The restoration question

[Ray Masciarella]

I have read many threads on the virtues of restoration and have some thoughts as a relatively new Parker gun collector. Over the years, it seem I've collected every at one time or another, ie furniture, cars, etc. (I'm not a high end person so I collected what I could afford). Problem was I ended up with furniture I wouldn't sit on and cars I didn't drive because I worried something would happen to them. So I now collect Parkers because I can go shoot them! When I do, it doesn't matter whether they are restored.

When it comes to unrestored items such as cars or furniture, the unrestored "survivors" are with a lot of money because there are so few. Generally, partial restorations do nothing to add to their value with the opposite effect more likely. I think a Parker survivor is best left alone regardless of who may have owned it in the past. But what is a "survivor"? Most Parkers are unrestored so they are not as rare in this condition compared to other collectibles.

If a Parker has no color, worn checkering, 50% barrels, etc., why not restore it-if that's what hits your hot bottom? Not everything that exists is a survivor. A collectible "survivor" might be defined as a Parker that has a certain level of originality and condition. I make no attempt to define what that might be. But anything below that, may warrant restoration to bring back it's former glory provided the restoration brings it back to it's original factory condition.

It seems to me that, while recognizing it can only be "new" once, a worn out Parker remains a worn out Parker, and restoring it isn't so bad (in most circumstances) so long as you can still go shoot it! I'm trying to shoot mine now but the duck hunting is so slow down here I took my iPad to the blind to give me something to do and now you fellas are stuck with this thread!

[B. Dudley]

What a thing to do while sitting in the blind.

A lot of good points that you raise. Anyone would agree that a gun in 50% condition would be considered a shooter. But if the barrel bluing is worn enough to where you fear it getting rusted if you use it, then maybe it is time to re blue it as a means of maintenance and not so much the sake of restoration. Same thing goes with adding oil finish to a worn stock. Such things are done not so much for looks, but as a way to care for the gun.

[charlie cleveland]

i agree with you fellas completely... charlie

[tom tutwiler]

Different thoughts on this one for sure. Many folks (not all) believe that high original condition guns should be taken out of the safe on a occasion and then rubbed down with a very light coat of oil and put back in the safe. While in the safe they can say hello in the dark to their other collectible friends who leaning against safe wall as well.

I few others take those same guns out and do what I call a controlled hunt. Shooting range, Shooting preserve, dove hunt etc. Something where you know unless you do something really dumb your collector grade gun isn't going to have much of a chance of getting damaged.

Another group just wants a nice semi-original gun that you hunt with. Gun has had some work done to it to make it right. Stock might have been bent, checkering re-cut, pad added, but its still has it original case color and barrel blueing is original. You baby the gun, but if it gets a scratch or two you shake your head from side to side and move on. I'd personally fall into that group.

Last group is the "in for an inch, in for a mile" group. It starts out with just a desire to make the gun sound and make it truly "your gun". Then you start thinking a bit further. You realize the stock is too short unless you add a spacer and I mean a big spacer. Then you realize even when add the spacer and a BIG recoil pad it still too short or it has too much Drop a Heel (because you added to the Length of Pull which increased the DAH).

You then decide you really need to restock it to make it really fit you. Then you think if you restock it, the stock will look shiny and new and the rest of the gun won't. So you decide those little quite minor dings and dents need to come out of the barrel and it needs a first rate re-blacking.

Then while your are mulling over those things and have your calculator already smoking you think why not go ahead and have someone like Turnbull redo the case coloring for you as well.

Well, then you gotta have the engraving chased. Calculator is really smoking now. You need to run outside in the bright light just to make sure you have enough solar energy to power it through all those numbers.

After start writing down numbers you realize you are looking at the following totals:

Original shooter grade GH 12 gauge $1,300

Stock Blank $500

Restocking and checkering $2,500

Polish and re-blacking barrels $400

Engraving rechased $500

Color Case hardening/polishing $600

Total $5,800


Chances of selling the above and recovering your costs down the road? Guessing not much unless everyone who is touching the gun is well known and all work is carefully documented.

My opinion on why most folks don't do the above is simply economics. You can take that same amount of money into the mix and buy a very high all original condition 12 Gauge GH and throw it in the gun safe. He can then hang out with his high grade friends and come out from time to time for a breath of fresh air before he goes back into the dark.

Above is certainly all tongue and cheek. I've got one pretty nice CH 16 gauge that's original. Since I've owned it, its been out of the safe twice. Both were preserve hunts and needless to say I was careful. I'll probably sell it some day when I realize its kinda bored setting in the gun safe with a couple of higher grade Foxes. BTW, those Foxes and Parkers don't talk much to each other. Thank goodness I separate them from time to time so it doesn't get nasty.

[King Brown]

I've a 12ga VH with fairly good bluing and colours but the stock was obviously home-made and poorly at that. I sent it off to Chris Dawe who reported it as original with sanded off checkering etc. He checkered new stock, finished it beautifully and returned a "restored" Parker because that's what it is---"Give back, make restitution", the authoritative Oxford English Dictionary. It was right by the gun and its makers. I've a Parker 16 hammer 0 grade on the other hand that I would not touch, close to original but tiny chip at toe of buttplate. It would be a shame to apply cosmetics. I'm a gunner when it comes to guns, not collector. My collector side is another thing entirely.

[C grade]

Brian
I consider those items as maintenance. I treasure a used but not abused Parker and feel a 30-50% , all original , shooter is a real treasure. I recently looked at a Runge VHE 410 28" AIS and felt it was a shame someone took a rare gun, VHE 28" 410, and cut its value in half to make an "as new" pretty thing. The old ones are great and should be left alone. JMHO
David

[Bruce A Lyons]

I FOR ONE, AM TIRED OF READING A RESTORED GUN IS ONLY WORTH HALF AS MUCH AS AN ORIGINAL. THIS CERTAINLY IS NOT THE CASE WITH COLLECTOR CARS. WHY? WE PROBABLY WOULD ALL LIKE A 29 PACKARD OR A 57 T-BIRD IN MINT ORIGINAL CONDITION BUT THERE SURE ARE NOT MANY OUT THERE. THEY NEED TO BE RESTORED. SAME IS TRUE WITH OLD GUNS. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU HEARD, THAT MUST HAVE BEEN SO NICE WHEN IT WAS NEW. RESTORED GUNS SHOULD BRING THE PRICE THEY DESERVE.

[Fishtail]

This really is an argument that will never go anywhere...

But, as a point of interest, in the collector car world there is a shift away from restored cars in preference of originals, even if they show wear.

The main reason not to restore a Parker is the philosophy that once a set of hands in 2012 recuts the checkering and engraving, and refinishes the gun, the gun is no longer as 'Parker' as a Parker that had its checkering cut by a Parker employee back in the day. If we're sitting in a duck blind and my Parker was put together by a Parker employee in 1912 and yours was put together by Larry Smelznick of Good 'Ol Boy Guns in 2011, my Parker has a lot more credence.

[C grade]

There is an old saying "If everyone wanted the same things as me they would all want my wife". The reality is a restored gun is not worth anything close to an original. One of the reasons is rarity as more guns get restored. I also just inspected an AHE 20 ga for a friend--untouched would have been worth $20,000 more that with the new $6,000 stock and redone rib and barrels.
They are worth what they are worth, right or wrong
David

[Larry the Gun Guy]

But none of us knows what the gun was when the work was started.

Let's say you go to a gun store and on the rack is a really used and somewhat abused relatively rare Parker. You soon learn from the research books that they made only 14 of these guns. It's not even close to being original, that was lost years ago by someone who tried unsuccessfully to restock it or they had a "gunsmith" buff and blued the frame. Or they cut he bottom of the stock off and fitted some replacement wood on to it. Or they changed it from a pistol grip to a straight grip because they wanted it to handle they way they liked a gun to feel; heck Parkers were a dime a dozen in those days and who ever thought of collecting them... that's ridiculous, they were made to be shot. The mechanics of the gun really needs attention because it's a little off face or an ejector won't work or the for end doesn't fit correctly. It's far too late for this gun to be anything but a butt ugly shooter or a restored red headed step child of the Parker collecting community. What do you do? Leave that potentially great gun in the state you found it or do you bring it back from the grave and make it functional and presentable? Knowing full well that when you get it back from the highly respected restorationist that others are going to wonder why you took such a rare and beautiful old classic and re did it, not knowing what kid of horrible shape it was in when you found it. What kind of crime did you commit?