Curious about this plate
 

Hello everyone,
I have an unexpected new piece for my collection. Parkers seem to be coming out of the woodwork lately- much to my delight. Today I acquired what was described as an "entry level" Parker, which was very amusing to me when I heard it put that way. It's a 12 gauge, Vulcan Steel, Grade 0, 1904.
It definitely doesn't have any frills, but it's endearing none-the-less. However, there are a couple of things that I've not seen before and I've no doubt that the knowledge base on this sight will know what's what about it. The buttplate is unfamiliar to me, and the marks on the lug are strange. It's a fun piece, if nothing else, for an entry level :)
Thank you in advance!

Never seen anything like that on the lug Kerilynn, and butt plate not a Parker plate, but reproduction plates are available. The rest of the gun looks to be in decent shape.

Thanks Harold!

The plate is a common type of universal aftermarket plate that was available at one time. I have a bunch of them in my “junk” drawer. I think it may have been something that bishop offered.
I also do not think the buttstock is original to the gun.

The pin punch marks on the bottom of the barrel lug was some hacks attempt at tightening up the fit of the barrels in that area. I could show you some wowsa examples of this type of work. Also in the junk drawers.

The punch marks on the lug may be someones attempt to "peen" the sides of the lug out a few thousandths of an inch. Normally this is seen on the sides of the lug around the edge of the "hook" in an effort to take up slack resulting in an "off face" condition. I have never seen the sides of the lug peened like this, and the punch marks are farther apart than you would expect if expanding the width of the lug was the goal. Or, it could be something entirely different. Just a guess.

what is the barrel length? Does the butt plate have the widows peak--I would think not. I am sure others will way in

Thanks everyone. Barrels are 28”. Stock seemed off but I don’t own any of this type so I wasn’t going to guess. Someone already told me that didn’t look original and given the state of the gun I believed that was more than an educated guess. This was given to me so I have no investment here, it’s just a fun piece for me. I’ll never be accused of not appreciating the gift of a Parker :)

Looks like the butt-plate says "Herters" in the cartouche by the lower screw.

You can't argue with the price. Looks halfway decent in any event and not something I'd be embarrassed to shoot

Thanks Mills- my thoughts exactly (except I don't shoot them, I'm ok with a 9mm but I that's pretty much where my skill set ends :)