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T Parker Hammer Shotgun

HOWBECK
Just purchased a double barrel 12 GA T Parker in great condition. Left lock is marked T PARKER. Right lock is marked Belgium. The butt plate has a deer in a recessed area and there is a shield at the bottom with FN in it.
The stock and forearm have excellent checkering on beautiful wood. Has a few marks which is to be expected.
The barrels are slick and shiney and thick as in no wear. Couldn't have been shot very much. They are 30 inch.
The locks are strong and work perfectly.
Was it made by Fabrique Nationale ?
It is in excellent condition over all. Would like to know the value if anyone knows before I list it for sale.
It has double locking lugs.

H.O.Caudle
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Comments

7 comments

Date Votes
  • nord
    Not a FN product. I believe Piepher, but it could have been others.

    Value is as a wallhanger. $150.00 up to perhaps $250.00 for an outstanding gun. Maybe more on the left coast, but not here in the east.

    Nord
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  • HOWBECK
    quote:Originally posted by nord
    Not a FN product. I believe Piepher, but it could have been others.

    Value is as a wallhanger. $150.00 up to perhaps $250.00 for an outstanding gun. Maybe more on the left coast, but not here in the east.

    Nord

    Gun is more than a wall hanger. Has about the same qualities as a Parker Bros ! Has Royal Damascus barrels. I would not hesitate to shoot it. Thickest barrels at the muzzle I have ever seen.
    Thanks for reply, all help is appreciated.

    H.O.Caudle
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  • Bert H.
    quote:Originally posted by HOWBECK
    quote:Originally posted by nord
    Not a FN product. I believe Piepher, but it could have been others.

    Value is as a wallhanger. $150.00 up to perhaps $250.00 for an outstanding gun. Maybe more on the left coast, but not here in the east.

    Nord

    Gun is more than a wall hanger. Has about the same qualities as a Parker Bros ! Has Royal Damascus barrels. I would not hesitate to shoot it. Thickest barrels at the muzzle I have ever seen.
    Thanks for reply, all help is appreciated.

    H.O.Caudle


    Let me point this out to you as politely as possible... unless you intend to shoot BLACKPOWDER shells in it, it is a wall-hanger!

    Damascus barreled SxS shotguns were discontinued in the very early part of the 20th century in favor of fluid steel becasue of the advent of smokeless powder. Your T Parker is NOWHERE near the quality of a true Parker Bros. shotgun, and it was made with the express purpose of trying to fool/confuse people into believing that they were buying a high quality shotgun. Several million cheap Belgian scatterguns were imported to the U.S. from about 1890 - 1910, and a lot of them had names on them that were similar to quality U.S.A. and English made shotguns... S. Holt, W. Richards, W. Moore. etc...

    Another point that needs to be made... I am willing to bet that it has shorter than currently standard chambers. Most 12 gauge shotguns of that era have 2 1/2" or 2 5/8" chambers. If you stuff a 2 3/4" (or longer) shell in it and let fly, you are asking for BIG trouble. At a minimum, the recoil will be horrendous, but most likely, you will crack/break the buttstock at the wrist, bulge the barrel right in front of the chamber, and possibly rupture the barrel. Break the gun down and look on the barrel flats or on the watertable... you should see a number like 65mm or 70mm. That number tells you what the chamber length is.

    Typical value for an old Belgian damascus tubed scattergun is under $200, but occasionally, some unknowing sucker will pay somewhat more than that. Knowledgable collectors will not even consider it for anything above about $100.

    Bert H.

    Real Men use a SINGLE-SHOT!
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  • aka rotten
    Makes me wonder if he allready knew,,,Why ask?
    [?]

    aka rotten
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  • nord
    Howbeck -

    Interesting you should ask about the gun, then proceed to tell me that my answer is wrong.

    You have a clunker. I don't care what it looks like to you. I don't care if it looks for all the world like a Parker. I don't even care if it's inlaid with 24k gold!

    The simple fact is that your gun is a knockoff of the real thing. It sold at retail for less than a third of the real Parker. Quality IS NOT THERE. There's nothing any of us can do to change the fact.

    Your gun, no matter the looks, will be poorly balanced and "clunky" whan compared with a real Parker. Placed side to side, your eyes will always move to the real Parker.

    Choose to agree or disagree, but Bert and I have given you the facts. If you don't believe us, then head for a gun show and speak to some folks that know shotguns.

    Or hope to get lucky and sell your "Parker" to someone who doesn't know. Then you'll be using the same trick that been working for the past century.

    Nord
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  • HOWBECK
    Thanks for all the info. A very good gunsmith checked it out and it is for 2 3/4 inch shells. Also stated it was one of the best made ones. The bores are not pitted. Value is in the range stated. Said it would be a excellent shooter with black powder or the light loads made for them.

    H.O.Caudle
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  • nord
    Wow! That doesn't happen very often. Thank you, Howbeck.

    And the answer is YES... Some of the Belgians were better than others. Unfortunately the bad one's drag the better one's down with them into clunker status.

    Still, no comparison to the real thing.

    Nord
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