Parker VH Won’t Cock or Open

[B. Dudley]

First off, a Parker is not a drawbolt gun. So your comments about removing the pad to remove the stock are not correct.

My recommendation to you would be to just open the gun and try applying more pressure than you currently are. It sounds to me like you are just hitting the spot where the gun starts to cock itself on opening. And you are not applying enough pressure to move through that point.
Some may wonder how this can happen? Well it can. I have had guns shipped all the way across the country to me from people who said they could not open the gun in this situation and there was nothing wrong with them. They just were not used to the feel of the gun cocking.

[Alan Nixon]

B. Dudley,

That worked!
Certainly that is not a surprise to you, Brian. There is no substitute for experience. Thanks for sharing yours!

You were spot on, suggesting that I simply apply more force to open the action to cock the gun when it seemed that something was wrong with the cocking mechanism. In fact it was OK all along. Although the force needed initially felt somewhat high, the cocking process was smooth against the resistance of the main springs.

This is a tremendous relief. I hope this information is useful to others who encounter the same situation. Thanks to the members who responded to my request for help,

Al Nixon

[edgarspencer]

You may want to consider a good cleaning and lubrication. The cocking slide may be caked in old grease, making the opening that much more difficult.