Restore, refinish, or leave it alone?

[TARNATION !!!]

Troy: Your gun can be made to look beautiful regardless of shootability. I think many here would not go to the expense to create a pretty wall hanger, as shooting these guns is a part of the pleasure they can provide. Have a look through the pictures in the "Parker Grades" tab on the opening page. The damascus barrels are truly beautiful when in original condition or restored to original. Should you go that route, those who have had this type of work done can provide their experiences. Same goes for the wood. There are skilled crafstmen out there who can do all of this for you for a price. Turn around time can be in the "months" when the gun is entrusted to those who know what they are doing.

If I were to expend the funds necessary to make wood and metal "pretty", I would also add the extra to make it a safe shooting gun. It could then grace the wall and; if, along the way, you or someone in the family wanted to give the gun some exercise, all would be good.

If you go the do-it-yourself route, there is much that can be done to "prettify" it but it's kind of like the old English saying "In for a penny, in for a pound" Once you start, there is no going back when things get difficult. Some of the craftsmen also fix up the DIY attempts - not to say DIY cannot be done, just that most of us are not set up with what is needed to ensure the desired outcome is achieved. This is where the "least harm" approach is useful. For example, in FAQ's there is a short entry regarding the use of nothing but Formby's Tung Oil rubbed on the damascus barrels with a soft lint free cloth. Time and patience may see a nice change in look without having done any harm whatsoever. The oil soaked stock head may benefit from acetone, but as Bruce said, the finish will need touch up, so the match to the rest of the wood becomes difficult. There is another process that has been discussed but I have not tried, so do not know what might occur with the finish. It involves dipping the stock head in alcohol and gently warming the wood and then gently dabbing/wiping to remove the liquid. The liquid will include oil brought to the surface with the alcohol that entered the wood grain along the same channels as the oil.

Good luck with your decision making.

Cheers,
Jack

[Bruce Day]

I sold a decent enough, original condition circa 1900 GH 16ga O frame 28" damascus for $1800 eighteen months ago to a member here. Was a public sale at the Tulsa Gun Show. The barrels were starting to be a little loose on the face,the stock could benefit from refinishing which could be amateur done, dogs head butt plate, the barrels had decent pattern and could be redone or not depending on the purchaser. Could be shot as is and after a couple more thousand rounds, would need to be brought on face. The gun had good barrels and original tight chokes.

Yes I could recommend somebody to check the barrels but you are down in Georgia and none of them that I know are around there. Maybe some Georgians have people or if you want to get into Parkers, take it to a PGCA event, someone there will have gauges and can look at it. Or take it to the Southern Side by Side in NC in April and bring your checkbook.

[Troy Marsh]

Thanks so much Jack. I have no desire to try to do any of this myself. I've already spoken to Brad Bachelder, who gave me an estimate of 2-4 months turnaround time. Pricey, but you get what you pay for. If the wood turns out like I hope, maybe I'll invest some more in the barrels. We'll have to wait and see...

And I agree that shooting them is fun. I still remember killing my first deer, a 7 point, in October, 1974, with my 20 gauge DHE.

[charlie cleveland]

im glad you got that buck with your 20 ga parker....i like to here stories about deer hunting with the double barrels... i killed a doe last year with a 8 ga hammer gun parker o grade...used 00 buck 24 pellets to the load....range estmated 50 yards 7 hits in deer...clean kill...what load did you use to get that buck... charlie

[Troy Marsh]

#1 buckshot at 10 steps. I was 10 years old, first time on a stand by myself. There was no such thing as "still hunting," only running them with dogs. I heard the dogs bringing him and didn't appreciate how close they were until the old boy popped out of the woods right in front of me. We were so close that our eyes locked and he froze for a split second, broad sided, just long enough for me to get off a shot. I can still see his eyes like it was yesterday. My second shot missed as he wheeled around and headed back the way he came from. We found him about 20 yards inside the woods.