Rebarreled VHE

[Dylan Rhodes]

After some self research....the barrel is rollstamped “ —> Parker Brothers Makers, Meriden, Conn. Vulcan steel <—“ so if the gun was rebarreled, it had to have been done shortly after it was made in mid 1917 due to the change in roll stamp after world war 1. It seems like there are only a few possibilities.

1. It never was supposed to have 26” barrels and the order book is wrong. Although the weight would have to be wrong also. Noted as 6.5 lb. Currently weighs just under 7. Further bolstering this theory is that the balance is exactly on the hinge pin, i imagine replacing 26 with 28 would knock that off a bit.

2. It had 26” barrels but was returned to be made with 28” barrels at the customers request shortly after manufacture.

3. The customer changed their mind after the order was placed and it was switched to 28” barrels. Similar to item 1, but in this case the order book was originally correct and just not updated.

In the case of possibility number 2, could that “11” on the barrel flats be a Roman numeral 2 for a second barrel at that serial number? Or would Parker reuse the serial number with no indication that the barrel was not the original?

Not sure how to rule out 1 or 3....