Parker BHE barrel and water table original?

[Larry the Gun Guy]

Originally Posted by Mark Luitjen

I would like to know where the pictures that have been posted came from. I gave up trying to send mine. This is absolutely the gun I bought. Was this gun on some website for sale before I got it? Also as a novice and not a gunsmith, the discussions about the roll pin are like Greek to me. I have noticed that the fore-end is difficult to remove and put back on. Could this be attributed to the roll pin? Should I have that repaired?

PM sent.

[Mark Luitjen]

Larry,
Thanks for the info and encouragement. My buyer's remorse disappeared after I shot the BHE at the trap field yesterday. Any advice from our members on the best gunsmiths to send Parkers to for repairs, like putting ejector hardware back into the fore-end? I found the hardware that I didn't know I had recently, and thanks to Dean Hanson now know the belong in the first parker I bought years ago.

[Dean Romig]

Some forends are simply stubborn.
Whatever you do, don’t force it off or on without knowing exactly where to apply pressure… you could end up breaking it in half.





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[edgarspencer]

Originally Posted by Mark Luitjen

Also as a novice and not a gunsmith, the discussions about the roll pin are like Greek to me.

It is generally accepted that the slotted head of the roll pin is on the left side, although there are documented examples of the opposite. It has no effect on the functionality of the gun, merely here say evidence the gun has been worked on.

[BRDHNTR]

You earlier asked about gunsmiths. Just fyi I use Dan Cullity in Sandwich Mass for all of work needed on my Parkers and other guns

[edgarspencer]

Originally Posted by Dean Romig

Some forends are simply stubborn.
Whatever you do, don’t force it off or on without knowing exactly where to apply pressure… you could end up breaking it in half.

Dean is right in saying this and it isn't uncommon to see a gun with a repaired fore end, that has been broken around the front of the fore end iron.
It's logical to assume Parker wouldn't have shipped a gun with a fore end so difficult to install, so, why now? I'll state it here, that this 99% the case on an EJECTOR gun. In the case of the subject gun, it's related to the fitting of a non-original set of barrels. When the gun was built, the gap between the end of the ejector rods and the ejector hammers is barely anything. The ejector rods are ground to get this gap. When a different set of barrels are fitted, this gap may be greater or lessor, and, in the case of the subject gun, the rods are actually pushing on the ejector hammers when you're trying to install the fore end, This is lifting the ejector hammers off of their sears. To prove this to yourself, remove the barrels and install the fore end on them. See if the faces of the ejectors are slightly raised from the breech end of the barrels.
The safest way to fit the fore end on a gun like this is to start the fore end in position, and slightly open the gun. This allows the ejectors to move outward and relieve the pressure of the ejector rods against the ejector hammers. This shouldn't be considered a final fix, and a gunsmith should grind the rods to re-establish the proper gap.