Have you ever noticed

B. Dudley · 01-01-2023, 04:34 PM

The only cyanide coloring that is correct on Parker guns is the the top levers of Ilion made guns. Remington was having issues with the levers wanting to warp using the bone/charcoal process and they could not get it figured out. So they decided to cyanide color the levers instead since they had no issues using that process. This whole deal is documented through correspondence between ilion and former meriden employees such as James P. Hayes. So, to summarize, on these late guns, they will have bone/charcoal colors on all of the parts except for the top levers.

Delgrego chose to use all cyanide coloring on any guns they did once they got their operation going. And this was the case until about 15 years ago when they started having Turnbull color their guns for them.

If one feels that a delgrego restoration adds any sort of value to a gun, then so be it. That value would not be placed in the accuracy of the work.

Keith Doty · 01-01-2023, 11:57 PM

I'm in the middle of a "screaming" bad gunsmith experience right now. Just plain shoddy work. This smith has royally screwed up a 12 ga. CHE for me after assuring me he was skilled at the desired work and competent to do the job. I was good with the 21 months to do the work and the price asked (he should not have promised 7 to 8 months as he did) if the job had been correctly done. It was not. On my first inspection about 14 or 15 months in I informed him in no uncertain terms this was not the results we had talked about and I absolutely expected. I left the gun expecting the issues to be corrected.
The gun shipped back to me mid December, my first chance to shoot it was over the holidays. VERY not good. I notified him immediately but was far too mad to have conversation at that time and indicated I would call him this coming week.
I would sincerely hate for any of our members or, for that matter, ANYBODY to end up in my current situation.
So, what is the consensus here on a photo spread, a history on the work to be done, and naming names? All thoughts and opinions welcome.