Loose Trojan thumb lever

[John Rader]

My recently purchased 1926 Trojan 20 is used and slightly abused, but it fits great and it locks up tight every time. However, when the action is closed, the lever has about 1/16" loose play at the end regardless of whether the triggers have been pulled. Everything else seems to work perfectly. Should I be concerned about hunting with it this season?
Thanks,
John

[Dean Romig]

At some point you may not be able to open it. I would have it repaired. You may have live ammo in it and may not be able to open it safely.

[John Rader]

Thanks, Dean. I intend to do just that. Repairs are going to have to wait until bird season ends, though, as it looks like this will be my only bird gun this fall. So, I was wondering if repairs can wait. The action still opens well before the lever's movement stops, so maybe I'm ok to go for no more than a couple boxes of shells? I'm thinking that when the lever has to be almost hard right before the action opens, that will be my warning to stop using it. Does this make sense?
Thanks,
John

[OH Osthaus]

So - if you have shells in there and it gets to the point you can't open it, you can always fire off both barrels to make it safe to take home.

But then season is over until its fixed.

[J. A. EARLY]

The 1910 improvements did away with the typical V-spring to return the top lever. When these break, the game is over and the lever must be returned by the thumb to lock the action, and it will not stay locked when shooting.

The newer design which your gun has, has a coil spring contained in a tube to return the opening lever, which when it breaks, still functions. This is just a guess but with a little play I would say the coil spring has broken but is a little shorter because it is in two pieces inside the tube. You have to move it the 1/16 inch before the plunger inside the spring engages the opening lever and you feel pressure to open the action.

If it is, springs should still be available from Numrich or someone here. A thirty minute repair if my guess is correct. These springs are generic, i.e. any gauge will work.

[John Rader]

Mr. Early,
Your answer to my question is invaluable to me, and I thank you for your explanation of how the lever works. That's exactly the type of information I was looking for in the first place.
John

[B. Dudley]

Actually, the 1910 locking bolt redesign still initially used a v spring, just let parts night actual opening mechanism. Your gun is late enough to have the coil spring though. Would be hard to tell exactly what the issue is without getting into the gun, but my guess would be wear between the top lever cam and the locking bolt if there is actual play with no loosness.