8 Guage 1888 Hammer Gun
 

Here are some pictures of my Great-grandfathers Parker 8 guage. Obviously the stock is broken, over the head of a coyote in a trap 75 years ago. I would like to get it repaired, any recomendations to a quality professional would be appreciated. The wood box in the pictures has been with the gun as long as anyone can remember, the gun fits perfectly, so it was either built for the gun or came with it from Parker Brothers, Maybe? My grandfather was born in 1902 and he said it was with the gun when he was a young boy, but didn't know if it was original equipment, he passed in 1994. I also have all the tools needed to reload shells and I have at least a hundred of the brass shells in various lengths also. Any guess on the value of the gun?

Casey,

Looks like a great project gun. To learn more about Parker guns, I would encourage you to join the PGCA. It is a great group and well worth the $40 membership.

There are just a few qualified gunsmiths to fix the wood on your gun to a high level. You might consider Brad Bachelder- he is a PGCA member and a highly regarded gunsmith.

Beautiful gun Casey. here's the link to Brad. He's one of the best..
http://www.bacheldermastergunmakers....s/Welcome.html

I may be wrong, but ten pound barrels are about the heaviest I have seen. It should have 36" barrels.

About Brad Bachelder,,,,,he completely restored a C grade Bernard steel Parker,that was a basket case,,,,,,,and WOW WHAT A JOB!!!!!! EXCELLENT RESULTS.

gun - case -accessories and the story

wow

very nice piece of family history.

Casey, could you tell us the frame size.... the number is on the center lug to the right in your 2nd picture.
Great gun and piece of family history. Looks like a 7
Bob

Great gun! What makes it extra special is the story and history behind it.. You can never put a price tag on that...

The lug has a '7' stamped on it. The check hook lug has some different machine work done to it. My 1886 vintage 3 frame 10 gauge is not like that. Is it unique?

36 and 3/16 inches to be exact, and they are very heavy. I remember when I was just a kid I was not able to hold the gun to my shoulder and aim it.

The frame size is a 7 and as far as unique machining or unique gun I have no idea. Tomorrow I'm going to send in a research letter request. I'm very curious what they can tell me about it.

Bill,
My 38" 7 frame has has a barrel marking of 10 9. It is about 400 serial numbers higher than this one. I think that the wooden case is very nice.
Dave Wolfe of Waco TX is also someone who could fix the stock on this gun.
Jeff

A seven frame with 36 and 38 inch barrels that alone weigh 10 lbs... how much do entire gun weigh?? 14-15 lbs??

First, I love to hold one in hand... Second, I'd really like to shoot one some day.

Well Frank.... you're certainly the man to do it! That's something I'd like to see.

If there was ever a gun worthy of restoration, this would have to be it. Many (myself included) get weak in the knees over the small bores, but there is something about this gun that really talks.
Kind of reminds me of those huge armorers models of the 1917 Brownings, only this one is the real deal.

Assuming a well deserved and worthwhile restoration, were it mine, I would also be tempted to book a wildfowling trip to the UK, where I believe you may still use an 8 bore,

the logic being if you can only shoot a certain number of duck what matter is it what they are shot with.

the one British gun law I can agree with.

My gun weighs 15 1/4 lbs. I have posted this picture before.

Jeff,
I put mine on the kitchen scale and it showed it weighed 16 lbs. I don't know how mine with shorter barrels would weigh less, maybe the wood is heavier or the scale isn't perfect. The barrels alone weighed a just a bit less than 10 lbs. Very interesting...

I am planning to get the stock professionally repaired so that I can shoot it someday. Hasn't been fired since the 70's. Kind of a right of passage in my family.

16 lbs... what a beast. What's the heaviest Parker ever recorded??

Jeff's gun also has factory 4" chambers as I recall. It is one of a pair, different grades but identical features, again, as I recall.

Has the check hook lug been repaired, or reinforced, with an insert of some sort? Is it something done to extremely heavy barrels to prevent the hook from breaking off?

Casey, I have looked in every Parker catalog I can find and have not found your exact case. However, the pictures and descriptions of the walnut cases are not very descriptive. Don't let the gun get away from the case, because closer inspection by a Parker expert may turn up some more evidence of originality. I have only seen one original Parker eight gauge case and it is a leather case, not wood like yours. Dave Wolf in Waco, Texas may be your best bet for a good stock repair. If you ship the back end to him, the insurance should be at least five or six grand.

I wonder if Casey's barrels were machined to add the check hook feature. Either at the factory or possibly later. Very interesting..

Austin Hogan is one who knows a bit about the transition from round lug to check hook. Maybe he could comment about whether a factory conversion from one to another is a possibility. A picture of the lug on the gun in question would help a lot. A picture from the side and from the bottom would be sufficient.

Check Hook Lifter Action
 

The check hook lifters are made on a longer frame, almost interchangeable with the top action frame.

Best Austin

Thanks Austin. It looks like we're back to needing pictures to decide what we have here. Apparently, a conversion to "check hook" is not likely since they were two different frames.

Okay...How about this scenerio...Those heavy weight barrels damaged the check hook pocket in the barrels and it was repaired. Maybe I think to much...ya we need pictures.

Well I've gotten some more pictures taken. Had no idea I would get things "stirred up". It's great though, I love talking about my gun. As far as I know the gun has never been returned to Parker. If you'll notice the hook in the middle has a piece broken off of it, I never noticed it before.

It makes perfect sense that when those monstrous barrels are stopped short by the pin in the frame with no resistance to their momentum other than the hook... something's gotta give! It sure looks like a factory repair and the method of repair possibly taken from the 1910 replacable locking plate on the barrel lug.

It is not a fatal flaw. There is at least one gunsmith who knows how to saw the barrel stop (check hook) from the barrel assemby and reattach a newly milled check hook to the barrel assembly. However, it looks like yours is working fine now. PM me if you need to know how to address the problem if it actually becomes a problem.

Oh yea, I measured the chambers and got 3-1/4", is that typical?

these old 8 s are the best....wish my barrels weighed 10 lbs i think mine were 8 lbs 14 ouncxe before somebody took a hacksaw to them.. theres even some tens out there with heavier barrels than mine...both of the guns shown aretruly something to be proud of...i could talk 8 ga all nite....charlie

Yes, 3 1/4" chambers are typical although Parker Brothers blueprints may specify 3 1/8" since they usually drill chambers 1/8" shorter than the shells the gun is meant to use.

What a great story, thanks for sharing. I have never seen an 8ga wow. what a cannon.

Nice gun!

I have a Parker 10 gauge hammer gun with a broken stock with Jim Kelly in Darlington, SC. He is supposed to be really good, but this is my first time using him and I just dropped the gun off. His number is 843 393-3931. He does a lot of stock work.

Well Mills: You'll be more than happy with Jim's work. He is the best IMHO. He restocked Bo-Whoop if that's any help.

Best Regards, George

That is how I first heard about him. It was a challenging job (stock was broken and there was a previous bad repair), but can't wait to see the results. The gun was all original otherwise