Top lever travel
 

When closing the gun, with the top lever captured and then eased back to lock the gun, the top lever stops a little right of center. If the gun is snapped shut, without retarding the top lever, the lever ends up in the center and open the gun again is difficult to do. The linkage for the top lever and bolt embeds itself further into the frame and binds on the way back out.

The bolt is not loose and seems straight. This is my first Parker, so I do not know typical behavior, but I'm surprised that over penetration is allowed. I don't know if allowing the top lever to snap shut is wrong or not. Either way, is this normal for the innards to wedge themselves like this?

It is likely that the gun will snapped shut by somebody. When that happens, I think that the action should not be so hard to open.

It may help to point out that this is a 1906, and it has the insert in the barrel for the bolt to rest on. That surface is completely flat as it was when I got gun.

If it is completely flat, as you say, it needs some work. On a 1906 Parker the bolt and bite were designed with a specific taper to prevent the bolt from jamming on the bite and to allow for full contact even as the two metal surfaces wore against each other. It needs to have the proper taper put back into both pieces.





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The drawings I have seen of the bolt and ledge presents as flat for this year of Parker. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong picture. If I am, what's the taper supposed to be?

In The Parker Story on pages 96, 130, and 141 the history of the bolt and corresponding bite surface is discussed. In 1905 the mortised and pinned (replaceable wear plate) were patented and put into use in all Parker shotguns and even earlier guns which were sent in for any kind of service were fitted with the 1905 design.

I didn't find any reference to the angle but I seem to remember someone, maybe Dave Suponski (a machinist by profession), saying the angle was something like 3.5 or 4 degrees.

Perfectly flat mating surfaces wouldn't cause the bolt to become stuck but an angle of less than the proscribed degree could cause jamming.







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Smoking the ledge shows a pretty nice fit with the underside of the bolt. When closing the gun gently, as described at the beginning, all is smooth and wonderful. Snapping shut is likely not advised, but it happens. When it does, it feels like the bolt linkages are over-traveling and becoming wedged somewhat and then hard to extract by working the top lever again. I get that one answer is not to snap the gun shut, but if that does happen, is it normal for a Parker's bolt to overtravel in this way? I've never handled another Parker, so I don't know. The Foxes in the family don't do this, so I'm looking to learn about the expected behavior of the Parker.

Try lubricating the surface of the bite plate.

Actually, Parker advised snapping the gun shut to allow for a better locking of the barrels by wedging the bolt tighter on the bite.





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The 1905-1909 style wear plates were offered both ways. Straight and tapered. I have observed more that were straight.

If this is the same gun that you just put back on face your gun may be fitted a little tight. It may be self correcting with use and lubrication. Just a thought.

Happy to do what Parker suggested. If it really snaps strongly, it's wedged and takes too much effort at the first to get it unwedged. Once that initial difficulty is felt it's smooth and normal.

Should the nose of the bolt come in contact with the space between the bite and the wall at the back of the bite?