Rediscovered Old Parker
 

Hello, all, and thank you for all of the great information in this forum and on the site. Over the weekend, I was reexamining some guns inherited from my grandfather and realized that one of the guns is an early Parker. I entered the serial number (01157) into the PGCA search, and it told me the gun is likely pre-1874. I believe it is a 12 gauge with 30" barrels. It seems to be in fairly nice shape for a gun of that age. There is rust and wear, but the only major damage appears to be a left hammer with the top broken off. The action is smooth and the barrels tight.

I'm posting some (poor) photos I took with my phone so you all can have a look. I'm interested in restoring it but don't know the first place to start. Appreciate any advice.
Thanks,
Jeff

Additional Photos
 

Some photos of the identifying info...
Jeff

There is something I really like about early back-actions.

what part of the country are you located? There may be some folks near you that could give good advice, a good hands on evaluation would help. How are the bores?

The straight stock with back action locks is very sleek looking. How do the bores look? A Frontier pad and some solvent would go a long way toward waking this sleeper.

big45metalcleaner.com

You're a lucky man, Jeff. Your gun looks to be in remarkably good shape. GO SLOW. Avoid abrasives. Lots of good intentions turn out to be irreversible. You'll find all sorts of tips and tricks to bring your gun back, right here.
One more word of caution; you're going to find yourself looking at the classifieds, and spending the egg money on more Parkers. Like old age, it's an illness you'll have to learn to live with. No one is even working on a cure.

I'm in NE Ohio, Harold. I plan to take a closer look at the bores this evening and will report back.

I've had a hard time thinking of much else since I got this gun out to take a closer look! It was actually my grandfather's grandfather's gun. The last thing I want to do is anything that would damage the gun. I plan to just start with some patches and solvents to clean up the bores and action a bit. I'll keep exploring this site for tips and welcome any advice.

Jeff, I'm located just south of Youngstown in Columbiana, here in NE OH. Where are you located? I'd be happy to catch up with you sometime to take a look at this discovery, if you'd like. And Kenny Graft, who owns Shooting Star Gun Shop in New Middleton, is a great source of information on these old beauties.

Dave

I sure hope my grandson gets that excited when he gets my grandpas JC Higgins 12ga pump gun with cut barrels. I once killed 5 Quail on the covey rise with it. Congratulations Jeff.