Gun Won't Open

[charlie cleveland]

i got faith in you harry...charlie

[edgarspencer]

This is getting confusing, but I love a good diagnostic discussion.
So am I understanding that, if the tang screws are tightened, and the gun is fired, you then can not open it, or does it matter if it's been fired or not? The difference being, if it were fired, the safety was pushed forward, and in order to open it, the top lever moves the bolt back, the bolt in turn moves the safety rod back, which pushes the top of the toggle back, moving the safety button. The safety rod passes by a bushing, threaded into the stock, through which goes the forward tang screw. See where I'm going? I'm thinking somehow, the tangs are making this sleeve, bushing, call it what you will, bind the safety rod from moving, preventing the bolt from moving fully rearward.
OK, I'm done.

[Harry Collins]

The gun was sent a shop to be tightened up after purchase. When my friend received it it would double when the rear trigger was pulled first due to the weak sear spring. I do have the top tang screw indexing. The last time I took it apart I looked for places on the stock where things might be galled or rubbed. No dice. I think I've narrowed it down to the Safety. When both hammers are released the Safety can not be returned to Safe. I can do that with other Parkers. I'll let you know.

Harry

[B. Dudley]

Originally Posted by Harry Collins

The gun was sent a shop to be tightened up after purchase. When my friend received it it would double when the rear trigger was pulled first due to the weak sear spring.

As i thought... not an untouched gun. All bets are off as to what your issue could be.
You need to take a serious look at what was done to “tighten” the gun. In cases of breech setbacks, a lot of other things may need to be adjusted after the barrel fitment to make sure all works. A lot of times the gun not unhooking can be a problem after a serious setback.
As others have suggested, your issues is not one that can be diagnosed on the forum.

[Autumn Daze]

Harry, Is it possible to put a .010 shim under the top tang. Sounds like the inletting is a bit too deep.

[J. A. EARLY]

Originally Posted by Harry Collins

The gun was sent a shop to be tightened up after purchase. When my friend received it it would double when the rear trigger was pulled first due to the weak sear spring. I do have the top tang screw indexing. The last time I took it apart I looked for places on the stock where things might be galled or rubbed. No dice. I think I've narrowed it down to the Safety. When both hammers are released the Safety can not be returned to Safe. I can do that with other Parkers. I'll let you know.

Harry

Harry,

I am sorry I gave the advice to reverse the trigger spring which I knew would work to allow the safety to reset and the gun to open. The smith who cranked the screws down so much that the wood was compressed probably created a hair-trigger on the front trigger, thus with a front trigger that was now pressing the sear, when the rear trigger was pulled on a loaded gun the barely engaging right barrel sear released. He obviously did not test fire the gun. Otherwise he would not have sent it out to possibly kill someone.

I know you did not over tighten as the "smith" did, so now with the spring reversed you should feel a little slack, which was not there before.

One thing that was not in the equation was if it was a replacement trigger, which had not been fitted to the gun. Slack between the triggers and the sears with the trigger spring reversed is not a bad thing. Obviously not the original design. No slack and pressing on the sears as you already know was bad. Hopefully there is now slack in the triggers.

I'll keep my useless advice to myself in the future when someone asks about a problem I have seen and leave it to the experts here. If it continues to double the sear/hammer mating may need to be recut. Very dangerous as we all know. Free advice is only worth what you pay for it and I regret posting.

[Southpaw]

[QUOTE=Jerry Harlow;236271



I'll keep my useless advice to myself in the future when someone asks about a problem I have seen and leave it to the experts here. If it continues to double the sear/hammer mating may need to be recut. Very dangerous as we all know. Free advice is only worth what you pay for it and I regret posting.[/QUOTE]

Jerry,

I am new to this forum, but as I understand how forums are suppose to work it's based on communication of ideas and opinions. I don't think you have anything to apologize for at all. I for one have appreciated your posts, your views, ideas and you honestly tried to help with someone that was having a problem that was asking for ideas. I actually think Harry tried what you said and he said it worked and he was going to try it with live rounds yesterday afternoon. Hopefully he reports back because I would like to know since still learning a great deal about these guns.

Keep up the good work. Btw sometimes printed words come across as harsh and critical especially in quickly worded posts. Sometimes messages can be sent in a way similar to beer muscles and no way would someone comment that way to your face.

You are obviously a conscientious man to even post a second guess of your thought and as I am just someone from the peanut gallery I would like to Thank You and others that take time to share their advice, opinions and knowledge, there should never be any problem or censorship of that ever. I think that is cannon of American Society we seem to be loosing our way on and it starts in nooks and cranny's of our psyche, even in places like this forum.

BTW since its President's Day will share one of my all time favorite passages and wish Americans today could embrace some of these words and take them to heed.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Teddy Roosevelt, April, 1910- Heyday of when Parker Guns were in production by a man that appreciated fine guns. Most of the fellas and ladies that are on this forum are learned people that are familiar with this quote so will spare you the larger context what was intended in Teddy's parody.

Okay stepping off my soapbox now.

[Harry Collins]

Again, Edgar, you are spot on. The bushing that goes through the stock, as I remember, is solid and the Safety Pin has a cut out in it to work around the sleeve. Everything seems to work well being fired or not until I tighten the rear Tang Screw. Fired or not fired the Safety will NOT work if the rear tang screw is tight or approaches being tight. I am off to celebrate my Monday birthday tonight so I've given up on it today. Tomorrow I will pull the sleeve and the Safety Pin to see if it is straight etc. As many times as I've been in this gun we may be viewed as a common law marriage!
Harry

[Harry Collins]

Dave, I've shimmed both top and bottom tangs in attempts to fix the problem. From an aesthetics standpoint the rear tang screw is not flush with the top tang. To me thats like looking at buggered screws. Besides every time I've been with Morris Baker he's told me to keep my tang screws tight. When all the screws are tight and indexed the Safety binds after the hammers are released. I'm off to check the safety pin etc. I keep going over how things work deep in the bowels of our Parker Boxlocks and what would keep the gun from opening. I've gone through all the possibilities with Safety Lever, Pin, Sears, Ejectors and narrowed it down to safety because without the stock on and all screws indexed, flush, and tight the operation is flawless.
Harry

[Harry Collins]

I've narrowed the problem down to the Safety and front trigger. When the gun has been fired it can be opened if the front trigger is pushed forward. I have also noted that unfired and cocked the same must be done to put the Safety back on after pushing it off. I'm still contemplating my next action as follows:
1) Round the "T" portion of the Safety Lever thinking the trigger is catching it
2) File down the Safety Lever so I won't catch the trigger
3) Still thinking on it in hopes someone else has experienced this problem and can offer the
benefit of their experience.
Kindest,
Harry