil and it freed up in a minute.

I'm going to decide what to do with it next....I might decide to part ways with it but chances are I'll just let it rest in my safe....it will be the most senior of all my Parkers...maybe I'll let it sit next to my 241XXX gun!

Happy to be of help.

Not a bad looking gun Greg. A lot of patina there, but how many of them that old aren't.