Early Parker lifter

[Alex B]

Hello folks
I registered on the forum several days ago and have been exposed to a mountain of Parker Brothers information. I am retired and live in SE Fla - Martin County.
I have a Parker double barrel, external hammers, lifter, 12 gauge with 28” barrels, serial number 2098. A bit of history. I remember this shotgun as a kid in the early 50’s. I was told it belonged to my grandfather who left it to my uncle. My Dad was custodian as my uncle stayed in the Air Corps after WWll and Korea. He took possession in mid 60’s. In early 70’s my uncle passed it on to me. The stock was cracked pretty bad up by the receiver. I was told it fell from a wall mounted display. The shotgun has spent the last 50 yrs in the back of several gun safes.
I reviewed the associations information and found what seems to be some differences on this shotgun. According to the serial number it was made in 1874 yet it has the King forend latch with the April 1876 patent stamp. The forend also has the serial number stamped on it. The serial number 2098 is on four different pieces. It has Damascus barrels.
I will try to attached some photos.

[Harold Pickens]

Nice lifter, looking forward to seeing the responses from more knowledgeable members.

[Alex B]

More photos

[Researcher]

What issue of Parker Pages has Ron Kirby's article on F.9.R.?

[B. Dudley]

What a nice gun to have. A graded lifter is a thing of beauty.
The gun would have been upgraded to the patent latch by the factory at a later point than originally made. It would have had the keyed forend originally.

I would order a letter for the gun if there is information on it. There may be record of the return for the work as well.

I have seen examples of this before.

It looks like your stock head has some issues and the lock plates are working their way back which has caused the issues with the wood. If the barrels are sound and shootable, it still should not be shot much in order to preserve the stock head.

[Dean Romig]

Brian’s right. The 4-pin lock plates indicate it is very likely to be a predecessor to the Grade-3 or later, the D grade.





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[Larry the Gun Guy]

So, you know you have a first year of production Parker. The Parker Gun Identification & Serialization book lists it on page 66 as a 0 (Zero) grade gun, but obviously with the engraving it has it is a higher grade, as was suggested earlier. The information for this gun does say it was made with 32" barrels and that it is a 12 gauge. If you want some of the issues fixed with this gun, the most obvious choice is the person that chimed in talking about its beauty, Brian Dudley. There are very few people in the US that can do it justice. I would NOT trust others with its care. Good luck and keep us posted; seriously.

[Alex B]

Larry, thank you for the information and kind words.

Brian Dudley, thank you. Yes the association listed there was info on the gun and I am following that up. The shotgun appears operable but I would not shoot it now because of the stock. As I said earlier the gun reportedly fell from a wall display. The stock is cracked pretty bad. You can see some of the cracks in the photographs.

Any other info you gentlemen have is greatly appreciated. Thanks again.