Parker 10ga. info. needed please

[DaveSmith]

Hello all, i am new to the world of parker having just received my Grandad's old parker. i am hoping someone can give me a little info. about it.

using this site to locate the correct info. this is what i found on the gun.

sn: 1213xx made in 1878 i think.

barrel weight: a big 5 and small 4 stamped on the table.

frame size: 3, which i think is a 10ga. a 12ga. shell will fit but its loose.

barrel steel: it says "twist"

grade: "P" yes, P i looked with a 10x loop and its a "P". not a PV or PH or any other combo.

now for the bad news, it is in very bad shape. it has been stored out side in a shed for the last 40+ years. if i had known it was there i would have got it decades ago. guess i should have asked grandma about paps guns sooner.

thanks for the help. Dave

[Bill Murphy]

Big hammerless tens are very nice guns. Show us pictures before you dismiss it as a lost cause.

[DaveSmith]

Originally Posted by Bill Murphy

Big hammerless tens are very nice guns. Show us pictures before you dismiss it as a lost cause.

it is not hammerless, it has double hammers. also, the right barrel is burst about halfway down right in front of the forstock. looks like it happened decades ago. and it is VERY dirty. i will post photo's later today.

Dave

[Harry Collins]

Dave,

Serial number 1213XX would make this a 1903 Parker. I checked the "Book" and only four Parkers were listed and they were all 12138X and none were 10 gauge or "P" grade. Parker was still making hammer guns in 1903. My guess is that it was left in the shed after the barrel burst. A lot of shotguns were kept loaded in out building (I found a VHE 20 gauge in a corn crib). My guess is that something "nested" in the barrel and caused the burst.

Harry

[ch]

What was the gun like you found in the corn crib pretty bad? ch

[Bruce Day]

Or a little 20ga top lever hammer damascus D grade with skeleton butt covered with a light bloom of rust but no pits and with feathers in the barrel, found in a chicken coop in southern Nebraska.

[Bill Murphy]

Bruce, from what I have heard, guns like you picture are a dime a dozen out there in the midwest. Maybe the original poster could mention the complete serial number so we can give him more information. "Bad Shape" doesn't usually include a burst barrel. We would like to see a picture of the "Bad Shape" P Grade hammer gun. I don't know about that 121,XXX serial number. I think he may have added a digit there somewhere. 121,XXX isn't 1878 as far as I know.

[Harry Collins]

Calvin,

It was in decent shape and had been taken care of. It was just kept in an out building.

Bruce,

That is one of the sweetest little Parkers I have ever seen. The other 20 gauge hammered Parker that I broke a sweat over was Mark Conrads.

Harry

[Bruce Day]

People who are not used to mechanical devices regularly confuse a date stating that a component of the article is patented with the date that the device was made. Nice guns are still found in outbuildings and closets, and estate sales too as we have recently found. While I mention sometimes about nice guns on the east coast, in truth it seems nice Parkers can be found in every area of the country where there were hunting areas. The Great Plains are no exception, as there have always been some wealthy landowners and sportsmen out here who had good guns. Many great Parkers have come from the Platte River Valley of Nebraska, known for waterfowling and closeness to upland game, and the land is rich enough to support spending for costly guns. Even now, holdings valued in the tens of million dollars are common with landowners wintering in condos or second homes in Florida and Arizona. My grandfather used to go from Iowa to Tampa every winter and he had a low grade Parker.

[DaveSmith]

OK, here we go.
photo's are not to good. only have a web cam.
complete SN - 121381
pat. dates 1872, 1874, 1876.

any info / help will be appreciated.

thanks, Dave

ps - as found condition, not cleaned or oiled yet.