Parker DHE 14 gauge advice
 

I recently purchased a DHE 14 gauge with damascus barrels. The barrels are in good condition with a few minor dents. The forarm iron is mis-matched to the gun. The stock needs refinsished and the metal has no finish remaining. Question: How rare is this gun and will it be worth having it professionally restored? A restore will cost me $3500 to $4000 plus.

Marty:A true 14 Gauge DHE would be almost unheard of IMHO. We would need clear pictures of the gun and the markings to render an honest opinion. I would think twice about restoration: 1. It may not enhance the value proporionate to the cost and 2. $3,500 - $4,000 seems a bit too much for a complete restoration.

Best Regards, George

12 made per TPS. We showed one at the 2010 Pheasant Fest in Des Moines.

I think there is always a small and limited market for these odd gauges. A person needs to find the right buyer who doesn't care about the difficulty finding cartridges but wants to fill out an all gauge collection.

Brother Day is exactly right in his assessment. DH Parkers are very common. The gun's extra value, if any, is solely in being a 14 gauge. As far as "restoration", were it my gun, I would simply send the barrels off to Dale Edmonds to have the dents removed and be redone in black & white, make sure the incorrect fore end fits properly (whether you have it renumbered to the gun is up to you...) The gun will be worth the same then as it would be if you had a full blown restoration. I have lots of D grades. Only two are "fully restored". I regret restoring both of them but they do look nice.:rolleyes: Good Luck with your gun.

A good thing about having a 14 gauge shotgun is that your buddies won't mooch shells. I switched to 16 gauge so Joe Wood would stop mooching mine and then he started buying 16 gauge guns.

Come to think of it I might be interested in the gun. I bet it would take Joe several years to find another 14 gauge.

Best,

Mike

Mike,

Problem is, it would take you several years to find shells. Of all the oddball gauges, the only two that there are no factory loads produced for anymore are 11 and 14 gauge.


Destry

Of course I was trying to be funny but Rocky Mountain Cartridge Company sells all-brass 14 gauge hulls $60/10 should Marty pursue getting the gun in shooting condition:

http://www.rockymountaincartridge.com/Price_List.pdf

There are 14ga paper shells out there too but damn hard to find!

Could you post some pictures of your new DHE. I'd bet I'm not the only one who would like to see it. SN?
BTW, there was a guy selling a bunch of 14 brass cases at a local show. If you're interested, I'll dig up his contact info.

Bruce and others make a good point that there would be a "small and limited market" for a 14 gauge D-grade hammerless. I don't think Eric has one yet and I know he has an exceptionally nice Damascus DH collection.
As has been stated ammo would be the problem - cost of shells and problems reloading them... I don't think anyone makes reloading equipment for the 14 ga.