Chris;
As I said, the SN book recorded the gun as having 26" bbls. as originally built.
Dean;
The "serious buyers ONLY!" command came from the dealer when I asked to take the forend off the gun and examine the rest of the gun. The dealer explained that he had the forend off one of his guns broken in half when the "inspector' put the forend back on the gun and used the (to me) "goose bump" method of whacking the forend back in place with the heel of his hand, breaking it in half. My intent was to check the SN of the barrels to see if they matched the rest of the gun, but of course lost interest at his command.
I must add that at no time did either Chuck or myself make any disparaging remarks regarding the discrepancies on any of the guns to the dealer, respecting the PGCA Code of Conducts caveats regarding inspecting any Parker; never cut another's gun down as to originality or pricing, nor specuulate as to pricing vs. relative worth either as a shooter or as a collector. These particulars were laid down years ago as to the conduct of PGCA members examining Parker Guns, and we were careful to observe and respect them.
Later on, when I had checked the statistics in the Parker Gun SN book, I thanked the dealer, kept my counsel, and moved on.
I was most suspicious of the gun not having the original barrels on it when I saw the replaced extractor fitting as described earlier, but the owner objected so I did not do so.
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