New Guy with old Parker

[J. A. EARLY]

Originally Posted by brad kuhn

SUCCESS! I put a couple of drops of penetrating oil under the trip pin as Jerry suggested and pushed down. The trip still would not go down, so I tried to rotate it by gently prying with a screwdriver. It did rotate just a bit but still would not depress. Then, I very gently tapped it with a punch. That did it. After about three taps the trip depressed and the top lever suddenly snapped into place. I put a drop of spindle oil under the trip and the gun works as it should.

I still don't know what was barring the trip pin. Might still be a good idea to have a smith take a look at it and clean the action thoruoughly.

Sorry for all the drama.
Brad Kuhn

A rabbit hunting buddy told me he had his uncle's Parker and the lever would not stay to the right. Had taken it to a gunsmith and it came back that way. Smith told him ALL Parkers worked that way; lever returned to center after opening. He took it to another smith where it stayed for seven years. I took it apart and the three pieces were gone. The first gunsmith had forgotten to put them back in there probably because they were lost in his shop. Took about three days to get the parts from Brian Dudley. A little fitting and it works like new. But while I had it apart it was obvious that the gun had been hunted in the rain or had been in water. But other than missing parts, the gun still worked. I would bet the trip's three parts on your gun either had dried grease holding them together or rust. It should work great now but a once every 100 year cleaning would not hurt. When you look at the trip parts one time, you will understand why I and others hold the lever to the right, close the gun, let the lever go and gently push it to the left to lock the action. I grimace every time my cousin slams his shut as if one is closing a bank vault door.

[Brad Kuhn]

Originally Posted by Jerry Harlow

Brad,

My fault. You are correct that you cannot snap the triggers to disengage the barrels because with the lever over to the right, the safety reset rod keeps you from pushing the safety off and snapping the triggers.

You have, I think, found the problem. The trip is stuck and will not go down. Again, push down on it after putting a drop of penetrating oil on it. The trip slides down on a pin that fits inside it and has a spring in the hole inside it to push it into the opening lever. Just hold the stock and the lever open while you push down on the part near the breech in the slot where the barrel lug would go. What happens if you close the barrels with a little force? The trip should go down; but maybe there is something under it like a primer or shot. Shine a light in there and you should be able to see if there is something under there holding the trip up from going down.

Originally Posted by Jerry Harlow

A rabbit hunting buddy told me he had his uncle's Parker and the lever would not stay to the right. Had taken it to a gunsmith and it came back that way. Smith told him ALL Parkers worked that way; lever returned to center after opening. He took it to another smith where it stayed for seven years. I took it apart and the three pieces were gone. The first gunsmith had forgotten to put them back in there probably because they were lost in his shop. Took about three days to get the parts from Brian Dudley. A little fitting and it works like new. But while I had it apart it was obvious that the gun had been hunted in the rain or had been in water. But other than missing parts, the gun still worked. I would bet the trip's three parts on your gun either had dried grease holding them together or rust. It should work great now but a once every 100 year cleaning would not hurt. When you look at the trip parts one time, you will understand why I and others hold the lever to the right, close the gun, let the lever go and gently push it to the left to lock the action. I grimace every time my cousin slams his shut as if one is closing a bank vault door.

JA, thanks for the advice on closing. I am not a door slammer, but I have been letting the lever snap on closing like your cousin. In the future, I will hold the lever and let it come to center gently.

Also, having the gun cleaned every hundred years is not too anal, so I plan to have that done.