Grandfather's Parker. Any info/help would be appreciated. Photos!
 

Hi everyone,

One of my grandfathers passed away last year and I received his Parker SXS. It has sat in a gun cabinet until recently when I purchased a CZ Ringneck SXS to get into shooting a SXS for skeet, 5 stand, pheasants and grouse and became more interested in the Parker. I don't know much about the gun or its value but I have seen similar ones going for 5,000 at auctions. I do not plan on selling it and would like to shoot it eventually. Most of the screws are ruined, and also the buttpad screws are missing. I have found replacement screws online and was wondering what anyone thinks about having the stock refinished, rebrown the barrels, etc... and if it is worth it. Here is some info on it:

Serial # 111805
Year = 1902
Frame Size = 2 (12 Gauge)
Grade = DH Grade 3? (It has a D and a 3 above the D on the water table.)
* I also read that this is the Lowest Grade of Custom
It is Hammerless double trigger with Damascus barrels

This gun has been worked on or at least tampered with and by looking at it I would give it a C or poor condition. But maybe you guys can give me your opinion. The safety is very stiff to push forward and it does shoot. (did not shoot any rounds through it, just pulled triggers) Here are the pictures. Thanks!

Looks like a darn nice D grade trap gun to me. And WELL worth preserving! NOT "restoring." The screws aren't too bad. They can be saved. The wood is fine and needs very little. A new Silver's pad would be right. The shield on the toe line is fascinating. Is it engraved? There could be heritage there.
If the barrels are in good shape, and they appear to be, this gun can still be shot with loads in the 1100 fps range or less.
You have a treasure here. And doubly so because it is a family treasure!
The key is to clean her up. Not "tart her up". Start with a professional strip-and-clean.

Best, Kensal

That is a great gun. Get a letter on it. do nothing except to replace the pad.
The safety may ease up after some use. if not, have it professionally cleaned.
PROFESSIONALLY cleaned.

Do you know where and if so, what exact "Silver's pad" I need? The shield is not engraved.

George,

What will a letter do for me? Thanks.

It would give you original production information as well as indicators what is original and not.
It may give you provenance, etc. It is very valuable.

Nice gun. Leave as is.... A good gunsmith can repair those buggered screws. Do I see a Monte Carlo stock on this D grade?

Dane:
A good 'smith can put a new Silver's pad on it. They are available from Galazan or Silver's in the UK. Don't attempt it yourself. And please don't send that gun to the local "gunsmith." It rates DelGrego, Bachelder, G&H, etc. My choice would be DelGrego. No slight to the others.

What's that hole along the rib in one picture? Does that just go through between the barrel and rib? It almost looks like a hole in the barrel.

It is just a ding/dent like it had been dropped or slid and hit a sharp corner of something.

Many people have told me the stock is not original, do you think the letter would tell me when/if it was replaced?

A Parker research letter will note if the gun was ordered with a Monte Carlo or high comb.

If a repair record exists for a stock replacement it will note that also. A stock replaced at Parker Brothers counts as original to the gun to collectors.

Did Parker make Monte Carlo stocks? Not that I would take the gun apart but would there be markings on it?

Yes. Such stocks were made. The head of this stock looks very original to me. the only odd thing is that the stock oval looks a bit larger than usual... but it could just be the photos/lensing.
A letter on this gun would be WELL worth the investment.

This is a very nice and interesting DH that you have here. Yes it has a few things that need addressing like screws and the pad.
The barrel finish is very nice. Looks like it still has a lot of good black / white contrast remaining. There are not a lot of good photos of the wood, so it is hard to say what it could benefit from in that arena, if anything. Maybe just some finish added and checkering cleaned up. It all depends on how nice you want it.

The pad should be replaced for sure.
The stock very well could be original. It certainly has age to it. If there are factory records on the gun, it would surely say if it was ordered with a Monte Carlo comb. If it was, then excellent! It makes a nice gun even nicer. Parker guns could be special ordered with this feature. You should order a letter for sure if there are records. That way the originality of the stock cannot be questioned.

By the way, the stock oval looks 100% correct to me. And it is retained with 6 nails as it should be.

The factory stamped serial number and the grade letter "3" will be stamped under the guard bow.

Brian, thanks for all the info. I will definatly get a letter. The gun does have the D3 on the water table. Does that mean it came with a Monte Carlo?

No, the D and 3 are the letter and number grade. The Monte Carlo stock looks very original and is a very rare option, indicating it was probably ordered by a competition shooter. The letter may identify that shooter. I will help you figure out who he was and what his claim to fame is. Don't throw the old pad away. A collector may want to have it to bring the gun back to original condition. Allow no modification to the butt that will prevent the old pad from fitting back on. Let us know about your letter.

The trigger guard has some initials on it...

"Monte Carlo" is the name that is given to this type of comb that is relatively flat in drop and then slopes down sharply just before the buttplate or pad.
It is commonly used by trap shooters where a higher comb is wanted, but a lower mounting point on the shoulder is desired. If these type of stocks did not have a Monte Carlo comb, they would end up looking like boat paddles.

The stock appears absolutely original and please heed Bill's advice.

Don't pay much attention to what you see 'similar' D grades selling for. The devil is in the details, and it would appear there may be a lot of details in your gun not apparent to the eye. Condition may trump rarity, but Provenance often trumps condition.

This photo is of a documented Parker factory Monte Carlo comb on a BHE.

It's just speculation, but my thinking is that this gun was made up as a "presentation/prize" type of gun and ordered by some organisation. Possibly for the winner of some prestigious shoot. That's why it would be so much fun to trace its heritage.
One reason I say this is the over-large stock oval. While probably done at Parker, it's about twice the size of a standard D oval. Just right for some dedication to be engraved to the winner of a tourney.

The size of a typical DH or CH stock oval is about 1" in height.

...which is just about the size of the one in question when compared to the size of the grip cap in that picture.

What are you, a mind reader? I was thinking the same thing, but trying to find a program I had that overlays a grid square that has user assignable cell dimensions. I am thinking that my 12 and 16 are pretty different dimensions. When I get my 12 back, I'll measure them.

I have measured 2 DH ovals that I have here in the shop and that is where I got my measurements from. Actually it is about 1-1/16" tall.

The oval on my dh looks like the one on this thread . Brian has it right now. He may be able to compare them. I thought it was some kind of aftermarket oval.

The oval on your gun was one of the ones I measured Wayne. The oval was used on DH guns and CH guns as compared to the shield on lower grades. The oval was silver on DH guns and gold on CH guns.

I thought it was something someone just tacked on there. Its kind of ugley but there are enitials on it. would those have been engraved by parker.

They could have been engraved by Parker if the customer specified it on the order. Or it could have been engraved after the fact.

Sorry Brian - it was Grade 5 (B) and above that had the gold oval or grip cap.

The gun shown on the 1st page is a D grade. I might have to look at it again but it looks gold/bronze to me. Maybe just a weathered silver?

Alot of the guns have a coat of varnish that yellows over time to give that gold/bronze color but they were silver.

Eric- I absolutely agree.

IF you have a proper set of gun smith's screwdrivers, you might try removing the two front screws on your trigger plate and switching them. They have to go back into the hole from which they came in order to be properly aligned. IF you don't have the correct screwdrivers, get a gunsmith to do it for you so you don't bugger them up.

Thanks for the info. One of the screws isnt sitting flush with the plate and maybe that is why.

I stand corrected. I double checked TPS and it does state C grades as having silver ovals, just like D grades. It is hard to remember all of the info that is in there. I might have been confused after recently seeing the JP Hayes presentation CHE, which has a gold grip cap on it.

Born Again Guns
 

You might add Mark Beasland to that list. He has done fine work for me. Nice
heirloom gun!