12 gauge hammergun
 

These are photos that I have taken of a gun that has been in my wifes' family for a long time. It supposedly belonged to her great grandfather who was the bishop for the Episcopal church in the Montana Territories.
As you can see it's not in great shape. Was in her brothers basement for years, and fathers before that. My brother in law gave it to me about 3 years ago. Serial# 26218 I've included a shot of the forearm with his name stamped in it-S.D. Hooker. Same family that the prostitutes won their moniker from following the troops in the Civil War.

The barrels don't appear to have a dolls head. Do they have the same serial number as the receiver? The number will be on the right side of the barrel lugs. David

The dolls head has been broken off. Numbers match on all parts.

The dolls head can be repaired by a competent gunsmith and if the gun checks out it could be returned to service. Nice example of early Parker, Congratulations! David

Any recommendations for a gunsmith out west? Or should I consider sending it back east? Any idea ballpark of what I could expect to pay for that repair?

Any repair to the dolls head that would return the gun to original condition would be ridiculously expensive. The dolls head is not a neccesary part of the function of the gun. Many Parkers are made at the factory without dolls heads and work just fine. Fill in the void in the receiver with shaped black epoxy, a hand made steel piece, or leave it empty.

This is a gun that I feel would need to be looked at by a competent (Parker) gunsmith before I would consider shooting it.. There are a couple relatively small dents in the barrels that are visible from inside as well as out, and there is a small amount of movement in the action when closed. Any recommendations of where to go with this? I am in Utah.

Unless you want to receive a bill that is out of proportion to the value of the gun, send it to Keith Kearcher in Bend, Oregon. He will do as little or as much as you wish.

Hello Fred. Nice heirloom! Would you believe that I have #26459. Quite a coincidence in light of our last 2 weeks correspondence! It was shipped Nov. 13, 1982.

Tony

Shipping date error! 1882