Parker 1890 Vintage

[Fredrick M White]

http://youtu.be/ddjJDCxyr7E

Greetings,
I'm brand new to the site and joined because I just brought back a Parker shotgun from Arkansas. It belonged to my great grandfather William (Will) White who was a U.S. Marshal in and around Tennessee, Oklahoma and Arkansas area.
I looked up the serial number 61982 and it was made in 1890. The frame size is 1, barrel weight is 4.4 and barrel is twist. I think it is a Grade 1 but instead of a PH it is simply stamped "P". There is no checkering on the butt stock. It has a silver badge on the bottom edge of the stock.
I'd classify this gun is a "wall hanger" as it has a badly broken stock that's been repared several times. My dad said last time he loaded it, both barrels fired when he closed the action and he never used it again after that.

Can anyone confirm the Grade of this gun? I've provided photos. Thanks.

[OH Osthaus]

the H is not stamped, it simply designates hammerless

there are numbers and letters used to represent the same grade.

from the home page you will find a link on the left for Parker Identification

"The Grade 1 gun designation started in 1882.As Parker introduced the named grades they named Grade 1 guns I, K, L, M, N, O. P, Q, NH and PH. The PH and NH describes Grade 1 hammerless Parkers, the other names describe Grade 1 hammer guns. "

[Pa SxS]

Fred, it's a PH and should have 32" Twist barrels. If the barrels are sound, it could be brought back to shootable condition, all it takes is money! The firing upon closing, if I had to guess, is due to the repairs to the stock head or gummed up internals.

[charlie cleveland]

boy if your old gun could talk...sounds like your grandfather would have some good storeys to tell also...you should be very proud to own this old gun it should be worth more than gold to you...i m very partial to old things so heres my opinion...get the old gun to shooting safely...fix the old stock but leave the metal that is attached to wood...you do not want to change the apperance in any way...but it can be fixed to shoot safely again and the stock can be fixed and the looks of stock can be left as it is now... believe me i have and old 8 ga that was in lots worse shape than your gun and i got the old gun to shooting again...my stock is fixed like your gun but somebody added copper wire and then about a pound of siver soilder on it... i had no cost in repair other than lots of time...it can still be a wall hanger but one you can get off the wall and shoot safely from time to time.... charlie

[Fredrick M White]

Thanks everyone for your kind comments! I did use the rating system on the site to figure out what gun I have:
Grade 1 guns I, K, L, M, N, O. P, Q, NH and PH. The PH and NH describes Grade 1 hammerless Parkers, the other names describe Grade 1 hammer guns.)
but it says PH and NH are hammerless, the others describe hammered guns and this one does not have hammers. Also the barrels are 28". My dad said he'd been told the barrels had been cut down twice before but the muzzle end looks right from factory with the sight bead intact!

[Pa SxS]

Your gun has hammers, they are just internal and not visible from the outside. The rib matting should terminate just short of the end of the rib leaving a small blank area just short of the end of the rib. You could take a picture of the end of the top rib and also of the muzzles. Cutting off 4" should take all the choke out of the barrels and the barrels should not touch at the muzzle.

[Fredrick M White]

Here are 4 photos of the muzzle of this shotgun. Can you tell if it has been sawed off?http://youtu.be/wwH_tpP6ces

[Bill Chadwick]

Parker Gun Identification & Serialization says #61982 has PT (Grade O with plain twist barrels), H (Hammerless-meaning no external hammers), O (No extras), C (Straight Stock), BO (12 guage bore), LE (32"-barrel length). What part of Arkansas did great grandpaw live in? I use to travel all over and still go to Berryville some for the State Muzzleloading Championships.