Parker hale crank pistol.

[brucieboy]

I was talking to someone today who has this pistol.Seems a strange beast to me.What's the point of the cranking mechanism?apart from cocking it of course.

[Abasmajor]

Hi,

The Parker Pecision Pistol was patented in 1920 by A. Hale & E. Harris and only had a brief production period probably due to its complicated mechanism which must have been expensive to make and probably difficult to maintain. Although a little inelegant it came from a respected manufacturer and was very well made. The only purpose of the crank was to cock the pistol and was designed to automatically disengage after three turns which left the pistol ready to load and fire. Interestingly, the pistol has a loading gate at the rear which also has a heavy guage wire pellet seater to push the pellet into the shallow rifleing before closing the gate.

These pistols are rare, but examples do sometimes turn up at Arms Fairs & Auctions.

I am presently looking to buy an example of the Parker Pistol should your contact ever wish to part with his.

Regards

Brian

[brucieboy]

Thank you for that,very interesting.I think he's rather fond of it and only shoots it occasionally.He has the original box as well which is a bonus.

[njaw]

Thank you for that,very interesting.I think he's rather fond of it and only shoots it occasionally.He has the original box as well which is a bonus.

He has the original box!!! I would have thought rocking horse poo was easier to find! Lucky chap.

[brucieboy]

Maybe not,don't know what the original box was like.It's in this.

[Atlantia]

I wonder what it's like to use

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tNJe...layer_embedded

[Abasmajor]

Maybe not,don't know what the original box was like.It's in this.

Hard to be absolutely sure from the photograph posted. The original carton would have had a hinged lid and would have been covered with a reddish brown leather cloth with no exterior label. The label inside the lid looks correct and gave operating instructions and ranges at which the pistol could be expected to be effective.

So, subject to confirmation of the above the box could well be original and a very rare thing indeed.

Regards

Brian

[elanmac]

I made this pistol 30 years ago but as I had never seen one I made it from the original Patent drawings. I eched it too deep. It shoots like a Webley but is much easier to cock. Apparently they were popular on cruise ships as the ladies could load their own guns.

[Minuteman]

I made this pistol 30 years ago but as I had never seen one I made it from the original Patent drawings. I eched it too deep. It shoots like a Webley but is much easier to cock. Apparently they were popular on cruise ships as the ladies could load their own guns.

A truly skilled craftsman's work is a joy to behold - and my heart is lifted looking at that. Very, very nice.

Link fixed: http://i452.photobucket.com/albums/q...ERINBOXMAC.jpg

[elanmac]

Thankyou minuteman for the comment and thank you for making the picture larger, I didn't know how to.
Mac

[Atlantia]

I made this pistol 30 years ago but as I had never seen one I made it from the original Patent drawings. I eched it too deep. It shoots like a Webley but is much easier to cock. Apparently they were popular on cruise ships as the ladies could load their own guns.

Wow! Fantastic work!
Of all the old pistols to make, you certainly choose one of the more complicated, how long did it take?
A lincoln Jeffries would have been sooooooo much easier!

[elanmac]

I can't remember how long it took to make probably a couple of months in my spare time. The gears I had made by the apprentices at Chubb where I used to work. I made a few different airguns over a period of 20 years. It wasn't the most difficult pistol I made, that was the swing handle BSA. I wouldn't have made the Parker if I had known that they were available however rare. All the other guns I made didn't go into production. Even then, circa 1980 they were expensive. When a well known collector heard about my Parker he asked me to restore one he had. I did it as a favour but he insisted on paying me with a Hakim air rifle.
Mac

[njaw]

Many years ago in one of the airgun magazines there was an article about a chap making one of these from scratch. Very impressive piece if I remember rightly.

cheers
Nick

[Josie & John]

I can't remember how long it took to make probably a couple of months in my spare time. The gears I had made by the apprentices at Chubb where I used to work. I made a few different airguns over a period of 20 years. It wasn't the most difficult pistol I made, that was the swing handle BSA. I wouldn't have made the Parker if I had known that they were available however rare. All the other guns I made didn't go into production. Even then, circa 1980 they were expensive. When a well known collector heard about my Parker he asked me to restore one he had. I did it as a favour but he insisted on paying me with a Hakim air rifle.
Mac

Amazing craftsmanship. I believe you have also made replicas of the Whiting Webley Mac. If you have access to one, I'm sure many on here would be very interested in its performance.

Kind regards,

John

[elanmac]

Hi John, The Whiting Webley is a waste of time regarding power, about 1ft lb due to the small cylinder bore, even smaller spring, no piston seal and long barrel.

Mac