Hammer gun mechanics

[C. Aaron Beck]

I have found that since there is no spring to cock on opening, my hammergun seems to "fall" open. This is rather nice, similar to a self opener id imagine, however, it seems to hit the bottom end a bit hard. metal on metal feeling which makes me cringe and think "off face". The gun is 120 yrs old and is still on face but I have no idea how much service it saw. Am I missing something, worried about nothing, anyone else feel the same way? Oh yeah. the gun sort of sticks at the top of the open cycle. even though the lever is open, the barrels need a little pressure to start opening, this contributes to the bottoming out as the heavy barrels just dont stop till they hit metal...

[Dean Romig]

Is your Parker hammergun a top action gun with the third "check hook" lug? If so, there is less to worry about as the check hook was designed for the very purpose of "checking" that horrendous drop that prematurely wore out so many guns of the earlier design.

[Austin W Hogan]

The check hook appears around s/n 24000 on both lifter and top action guns. It is a positive stop for the barrels but it does transmit the stopping force to the frame. It checks the barrel drop if the action is opened, but interaction of the shooters hand probably reduces the danger of action deformation.

Best, Austin

[C. Aaron Beck]

The check hook hits the pin just aft of the hing pin? seems to have this, though if it hits this with such alarming authority, i cant imagine the effects of not having one. Thanks for the info, I better understand now.