New member from Brawley, Ca
 

Greetings, I 'm a new member here and could use your help in learning more about a 10 gauge Dbl barrel Parker Brothers shotgun that was just given to me by a great friend. The serial number is 65871 indicating a manufacturing date of 1891. There is no grade marking. The barrel rib is marked Laminated steel. The barrel lug is marked with a 5. The barrel weight is marked with a small 8 followed by a large 1. Above those markings is an H next to the lug. left of the weight marking is an L. The gun is rather plain and without scrollwork. The stock is checkered. There is a silver inlaid crest on the top of the pistol grip, rear of the break-open lever. This gun looks like new, unfortunately, someone in the past has reblued this gun. What can you tell me about this gun?, besides that the value was greatly diminished by the re-blueing. :nono: Thanks and Regards, Ed

Ed,
Your gun started life as a 36" 10ga. Based on your description it appears to be made on a #5 frame. This is unusual for a 10ga. If you can post some pictures I am sure you will get some feedback on your gun.

PML

I'm new to this site, how do I post pictures? Thank you for your response. Ed

when you reply to a post;
1. hit "Go Advanced"
2. hit "Manage attachments"
From there you can select photos from your computer/device.

PML

Thank You. Will do.

Sounds like a very interesting gun. Do the barrels still measure 36 inches?

Yes, it measures 36 and 3/8 inches.

Very nice looking Parker. Thanks for posting. I would encourage you to join the PGCA. There is a wealth of knowledge among this membership and great bunch of folk!!

We need to see pictures of the small 8 and the big 1. We also want to see the 5 on the lug. If you have a scale, can you weigh the whole gun?
Thanks.

Her is the barrel markings

Looks like 1 of 4 in that configuration, very rare and unusual. Thanks for posting.

I don't have an accurate scale here, but using our digital bathroom scale it appears to weigh 12.2 lbs. Ed

1 of 4 ? Wow, if not for the rebluing . . . .

It looks like a 5 frame 10 to me. You have an interesting gun Ed. If your gym is on lock down you can just tote that gun around for 30 minutes and get your workout.:)

PML

I don't see anything that cannot be fixed. It is rare enough to do so in my opinion.

PML

Tell me more. I'm all ears.

Do the barrels measure the full 36”?

Yes, it measures 36 and 3/8 inches. Wear some of these cut down?

Sorry, typing and answering the phone leads to poor spelling.

It is a rare and worth a partial restoration. The blue can easily be removed by one of our Parker craftsman. The barrels could be refinished to their original color, laminate is stunning if finished properly. The gun also could be shot pending a examination by a barrels guy. VERY exciting gun congratulations!!

Can you recommend someone to do the restoration work? The barrels look great inside. I don't know about hunting with the thing. The guy who did must have been a big dude. It's HEAVY. I once held a 13mm Mouser rifle, an anti-armor trench gun from WW1. It wasn't much heavier. Regards, Ed

Theres a few guys here who can do it and it will look amazing when finish .
I think if you look in the damascus barrel part of the forum youll see their work .

Assuming the barrels are safe to shoot , with the 1 1/8 oz RST loads that #5 frame would barely recoil .

I'm sure that you are right, but the recoil does not bother me, it the sherpa that I am going to have to hire to carry it around! Thank you, I will look for someone in that section. Regards, Ed

Ed,
If this is something you want to keep and restore then I would suggest that you first join the PGCA and then order a factory letter on this gun. It was special ordered for sure and the letter may provide some details about who ordered the gun and where it was originally shipped. Then plan on spending a few years finding and scheduling the work to put the gun closer to what original would be. Your gun is unique because of the frame size and the barrel length. It was built BIG for a reason and the letter would be the place to start if you like chasing history. Go slow! Good luck!


PML

I am filling out a request form for a letter right now. I can trace it back through the last two owners (going back to about 1930) I'm not too sure of the ownership before that. In your opinion is the value high enough do to its rarity, to justify the cost of the restoration work when you consider that it has been reblued? Or put another way, If I find someone to do the restoration work what is the likely value when completed? I don't plan to sell, but if it gains in value by restoring it, it makes it easier to justify the expense. Regards. Ed

Ed,
The value of your gun is really what someone is willing to pay. I will offer my opinion on value and the folks here may agree or not depending on their perspective.

If your gun was on a table at a gun show for 2-3K I would consider buying it because of the frame size and barrel length. I would then plan on spending another 1k+ to have the barrels properly refinished and the blueing removed, and ???. After all of that was done I would not necessarily plan on getting my money back if I sold it but I would have a very cool big frame 10ga with long barrels and sometimes that is a better outcome than making dollars. If the end goal is money then leave the gun as is and put it on gunbroker for $1. It will sell for exactly what it is worth(tbd).

PML

Here is a picture of the complete gun

Thank you very much for sharing your opinion, I really do appreciate it. The gun was given to me by a very good friend and because of this, it has intrinsic value to me. I'm not planning on selling it. The idea of restoring it as much as possible interests me, but I don't want to through good money after bad either. Regards, Ed

nice 10 gauge with rare long barrels...and on a 5 frame thats unusal for sure most 10 ga were on 3 frames....its a cool gun anyway you look at it...if it was my gun i would have to take it hunting...charlie

I would probably just have the barrels redone and leave the rest as is , a partial restoration .


Its a beautiful and rare Parker regardless .

Edward, You should join the PGCA the benefits out weigh the cost, as far as value, hard to tell unless it is in your hands and know the BWT and such things the laminated barrels will be stunning when refinished, I count them right up with Bernard brls. I love Parker hammer guns and own a few, For your info I bought a 16gauge with 38 inch barrels on a 0 frame with milled out receiver, these long barrel guns are rare and hard to find, prices on these guns are pretty steep, so consider, Gary

Wow, what a gun, and I am generally not a big bore guy. If it were mine, I would strip the bluing off the receiver and other parts that are supposed to be case colored. I would redo those laminate barrels, they will look stunning--maybe someone will post a picture of their redone laminate barrels for you to see. Not so sure I would recase color the receiver, I like the nice patina of a well used gun.
How do the bores look? Even if the gun was lightly honed, there is probably plenty of wall thickness there. Dave Fjelline in Lincoln, Ca. could evaluate those barrels for you.

Thank You! to everyone here who has responded with your information and advice. What a great bunch of people. I have learned more in one afternoon than I would have, spending days on the internet (and still would not have gotten this far). I am going to ask my friend some questions about the woman who left him this gun many years ago, It seems that she worked for a rather famous (infamous?) cowboy as an accountant (with benefits!). She was a very capable and tough-minded businesswoman who oversaw and managed her boss's investments. I'll try to get that story straight and report back. I will also be joining PGCA and ordering a letter on this gun. Thanks again to all of you for your generosity and information. Regards, Ed Hale

Looking forward to hearing more about your gun.

Join first order letter second and you will save money instantly. Great big gun and great gun. Gerald

Beautiful rare gun
 

You could go a few more lifetimes and never find another one of those.

Brawley California is only 55 miles SW of the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge which sits on the Colorado river. Thousands of migrating geese and ducks lift off the river every morning in the fall and go to the fields to eat.
Can you imagine that 10 gauge with some non tox shot swinging on a flock of decoying geese.
How great would that be. And it's doable.:cool:

I appreciate your comments. I manage some farm property very near the Cebola Wildlife refuge. I have never hunted the river, but I have taken my share of honkers, ducks, pheasants, doves, and quail, here in Imperial Valley and the Salton Sea area over the years. I think your right, the two things that would overcome the considerable weight of this gun would be the romantic idea of hunting with a 129-year-old shotgun and the adrenalin rush of having a flock of honkers drop in on a spread of decoys. Regards, Ed

If you fellows could recommend a shortlist of gunsmiths who can do a great job of removing the blueing and any other restoration work that this gun may need to get it back into as original condition as possible, I would be very grateful. I want to start a conversation with them and learn as much as I can about this gun. I have joined the PGCA and sent off a request for a letter on this gun. Thanks again to everyone for your hospitality and for sharing your considerable knowledge. Regards, Ed

Alot of people here use Bachelders for restoration work .
https://www.mastergunmakers.com/contact

You can contact Parker Bachelder on here as hes a member .
Heres some photos of their work .

https://www.facebook.com/pg/bachelde...=page_internal

Congrats on joining one of the best double gun forums .

Brian Dudley, a member here, could also assist you with this.