Parker 1/2 frames

[B. Dudley]

There were very few of them made in the Remington (Ilion) era. Maybe as low as a few hundred.
The general belief is that the 1/2 frame was developed in Meriden around 1930. This is based on surviving factory engineers drawings. A run of frames may have even been made in Meriden, but not put into production. They were later used by Remington. Possibly when their supply of 1 frames ran low or out.

This belief can be came to based on a couple different supposed "facts"...
All 1/2 frame guns found have been Remington (Illion) made. And it is believed that Remington never actually made any Parker frames. They only were usng up left over Meriden stock.

It remains a mystery. And until a Meriden (Parker Bros.) made 1/2 frame gun is found, it is hard to say any different.

Craig Reynolds wrote a good article on this subject in the Winter 2009 Parker Pages. And I Also have an article in the Summer 2013 DGJ that touches on this topic.

CSMC currently has for sale a Meriden made BH grade that is advertised as a 1/2 frame gun. When I saw it, my interest was obviously peaked. But farther investigation revealed it to be originally a 16g gun that was returned to Remington at some point and it was fitted with 12g barrels. And the barrels fitted were marked with 1/2 on the lug since that is the frame size the barrels would have been made for.