Lever question

[Frank Wilson]

Being new to Parker's and relatively new to doubles in general I have a question related to the function of the top lever I will attempt to ask correctly.
Is it a normal function of the Parker to open even if the lever is not push passed past the "locking location" but then not being able to close unless the lever IS pushed to the locked location? The reason I ask is that I have a Fox that will NOT open at all unless the lever is pushed to the locked location. Hope that makes sense and as always thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[Dean Romig]

The Parker lever operation as you describe is the normal operation.

However, if you can't close the gun at all without operating the lever... you have a problem there because that is NOT normal.

[B. Dudley]

To my knowledge, there is no double made that the lever does not get held open when the barrels are open. The means of how the lever is held open will vary based on the design of the gun.

Both the Parker and the Fox operate on a spring loaded trip pin under the locking mechanism. When opened, the pin is driven up into a notch in the bolt to hold the lever open. And then when the barrels are closed, the trip is released from the bolt allowing the lever to "snap" to the locked position.

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Brian Dudley

Both the Parker and the Fox operate on a spring loaded trip pin under the locking mechanism. When opened, the pin is driven up into a notch in the bolt to hold the lever open. And then when the barrels are closed, the trip is released from the bolt allowing the lever to "snap" to the locked position.

However, these two functions must be independent of one another because I just tried my DH 20 ga. several times and sometimes it will open when operated very slowly and the lever will return to the closed position... but not always.

So, I will retract my earlier opinion. Thanks Brian.

[Frank Wilson]

Dean, that is the case with my 16 ga VH 0 frame every time. The barrels will open without the lever being pushed all the way to the locked position allowing the lever to return to the closed position which prevents the barrels from closing. The Fox however operates just as Brian describes. Obviously not a big deal from a functional standpoint. Just wondering whether that was normal or something that will need to be addressed at some point.

[Gary Laudermilch]

My 1 frame P will open prior to the lever locking. However, the lever never fails to lock if you push it far enough. The top lever is slightly left of center when closed. Not sure if this has anything to do with it.

[Dean Romig]

Frank, it doesn't seem right that it operates that way all the time. It should be examined by someone with Parker experience. It could be the result of wear or it could be because of "crud" in the mechanism. Brian has a lot more experience in mechanical matters of Parker guns and can probably shed more light on the problem.

[B. Dudley]

The top lever position means little on a Parker.
The amount that the lever can move due to taking up wear is very little.

The lever positions from one Parker to another can and will vary.

[Steve Havener]

Just checked my 1903 vintage #1 frame VH 16 gauge and found that if the top lever is not pushed far enough to the right to allow the trip to engage the top lever the barrels will open and the top lever will return to the center which will not allowing the barrels to close. I think that this is pretty much normal for a Parker at least the older ones or guns that have been used extensively.

[Frank Wilson]

Interesting. My top lever always locks consistently and without issue if pushed to the proper point. From all the discussion, what I remain unclear on is whether it is normal that the barrels will not close unless the lever is in the locked position. And if it's not normal, is it a mere minor inconvenience or should I have it addressed soon?