Two 16 guage Top Levers
 

Here are some photos of my first Parker and most recent one. Both have fishtail top levers. Please note the serial numbers

A pair of very nice top action hammer guns, Grades 1 and 2. Hard to find in anything small bore and hard to find in good condition. Thanks for sharing.

one lucky fellow good find...could you give us a little storey on the finds..you got me wandering how these two guns so close in no s came to be together... charlie

Eric,
Very, very nice. I'm sure you will give them a good home.
Daryl

I bought the Grade 2 in California in 1996 found the Grade 1 online from a dealer in Maine last year. Had no intention of buying the second one as it wasn't as nice as the one I had and thought it was overpriced. Then I saw the serial number on one of the closeup photos. Figured that wasn't likely to happen again so I bought it. Probably started production on the same day in 1888, waiting for the research letters to see where they went from the factory. Internet gun trading is a blessing and a curse. You can see guns you'd never see whithout a lot of traveling but on the other hand its driven prices up and bargains are hard to come by. Paid about half as much for the Grade 2

yes the internet is a blessing and a curse...like ytou ive bought guns that i never would have found in my area..but puts a constant craving for guns i cant afford that i see on the internet and this is the curse....good storey on the guns and i too would have had tobought the 2 nd gun only being 10 no s apart...i love these old storeys.... charlie

Yeah Charlie I felt like I didn't really have any other choice, luckily my wife is very understanding.

Thank goodness for understanding wives! I too am blessed with one.

Just got home from buying mine a new car. I'm golden for at least a year. She actually likes hammer guns.

Those two beautiful guns for buying the wife a new car.......I would make that trade any day.

Good story and great guns.

Be sure to show us scans of the letters when you get them.

Will do!

Finally figured out how to work the scanner. Both guns retain original dimensions but not original chokes. No idea how one ended up in California and the other in Maine, both now reside in Colorado.

I find it interesting that they are both 16g. 0 frames, but only the one has the milled out water table. What are the barrel lengths of each of them? Maybe the order for the one specified a lighter weight.

Maybe Eric can give us the weights of both guns. I suspect the grade 2 weighs about 1/2 lb. more. Those are nice guns. Dave

The research letters are attached to my last post. The grade 2 was ordered by what looks to be a hardware company and the order didn't specify weight. The 0 grade was ordered by an individual with a specified weight of 6 1/2 lbs. Both guns have 28" barrels and if you look at the 4th photo you can see the unstruck weights as 3lb 7oz for the 0 grade and 3lb 12oz for the grade 2. Interestingly I have a 1 frame 0 grade 12ga with 28" barrels that fall right between these two at 3lbs 10oz. 5oz lighter barrels, lightened frame and 1/2" shorter stock, probably about a half pound lighter. I'll try to get them on the scale and verify this weekend.

I have 55348 which was ordered the last day of 1888....maybe it was a New Year's Eve present... ..so your guns came along quite a bit later. Of course mine has invisible hammers.

The Parker serialization book shows all these guns probably started production in 1888. Its my understanding that they were assigned serial numbers when they started production. I find it curious that 55427 remained in stock until 1893. The stock book for these guns is missing but it appears that 16 ga hammer guns were made in production runs from just a few to as many as twenty at a time. Guess they were just added to inventory until an order came in. Or maybe they started a production run when they received enough orders. Your hammers aren't invisible, just concealed. Although I prefer visible hammers they're all nice. I also have two 16 ga 0 frame GHs, one with straight toplever one with fishtail. Both damascus.

Well, if they're concealed I can't see them, and that makes them invisible!

Ha Ha Ha flawless reasoning Greg. But......if I close my eyes I can't see the hammers on my hammer guns but that don't make em invisible!! Just for the sake of elevating this cerebral discussion to the next level. If we accept that the Bros. Parker and their designers and marketing folks were the authorities on the subject then using their terminology "Hammerless" the real question is not if the hammers are invisible or merely concealed but whether or not they in fact actually exist........?

Parker used what
 

Ment to start new thread sorry.

parker used what
 

What would of been the load Parker would of used for parrering a 1886 10 bore? Drams of Black and ozs of shot. OK I could of sworn I hit the new thread icon. One reason we need to be able to delete stuff.

You get a year out of a new car? :shock: Man what am I doing wrong? I'm lucky to get a month.:rotf:

Here are the numbers

Grade 0 #55437

Weight - 6lb, 8oz (matches the research letter)

Weight with fitted Briley 28ga tubes installed - 7lb, 3oz

Unstruck weight on barrel flats - 3lb, 7oz

Actual weight of barrels & forend - 3lb, 5oz

Grade 2 #55427

Weight - 7lb, 2oz

Unstruck weight on barrel flats - 3lb, 12oz

Actual weight of barrels & forend 3lb, 11oz

So ten ounces difference between the two guns. Interestingly my #1 frame 0 grade 12ga toplever gun weighs 6lb,11oz. Three ounces less than the 0 frame grade 2 16ga! The LOP is only 13.25" so with a slip-on recoil pad it comes in even. So with the tubes installed in 55437 only one ounce difference between the three guns. Total hammer gun interchangability!