A gunsmith with expertise in quality doubles can correct most of this work. Many early Parkers could be ordered with a butt pad instead of the butt plate, what we see though, most cut stocks have new generic pads you can buy over the counter. The common problem with rebluing is often all the marking are ground off or the barrel is filed down to make it unsafe as the walls are to thin, also the barrels are hot blued not rust blued. Is it original: The most common restorations made to shotguns are: rebluing the barrels, cutting the stock for a pad or modifying the stock, polishing the bores or taking out the chokes and worst of all cutting the barrel to make a skeet or grouse gun.

There is still an aversion to Damascus Barrels and though articles have been written to show Parker Damascus barrels are safe, the shooting public is leery and they generally command considerably less than steel barrels. Extras also increase the value: Vent Rib, Single Trigger, Beaver Tail Forend, ejectors and the list goes on. This may not hold true though if you have V or grade 1 in a 20 gauge in comparison to a higher-grade 12 gauge, the smaller gauges always command premium and price guides add from 25% to 200% depending on the gauge.

Grade, gauge and extras: This is the easiest to explain, as a rule the higher the grade the more valuable the Parker.

Therefore, the condition of the shotgun reflects the use it had, and in collecting condition is one of the three main considerations in creating the value. The shotgun in your grandfather’s time was usually a tool to bring home meat. One of the many questions collectors are asked, is what is the value of my grand fathers old Parker Shotgun? One rule you want to remember is, old does not mean it is valuable.

Parker shotgun collectors