Hammer gun acquisition

[Jay B.]

I picked up an old parker hammer shotgun over the weekend. If the barrels are judged to be sound enough, I will look to get gun back into shootable form.

The barrels are somewhat silvered out, with hard to see traces of Damascus pattern. The hammers/locks appear to work, and the stock is in reasonable shape.

My main concern is the pitting that resides in the barrels and how to judge if any imperil safe operation of the shotgun. Anyone have any experience on where to start on this project.

Appears to be a grade 2 with a serial number 45364. Appreciate any experiences with checking out this as a restoration candidate.

[OH Osthaus]

since you list your location, maybe a member in your area can help you locate someone with the proper evaluation skills

45364 should be a 12ga grade 2 with 30" barrels

[Jay B.]

Thank you, yes it is. I've got a trip the gunsmith planned. Just thought I would get a bit of wisdom on what to expect to have to do. Gun locks up tight, and barrels ring. The top latch is a shade to the right, but otherwise I think I have a good restoration candidate. Being an older gun, not sure what it's earlier life may mean about the ability to return it to a shooter.

[Dean Romig]

Can you post some Pictures?





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[Harry Collins]

A little pitting in the barrel is a good sign that no one has removed any metal from them.

[J. A. EARLY]

Originally Posted by Jay Baskette

The top latch is a shade to the right, but otherwise I think I have a good restoration candidate.

A shade to the right is good if you are referring to the opening lever. Would usually indicate less use for a gun that old, if not tampered with.

[B. Dudley]

The lever position on a Parker means little.

[Jay B.]

Interesting comment on barrel pitting. I had not thought of it that way. My concern before buying was whether there might be a pit or two deep enough to render it unsafe to shoot. Also took note of Brian's comment on top lever position, in regards to Parkers. The wood seems to have a little tiger figure on bottom of stock, but uninspiring on main blank. I am surprised it has the standard Parker butt-plate, instead of a skelletal metal one. The engraving is worn a bit, and not as highly detailed as my DH. This will be the first Damascus barrelled gun I have ever owned and am excited by the refinishing potential to bring back the beauty of the pattern.

Will post pictures as soon as I can figure how to transfer them from phone to this page. I am taking it to G.Pfrommer early next week for evaluation, cleaning and consultation on restoration work.

[J. A. EARLY]

Originally Posted by Brian Dudley

The lever position on a Parker means little.

Excuse me? What does one far to the left mean? Did any gun leave the factory with the lever far to the left? That would mean a lot. A lot of wear, tampered with barrels and/or locking parts, slammed shut hard thousands maybe tens of thousands of times, no lubrication, non-matching parts, and on and on. I would not buy a low grade gun with a lever far to the left due to the cost of correcting by replacing parts, welding, etc. Been there, done that.

You must not have read my post before posting and not noticed the word "usually" and "if not tampered with."

I will just quit posting trying to help someone instead of continually being corrected.

[B. Dudley]

lever postion is an indication of wear on some makes of guns. Mainly those with rotory bolts (Fox, Smith and Ithaca NID). The levers start and the right and over time move to the left as the bolt wears. The design of the rotory bolt allows for a lot of travel in the lever from one side to the other as they wear. These guns do rarely become loose. Even guns that have a lever to the left are typically still tight.

Parkers are different in that the top lever has very little room to travel before the gun is just plain loose. The lever positions were set at the factory and every one was a little different. The concave cut in the rib carries back onto the frame and also the top lever. This sighting plain lines up and will line up even on guns that have worn bolts and are loose. So... the top lever on loose guns are not moving very much to even be physically noticable.

Get my point? One parker may be centered and another may be to the right and both are as they were when they were made. Yes, the bolting mechanism on a Parker does take up wear, but not to the extent of other makers where the lever will move that much. Simply becasue it is a design that wears better, but unfortunately they do loosen up more often due to there being less travel.



Constantly corrected??? Hardly. If you feel that way, it is not intended towards you or anything of the sort.
Simply avoiding the spreading of misinformation that may apply to some makers and not Parker guns.