D 4
 

I just picked up a D 4 lifter on Saturday.Serial book says it is a C grade.
I then the same day found an English side lock with ejectors and some grand
receiver engraving . I am now on my way to Arizona with no time to take a good look at either gun.
The parker has 28" brls that have been cold blued so I really can't see the Damascus very well.The engraving is in great shape,
,skeleton butt plate,12 ga., checkering is still pretty good and bore pretty good.I think the serial # is 15779 but that is from memory. serial book says pistol grip butt stock ,the gun has a straight stock that looks right and fits right
with a skeleton butt plate.

The English side lock has some nice engraving and ejectors and nice wood for an English gun.It is a Birmingham gun. Made by Wilkenson I think
Can anyone give me some more info on this nice lifter,I know the serial book says there were 240 C grades made but that spans quite a few years.How many D 4 's were made? and why are they called C grades or do I have that all mixed up? I am confused but that is nothing new for me when discussing Parkers.
One more thing I was recently offered an early Parker [first year of production]
3000 serial range,wedge at forend,skeleton butt,and extra nice bolsters ,It is a little ruff, the price was $400 and I passed on it ,Is the fact that it is an early gun add much value? Thanks to all for any info you might be able to help me with. Herb

Without pictures, I'm guessing that D4 if on the barrel flats may be the type of Damascus used. Sounds like a great gun.

Please tell us what stamps are evident on the barrel flats when you get to examine the gun again.

During the roughly 3 years that Parker made their own Laminated steel barrels, and your serial number falls right in there, they made only four Grade 4 guns with those barrels.
We have found that a number of these guns are recorded as Damascus barreled but actually have the Laminated barrels. If yours is one of these few it will likely have a P stamp where the barrel steel mark goes, otherwise it will have the D stamp likely with a 4 above it.



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Look at the topic near this one called "Getting excited". It shows a picture of a set of the laminate barrels nearing completion of refinishing and a picture of the flats of the barrels as recieved. You can see the P in the second picture, but it often not really prominent due to the location on the flats and how they were originally polished and finished. Also, on the top rib you should find the type of steel for the barrel. If the P is there and the barrel top rib is marked Laminated, you have a winner. If it says Laminated but you can't find the P, I would still bet cleaning the barrels would reveal the Parker barrels on a Grade 4 gun.

Herb,

That sounds like a wonderful higher grade lifter. I am hopping you will post pictures when you have a chance. Looking forward to hearing more about it.

On you other question about that 3000 serial number gun. That sounds like a nice one too. That is not the first year of production thought, a 3000 serial number gun was made in 1874. I have 3 guns in the 3000 serial number range they a nice examples of early Parker lifters. At $400 I would have already bought it no mater how rough it was...

The early guns do have the squared breach vs. the later radiused breach that came along around the 13000 serial number range(I believe). The squared breach is not as strong(and there were/are examples of cracked frames) though I shoot RST and appropriate reloads in mine. I also like all of the early Parker lifters including the back actions so my value of them may be higher than others...

Quick Edit...the gun in my Avatar is a 3000 serial number Parker

My first hammer was a C grade lifter that is recorded as a "P" grade in the serialization book. It's a righteous C as it has all the attributes of a C hammer gun. It is a 30" #3 frame 10 on a ball grip. It weighs a ton. The muzzle wall thickness is in the range of schedule 40 pipe.

c grade
 

Thanks all who have replied,I could kick myself for not bringing the C grade with me on this camping trip to Arizona. I will be gone 2 months and now am anxious to send some pictures to you all that certainly know more about Parker's than I will ever know. I am trying to buy the other Parker ,long distance Maine to Arizona and stand a fair chance of doing it.More about that later. Hey maybe a Parker pages story about the follies of being an amateur collector and sometimes getting yourself in way over your head.