Laminated steel Parker
 

I bought this gun from Brian Dudley and had Breck Gorman refinish the barrels. I have yet to refinish the stocks and fix a couple cracks. In the end should be a really nice gun. I got a super solid gun for a great price to start with and just have to admire the laminated barrels Breck refinished to high contrast.

I understand the color contrast of laminated barrels to be: black parts are steel and the silver parts are iron. Do I have that right?

I normally don’t ever refinish the metal on guns, yet make an exception for “Damascus” barrels (we used to call all non-steel barrels Damascus).

Another thing about this gun is that it retains 90 percent case color on the lock plates and less on the frame, is that typical for a Parker hammer gun?

Yes you have the iron and steel coloration correct and it is typical that the lock plates retain their color far better than the frame but I don’t know why.

And yes, Breck does a phenominal job of refinishing barrels.



.

The metalwork cleaned up great as I thought it would.

I use a pure copper penny to rub rust away. I've never had that affect remaining blueing or colors at all. This gun got an external preliminary cleaning so far.

Brian sold you a beautiful gun, it’s gorgeous!

Might consider getting a letter.

This is a nine pound seven ounce gun, which I like for the recoil in a gun I won’t take grouse hunting through the willows. It seems to me a majority of 1890-1941 guns were probably duck guns based on the fact heavy guns and full chokes seem to be the most common.

Have any of the members ever looked into what percentage of Parker guns were made as duck guns vs. upland guns?

It seems that light guns with open chokes are harder to find.

I would contend that maybe 1/4 to 1/3 of Parkers made in that period might have been dedicated waterfowl guns. Other heavy, larger gauge in 12 & 10 gauge might have been for pheasant, sage grouse, prarie chickens, deer with buckshot... and the like.
And I think the small bore lighter guns are certainly not in the minority but are harder to find because folks aren't as willing to part with them.





.

Good points, Dean. I kind of pictured heavy 12 and 10 gauge as waterfowl guns, I hadn’t thought about pheasant or deer use for them. I was leaning toward the idea a 7-7 1/2 pound 12 gauge was probably what pheasant/prairie hunters used because of all the walking and carrying vs. a duck blind. Vintage guns offered for sale now likely don’t represent actual production/use back then.

One exception to heavy/tightly choked vintage guns I’ve run into is that a higher percentage of 12 gauge Colt 1883 shotguns offered seem to have light barrels and be light guns, even if tightly choked.

When I was growing up, I normally carried heavy 12 gauge guns and it didn't take all day to harvest a limit of ringnecks in southern Pennsylvania. The time in the field is the difference between then and now.