New member from Knoxville
 

Hello all. I joined this forum several years ago and posted some pictures of my inherited Parker, but it appears my thread was lost when the forum moved servers.

I live in Knoxville, TN and have inherited a Parker G grade 12 gauge from my grandfather. Based on the serial number it was made in 1906, and it also has Damascus barrels. I recall that some one mentioned the stock was not original in my previous thread. I have not requested a letter yet, but it is on my todo list.

My main question is whether there is a knowledgable Damascus gunsmith in East Tennessee who could evaluate my shotgun and let me know the soundness of it.

Since we all love photos, I have attached several below. If anyone would like to fill me in on the barrel markings or any other details, I would very much appreciate it. I know the 3-15 means 3 lb, 15 oz barrels, and the 1 1/2 indicates frame size, but I am not sure about the others. Sorry if any of the photos are unclear, I am not a photographer.

Thanks!

xxx

In my opinion, the buttstock on your GH is not original. Certain things like the shape of the grip, cheek panels and comb are hints to this. Also, the butt does not look to have enough curve to it for an original unaltered Dogs Head Buttplate. One thing is for sure... the checkering on the wrist is no where near correct for the grade or any Parker for that matter.

I would not recommend just shooting the barrels with modern over the counter shells without getting the wall thickness and bores checked out. Chances are there are no issues with them, but the only way to know for sure is to have them checked out with the proper equipment.

I can also say that your barrels have been blued at one time long ago.

Thanks Brian. You are correct, the butt plate is just plain, without the dogs head or any markings at all.

Will the reblued barrels have any effect on the strength of the metal? To be honest, I am much more interested in being able to hunt with it versus having a perfect condition gun.

My grandfather used this gun to hunt ducks in the marshes just south of Boston. He told me he used it with nitro for a quite a while but eventually the Damascus rumors got to him. He would get nervous and turn his head and close his eyes every time he fired so he switched to his "newer" (mid-1940s) shotguns to keep hunting. He told me all this in the mid 2000s but I don't know when he stopped hunting, which is why I would like to get the barrels checked out.

Based on what I see on the barrel flats and lugs, it looks to me like it was either rust blued or cold blued. So, there would not have been any compromising of the solder joints. All that would have been done is polishing. So, as long as they were not over polished, there should be no issues. That is where checking out the wall thickness is important.

Brian: Thanks for your input. It's amazing to me that you are able to see these details and describe your observations so well. Bob

Thanks for the info Brian. I agree with Bob, it is incredible the details you can ascertain from small and bad pictures.

Any one know what the 3 over D and the C on the barrel flats indicate?

The D represents Damascus and the 3 represents 3-iron crolle.

We don't know for certain what the C represents, though there have been many speculative suggestions.

you ve got a nice shooter there it lookjs to me...please get barrels checked out...your lucky to have your grandpa s gun and also him getting to tell you what he hunted with it...i shoot damascus all time...charlie

Thanks Dean. I did some searching but only found a mention of the C being a possible inspectors mark. Are there other ideas?

Charlie, I am excited about getting this all checked out and taking it out in the woods. Just seems a shame to let it sit in safe when it looks like it wants to be working. Like having a Ferrari and leaving it parked in the garage all the time.