Doozy of a query!

[Bindlestiff]

ser # 19689 is listed as a 12ga under lifter with 30 inch twist barrels, grade 0 with a pistol grip stock.

[Sean Harper]

Originally Posted by Robin Lewis

ser # 19689 is listed as a 12ga under lifter with 30 inch twist barrels, grade 0 with a pistol grip stock.

Thank you Robin! I'm afraid though that you are off a digit. The serial # clearly reads: (1)9698. Not as you have it at (1)9689. The number 8 is definately the final number.

I have not found direction with a grade of 0 on the Parker website... Any particulars on that grade?

[Austin W Hogan]

Sean; Several years ago I recieved some
thoroughly rusted low number Springfields to restore for our local honor guard. I made a metal box and soaked the guns in kerosene for a month or two, which softened the rust. It is difficult to remove a Parker stock without opening the action. I would suggest that you find a container, perhaps a 4 or 6 inch pipe that will allow the barrel and frame to be immersed in kero, without submerging the stock. Remove the fore end, rest the muzzle in the bottom and fill with kero to 1/4 inch below the wood. You might try putting a little penetrating oil into the seams before immersion.
Does the lifter button move 1/2 inch? that is necessary to fully unlock the barrel.

A proper tap with a rubber mallet may do the trick, but a common rust bond between two metal pieces may be as strong as a weld. Softening the rust may prevent barrel metal from adhering to the frame, or the reverse, when separating the parts.

Best, Austin