Please help identify this for us

[Barry owens]

Yes it was cool to get a family connection. You should get a letter, it should at least say where it shipped. That would be interesting since the SN range is so close. I ordered some RST’s as well, but I am repairing the stock, it was oil soaked and had several cracks in the head. You should inspect your gun before you shoot. There is a lot of good information here to read through. Best of luck!

[edgarspencer]

Allen, in the first picture, showing right lock plate, and barrel, it appears to be off face. I would encourage you to have it looked at by a proper gun smith before shooting it.

[Harry Collins]

The stock has been broken on the left side behind the lock. You might address that before you shoot it. And I second having someone look at the barrel to action fit.

[RickR]

My first post just a few weeks ago, was basically the same Q as this poster including the same model with an 1886 SN although I had some basic knowledge having a hobby business helping old doubles recuperate 4 decades ago before moving on. I was depressed that I could no longer just know the SN of any better quality gun, regardless of it's brand, like I once could and so know when it was built, but also surprised over how much MORE has been documented in the last 40-50 years. One surprise to learn was that Parker kept building damascus, err composite barreled guns for decades after nitro powder came to be and black loaded ammo was the economy load while the good stuff was nitro. The point being that never shoot damascus regardless of condition does not apply to Parkers...that anyone able to afford $55 for a shotgun when one that would go bang for a few lifetimes of typical use could be had for $10 in the Sears catalog, would also be buying the best shells. Ergo, there are damascus Parkers that never fired anything other than smokeless loads including the heaviest of them. And that most of the current shooters of composite barreled Parkers STILL shoot store-bought light target modern ammo. That raised my confidence enough that the black substitute loads I'll continue to use will be with no worries.

PS. mine has chambers smooth out to about 2 7/8" and such a short and barely visible forcing cone to a standard oversize bore (evidently most older Parker bores were larger than other 12 bores) that a 3" shell would fire and open up just fine. In fact I kept getting 3" with my depth gauge because the step up from chamber to bore was too minimal for the gauge to stop at the forcing cone.) I mention this because I don't recall the suggestions given mentioning the need to check chamber length, likely because they already know they came with longer chambers already, but best to double check before using a 2 3/4 shell.

[Allen Reed]

Originally Posted by Rick Rappe

My first post just a few weeks ago, was basically the same Q as this poster including the same model with an 1886 SN although I had some basic knowledge having a hobby business helping old doubles recuperate 4 decades ago before moving on. I was depressed that I could no longer just know the SN of any better quality gun, regardless of it's brand, like I once could and so know when it was built, but also surprised over how much MORE has been documented in the last 40-50 years. One surprise to learn was that Parker kept building damascus, err composite barreled guns for decades after nitro powder came to be and black loaded ammo was the economy load while the good stuff was nitro. The point being that never shoot damascus regardless of condition does not apply to Parkers...that anyone able to afford $55 for a shotgun when one that would go bang for a few lifetimes of typical use could be had for $10 in the Sears catalog, would also be buying the best shells. Ergo, there are damascus Parkers that never fired anything other than smokeless loads including the heaviest of them. And that most of the current shooters of composite barreled Parkers STILL shoot store-bought light target modern ammo. That raised my confidence enough that the black substitute loads I'll continue to use will be with no worries.

PS. mine has chambers smooth out to about 2 7/8" and such a short and barely visible forcing cone to a standard oversize bore (evidently most older Parker bores were larger than other 12 bores) that a 3" shell would fire and open up just fine. In fact I kept getting 3" with my depth gauge because the step up from chamber to bore was too minimal for the gauge to stop at the forcing cone.) I mention this because I don't recall the suggestions given mentioning the need to check chamber length, likely because they already know they came with longer chambers already, but best to double check before using a 2 3/4 shell.

Thank you for taking the time to reply with all of this information. I have some light 2 1/2 inch loads on the way. I’m thinking about that old saying, “If only this thing could talk.” Lol!

[Rick Roemer]

RST shells definitely the way to go when it is deemed safe to shoot. The only way to feel "safe" about shooting is to have the barrel wall thickness measured and make sure it is within specs. Also as others have noted - the barrels have to be "on face" to the frame for safety. These are competent gunsmith questions. If the gunsmith you find doesn't know how to measure Barrel wall thickness - keep looking. You could end up hurt (or worse) and could destroy your family heirloom. I'd have it checked out and then enjoy it. I shoot Damascus barrels all the time. But I never shoot any store bought "cheap" shells. Not worth it. IMHO

[Allen Reed]

Originally Posted by Rick Roemer

RST shells definitely the way to go when it is deemed safe to shoot. The only way to feel "safe" about shooting is to have the barrel wall thickness measured and make sure it is within specs. Also as others have noted - the barrels have to be "on face" to the frame for safety. These are competent gunsmith questions. If the gunsmith you find doesn't know how to measure Barrel wall thickness - keep looking. You could end up hurt (or worse) and could destroy your family heirloom. I'd have it checked out and then enjoy it. I shoot Damascus barrels all the time. But I never shoot any store bought "cheap" shells. Not worth it. IMHO

Thank you for your response. Glad you enjoy shooting yours!