Restore or Not?

[Dean Romig]

Frank, I'not entirely convinced that the extension piece wasn't cut off the original stock.

That being said, I would consider Bill Murphy's recommendation to have it finished by Marklarsongunart and you'll probably not be able to detect it was two pieces of wood.

[Bill Murphy]

If the gun belonged to me, I would clean up the metal to the point where I would make a decision on rebluing the barrels and trigger guard. Under no conditions would I ruin the gun by refinishing the receiver and forearm iron. I would decide what length of pull I wanted. If I needed an especially long stock, I would let Mark Larson work his magic and have a skeleton buttplate installed. If I could live with 13 3/4" length of pull, I would install a Silvers recoil pad over the original wood. In my case, I would send the gun to Mark Larson, then to a stockmaker to install a Parker skeleton buttplate to about 14 1/2" from the front trigger.

[Bill Murphy]

Frank, let's get the measurement right. What is the measurement between the center of the front trigger and the center of the end of the original wood?

[Bill Murphy]

I still haven't been able to link the 51 pictures and I still have not seen a post that mentions the full name of the supposedly original owner on the case. If we could get that name, maybe we could get Frank some information.

[Pay Dirt]

Frank,
With no factory records to corraborate, by removing the extension and adding a "fresh" period pad, won't your gun then become
"FACTORY ORIGINAL".

[Frank Allegra]

Bill, There is no full name just initials and last name. The measurement was taken from the center of the front trigger. I was thinking that being a smaller gauge trap type gun it might have been previously shot by a women but that is only speculation.

[CSL]

Originally Posted by Frank Allegra

"I have heard in the past that the Parker is one gun that you leave alone. Is this true? Since I'm relatively new to Parkers, I need to know.
"Is it better to restore a Parker or leave it in it's found condition?" How much should be done to retain a Parkers best interest?

Any suggestions from the group would be greatly appreciated."

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Folks sometimes say, it's only original once. The more I hear the word "survivor", whether it be cars or guns, the more I like it... There are dozens of stories where people have spent large untold sums in gun restoration costs only to find out it actually decreased the value, and then later sold for the same amount or less than if they had just left it alone. Meanwhile having spent a bucket load of money on something that added absolutely nothing to the end game, that bucket load of cash (now gone like a toot in the wind) could have went towards the purchase of yet another interesting gun...

I met a fella years ago who had found a rather nice late Rem/Parker skeet gun, it had some honest wear, but was still clean and had been very well taken care of... This fella hunted with the skeet gun for about 10 years on close-up early season birds over the dog, and occasionally shooting some skeet at the gun club... People often marveled at the gun's original state with compliments and offers to buy, but the fella just smiled and politely said "no thanks I enjoy it far too much, and where would I ever find another original Parker like this?"... Then one day in a moment of weak mindedness he got it in his head the old skeet gun was so special it should be restored, wood refinished, nicks steamed out of the stock, checkering re-cut, barrels re-blued, and the receiver re-case colored... Out came his bucket of money for the skeet gun project, and........well I think you know the rest of the story... In the end the fella's once unique old Parker with original character was now gone, and what remained was just another refinished gun... The fella told me the skeet gun just sat in the safe after that, and unfortunately he figured out far too late what had made it so special to him all those years was no longer there... A few more years went by and the fella decided the refinished skeet gun had to go, and what he wanted was another original old Parker. When the fella finally found the one that made him smile, the refinished skeet gun was traded off along with a significant amount of cash to once again obtain a clean original Parker with interesting history, character, and 74 years of honest wear....

Barn-finds and original survivors in the collector car market seem to generate a lot of interest these days, many people like the idea of finding something that has not been messed with too much, and I think the same holds true for closet finds when it comes to interesting old double-guns of particular interest... Enjoy them for what they are, give them proper care and needed repairs, then later when the time comes to sell or pass it on to the next generation, your Parker will still have it's earned years of character and the added appeal of being original... JMHO.........

Best, CSL
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[Bill Murphy]

Well, Frank, OK, it has only initials. What are the initials? What state do you think the gun came from?

[Frank Allegra]

Bill,
I have been doing some searching as to the initials and last name and been coming up empty. I will continue to search and should I be successful, I will post my results.

My search is still in it's infancy. From info I received, I do believe the gun initially went to central or western US. As with most these Vintage Doubles, the original owners and even their first generation offspring are no longer with us. That just leaves us with only stories from distant relatives.

CSL,
Your opinion above is very well taken. Thank you.

[Dean Romig]

Words of wisdom Chris. Well said.