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A
friend showded me a Parker that he got from someone that owed him some money for training his dog. I was wondering what any of you might be able to tell us about it. It is a 12ga, 28" steel barrels. It is plain Jane, no engraving. SN 219XXX. on the flats is says Overload Parker Bros. Proved. J.G. in a circle, 2 3/4", ov, N1 over the letter A. Pat. Oct. 25, 1910. Overall the gun is in good condition. Case color is worn except for protected areas and the barrel blue is worm some. Otherwise everything works and it is tight as can be. I would not be afraid to shoot it with the appropriate ammo at all. So what can you tell us.

Thanks,

Bill G.

Bill,
PM me the full s/n and I'll see if I can find it in the book and provide more detail.

Overload proof marks usually mean a post WW1 mfg. gun. JG is the stamp of Jim Geary- head barrel man- sometimes you'll see a K or WK- for Walter King- plant Supt. and son of C.A. King- The barrel markings on the rib should match (in many cases) the grade number stamping on the receiver flat- a 1 is a PH(E) with Parker Steel, a 2 is a GH(E) with parker Special Steel, a 3 is a DH(E) with Titanic Steel- if you have a VH(E) or Vulcan grade (introduced about 1905) there will be No. grade number stamp, as 1 was already used by the PH(E), next higher up grade- and discontinued in about 1927-- If the barrel rib roll stamp is Trojan Steel, you have a Trojan- the economy grade introduced in about 1915- and the stamping on the water table will usually be a O inside a Diamond shape-

Trojans were the basic entry level Parkers- no ejectors, forearm latch, different frame sculpting, some later Trojans may have a single trigger (usually Miller)--But know this- all the internals for the same gauge and grade Parkers had the same "guts" or internal mechanisms- quality workmanship-- All the fancy barrel steel names (except for Sir Joseph Whitworth barrels from England) are the same metallurgically speaking- a high nickel ordnance grade steel--

You will also find a number stamped on the bottom of the barrel lug- gun has to be dis-assembled- All 12 Trojans were made on the No. 2 sized frame, so that number will be stamped on the bottom of the lug-- some VH(E) were on that frame size, some were on the 1 & 1/2 size, a few on the 1 frame--

All this pertains to strictly hammerless Parkers with Nitro proofed steel barrels- the Damascus and hammer guns- whole 'nother ballgame- My guess- you have a nice old 12 Trojan- I have owned two of those over the years, and they performed flawlessly- and one other thing about the Trojan- it can't be 'counterfeited" or falsely "upgraded" into a higher grade Parker to fleece the unwary woul;d be buyer- the frame shape is different- Enjoy!!! RWTF

bill: sounds like you have a vh or trojan grade field gun...what is stamped on the top rib of the barrel? and what is the full serial number? that info is helpful in identifying which grade parker you have. in any case, it sounds like you have a valuable shotgun there.