Is it a real parker bros?

L

loosecreeksxt

Inactive
I have found a gun that has the serial number68483 It is a hammergun. On the side of the case it says Parker. No where on the gun does it say Parker Bros or Meridan Conn or even a patent date. The pintle is flush, not goggle-eyed. The lock is lever activated and Doll headed. On the top of the barrel it says: Fine Demascus. The piece in front of the trigger group is a rounded cross. In front of that there is an oval engraved with a flying duck. Also, where the firing pins are struck, there is an exaggerated shallowing or the appearance of a flash-pan. The gun is 10 guage. The lugs on the barrel are seen through the bottom of the case. The whole thing is engraved in the same places as a Parker Bros hammergun. Also, behind the cheekrest area of the stock, there is a smooth brass oval, not a shield shape. Am I looking at a counterfiet or a true rarity?
 
The Parkers, I've owned, and every other one I've looked over, were marked "Parker Bros".

Except for the early "lifter" action, every Parker Bros. action's bottom plate was a large, squared, block-shape with a "neck" toward the forward half, expanded into a rounded "head" at the floorplate's front end.

I've also never seen a Parker Bros SxS with the barrel lugs extending through the floorplate.

The Parker gun was, and still is (130 years later) a household word, and many an entrepreneur sought to capitalize upon it - especially in Europe/Belgium.

The equally famous Wesley Richards was slandered by guns of dubious quality, marked "W.Richards".

Caveat emptor - let the buyer beware.

Have you checked the underside of the barrel flats and/or the action watertable for foreign proof marks ?

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I doubt that it's real, but what markings are on the water table near the serial number? There should be a frame size, etc. The water table is the flat part of the frame behind the hinge and under the chambers the the barrels are attached.

John
 
The markings are many. On the bottom of the barrel, between the 2nd lug forward and the forend catch there is: 106 A4PD then 10 in a circle. On the barrels it says "choker". It also has 8 * 3-- the star is not clear and is deeply struck like the 8 and the 3. There are numbers below each chamber: 12 on one and 13/1 on the other. Next there is a pattern that looks like crossed swords with some decoration, although very small. The word choke also appears here followed by 10 on both sides. A 0 is in front the latch for the forend. In front of the pintle, on the water table's rounded edge is stamped a 7. The serial# 68483 also appears on the water table too. There is a capitol W with a subscript 7 or J. I'll still try to get a pic, but I don't have decent bandwidth. The areas under the latch have and around the firing pin areas are clearly plated. It comes off easily.
 
I have never come across a genuine Parker Bros shotgun, marked like yours on the barrel underside & watertable - but I've only closely examined a few dozen over the years.

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