Help with a hammerless double barrel teardown

[Chris Wren]

I recently inherited a Parker double barrel hammerhead shotgun. Serial number puts it built in 1918 (1820xx). I am trying to inspect and figure out all of the specifics of this unit, but I cannot separate the barrel from the breach. The breach opens, and ejects shells, but unlike my Remington double barrel, the barrels do not rotate far enough to separate. It feels like it hits a stop. I have removed the grip on the front. If you look at the technical page, it feels like the pivot pin infront of "check hook T" and "pin E" (looking at figure 8) is not allowing the barrels to rotate far enough to clear Check Hook T from Pin E.

I have attached a photo of how far I can open the shotgun.

Any ideas what could be stopping me from separating the barrels from the breach? Thank you for your help?

[B. Dudley]

The unhooking slide inside the frame is stuck or gummed up. First try dry firing both barrels and see if that frees it. If not, the trigger plate will have to come off in order to get the barrels off.

And your hammerhead unit is a Trojan grade.

[Dean Romig]

What the heck is that goo between the frame and the stock head??





.

[Chris Wren]

Originally Posted by Brian Dudley

The unhooking slide inside the frame is stuck or gummed up. First try dry firing both barrels and see if that frees it. If not, the trigger plate will have to come off in order to get the barrels off.

And your hammerhead unit is a Trojan grade.

Ah, thank you for that information. That was one piece I was after.

As for the test. I tried dry firing and it did not free it up. The barrels feel a little looser, though. So I took the stock off and put liberal amount of oil in the.hammerhead. I am headed out now, but I plan on letting it sit for a bit and see if that helps. What I could see of the inside is fairly dirty, so it will need a good and thorough cleaning.

Thank you for your help.

[Chris Wren]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

What the heck is that goo between the frame and the stock head?
.

JB weld. Yeah, I was surprised as well.

[ssgross]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

What the heck is that goo between the frame and the stock head??
.

my first reaction too. do be careful to fit the stock correctly before attempting to fire...when you get that far. hopefully there isn't epoxy oozing around on the inside where it shouldn't be too.

[J. A. EARLY]

When the barrels will not come off on a 12 gauge, I have found that often one can get a screwdriver in to remove the screw that is visible in your photo that retains the barrel hook, if you apply pressure as if opening the gun or trying to remove the barrels downward. Please try to use a screwdriver that fits and not bugger up that screw. Once removed you will easily have the screw in hand but do not forget there is a spring behind the hook so don't lose it when the barrels come off. Hope this helps.

[Chris Wren]

Originally Posted by Jerry Harlow

When the barrels will not come off on a 12 gauge,...

That did the trick. I was able to remove the screw and ease the barrels off, and then reinstall the screw, with no loss of the spring.

Now, I've got the unit apart and trying to figure out the best way to clean out all of the grime. Ultrasonic cleaner? Brake clean? PB Blaster? Let it soak in Dawn dishwashing liquid? This is going to take a little time.

As for the stock, I am speaking with someone now about making a replacement stock since that one is packed full of JB Weld and has some weak spots in it.

Thanks for all the help!

[ssgross]

Originally Posted by Chris Wren

best way to clean out all of the grime. Ultrasonic cleaner? Brake clean? PB Blaster? Let it soak in Dawn dishwashing liquid? going to take a little time.

After initial scrub with a stiff nylon brush to get the loose crap, use boiling water. Boil the disassembled frame and all your small parts for 30-45min. in clean water. If your tap water has high mineral content, use distilled water (grocery store). 2 things will happen 1) all the old dried lubricants that have cemented with dust/powder residue, etc. will loosen from the metal and be easily brushed away. 2) any active rust on the metal will be converted to bluing. Might take a couple iterations of scrubbing and boiling to get it all, depending on how much rust there is and how deep it is. When it comes out of the boil, let dry and brush off the loose oxide with 0000 steel wool. If you still had colorful case hardening intact, I would be more cautious in my recommendation. But this does not seem to be the case. When you are done, it will still look its proper age, but look well cared for throughout its years rather than neglected. Take a look at my lewis project for what to expect from boiling. There was beautiful twist steel barrels hiding under what looked like an unrecoverable brick of red rust. I did no refinishing at all, just boiling. For the frame, I soaked in evaporust, which also removes any trace of finish, because I have a plan for refinishing it completely.

[Larry the Gun Guy]

Let's get back to this little comment that was overlooked; "The breach opens, and ejects shells,"
Now, did you really mean to say that the shells acutally ejected out of this Trojan or did they just lift so you could grab them?