Stock 'Shields'

[Roundsworth]

Do all Parker shotguns have the little inlayed (inlaid?) shield on the top of the stock wrist? Is it possible that the factory employed a checkering pattern that would interfere with the usual placement of the little shield on some guns, depending on grade?

[Austin W Hogan]

A census of a small population shows most 0 and 1 and 2 grades have a small shield on the wrist; a few have it on the bottom of the stock. It may be just chance in a small sample but the bottom location seems to prevail on 1 frame hammerless guns. Again a small sample but grade 3 and higher may have the shield in either place but most have a larger oval near the toe.

Best, Austin

[Mike]

Thanks Austin for the info. I've often wondered why initials aren't on more of the shields. Especially with guns that were ordered by individuals. I don't think it would be money but maybe our pragmatic fore fathers didn't see the need,

Mike

[Dean Romig]

I have never seen a hammerless Parker with the shield anywhere but on the bottom of the stock between the grip and the toe of the butt. Exposed hammer Parkers of the lower grades, as Austin notes, up to and including grade 2 guns have the shield on top of the stock, foreward of the grip right behind the top tang. Grade 3 and 4 guns with pistol and semi-pistol grips as well as straight grips have the silver oval also on the bottom of the stock while grade 5 and above have a (pure) gold oval inset in the grip cap or in the case of a semi-pistol grip the grip knob is capped with a domed gold cap. Straight grip guns have a gold oval on the bottom of the stock. Grade 6 guns are much the same as grade 5 in the location and type of oval or cap while grade 7 and 8 may have been standardized like grades 5 & 6 but were entirely up to the buyer in what was used and where it was put.

Qualifier: These are standards and there could be any number of deviations in existence. Parker Bros. would do about anything the buyer ordered (within reason) but grades 3 and below were usually "stock" guns ordered by hardware stores and large sporting goods stores so a "special order" gun with deviations from the standard would be a rarity.

[Austin W Hogan]

I looked at the 1 1/2 and 2 frame shooters in the downstairs closet, and I think Dean is correct.
Hammer gun 159157 has the shield on the wrist and hammerless 73201 G has it in the toe. It would appear that there was a tooling change for the hammerless stock that placed the shield in the toe. Perhaps the stock jig that inlet the ssbp also set up or inletted the oval disk
The wrist shields in my hammer D's really crowd the checking pattern.
I deviate only in that all of my DH and higher stocks have gold ( or brass?) oval shields in the toe.
I examined 35 shields; zero are engraved

Best, Austin