My first Parker

[Ralph Miller]

I purchased my first Parker, an SBT, made in 1928. It is stamped a B grade with all matching S/N's, but it is not all original. At some point in time the forearm and rear stock were upgraded, with a beautiful hand carving, with leaves and acorn designs. The barrel was also re-polished, and then beautifully engraved and re-blued. The barrel engraving is larger dimensionally than on the receiver, but of similar design. There is a lot of engraving on the barrel, a lot of work and time was spent. The receiver still has its color case hardening, but is faded. Overall I would say the SBT is 80-90%, but not original. I can see some slight polishing/removal of material on the original barrel, on the name and ACME steel markings. I am trying to learn more about this SBT through books I have ordered, and will take some pictures, but there is not much info and pictures on the SBT. I had no idea Parker made such beautifully made firearms. Is there any good books on SBT's out there?
Thanks,
Ralph

[Dean Romig]

Pictures would be nice.

The best book on Parkers, including the SBT’s is the two-volume set The Parker Story.

If you never knew Parker made such beautiful guns, this book will blow your mind.





.

[Bill Murphy]

There must be some single barrel articles in The Parker Pages. One interesting article is about a 20 gauge single trap.

[Dean Romig]

Right Bill, but non-members don't get Parker Pages, nor can they purchase the Digital Archive, so they are not likely to read those articles.






.

[Keavin Nelson]

Ralph,
welcome to the Parker world, and you have found the right group to grow your interest! I would agree, a copy of the Parker Story is worth the investment. As is a membership in this fine group.

[Ralph Miller]

Here are a few pics before I bought it, as I was trying to figure out its true non-original condition, and worth. It cleaned up nicely once I got it home, I need to take some more current pics. The bore is pristine, but the rib is missing the center ivory bead. The stock cap is gold with light engraving around the circumstance. Any idea where the forearm & stock might have come from, or where the barrel engraving/re-bluing was done. The recoil pad looks like an early Pachmayr, but it does not fit perfectly at the top, so I do not think it was originally installed when the new forearm and stock were installed, because they fit very nicely.

Thanks guys for your help,

Ralph

[Dean Romig]

The engraving alone identifies it as a SB and the circassian walnut appears to possibly be original to the gun judging by the correct “trap comb” and though the checkering and carving was not done by Parker it is truly a work of art!

We see a lot of Parker SBT’s that have been tweaked this way or that and though they may have brought pride to their owners, their values have been seriously compromised. Yours however and IMO, is beautifully done and I would be proud to have it in my collection and to occasionally bring it to the trap range.





.

[John Davis]

Here are some pics of my SB for comparison. You've got a great gun there.

[Bill Murphy]

The aftermarket work done on this gun is of better than good quality. I would buy this gun. In what area of the country did you find this gun? That may give us a hint about who did the work. We need better pictures of the barrel engraving to help with the identity.

[Ralph Miller]

Dean, Bill, and John, thanks for the great info and pics from your personal SBT’s. When I first found this Parker SBT, it had been sitting in a gun shop I frequent, and it had been there for a little while. The SBT was priced outside the range for their normal shop clientele. According to the shop owner, the SBT came into the shop from two older women, one in her 80’s and one in her 50’s, mother and daughter. The daughter explained it belonged to her dad for over 50 years, who passed away a few years ago, and her mom was now ready to clean out her late husband’s personal things. I have known the shop owners for many years, so they always try to provide me with as much background information as possible on any old/used firearm. However, they did not think I would be interested in the Parker SBT, until I spotted it in their display case. They informed me that, they thought it had been altered, with a new forearm and stock and potentially had the barrel re-blued, so they would make me a great deal on it. They are not experts on Parker's either, and had to rely on the Blue Book to form their originally and value assumptions. As I looked over the SBT I thought it was beautiful, and the workmanship and attention to detail with the engraving was amazing, thinking it was made in 1928, it was exciting, welcome to the Parker world. I had the shop hold it for me, while I did some research / investigation on the SBT. I ordered several Parker books, but none had specific info on the SBT, but I gained enough general info to identify the B grade from the B & 5 above and below the S/N on the frame water-table. I also was able to verify that all the S/N’s, on the frame, barrel, trigger guard tang, and forearm attach point, all matched. I made the shop a lower offer than they were asking, based on what I knew, and they accepted it, so now I have my first Parker SBT. Thanks for the tip on the Parker Story reference, I will have to order a copy. I live in Ca, so maybe that will provide a clue to where the barrel engraver and upgraded forearm and stock were performed. Included are a few more recent pics on the barrel engraving and stock carvings. As I mentioned I could see some polishing indication on the left side of the barrel in the logo on the missing arrow quills, on the left. Is the logo roll stamped from the factory? Also, the most resent recoil pad was not fit exactly to the stock, but this could be changed several time during a trap guns life.

Thanks again on your help figuring out what I have from an originally standpoint. I will definitely plan on taking this SBT to the trap range, once in a while, as I like to shoot all my firearms.

Ralph