New Member in California

[Ronald Nelson]

I just this week discovered that the rifle case in our attic that I always thought probably held a .22 rifle in fact held a Parker Bros. 1912 12 gauge Trojan shotgun. It has a 32" inch barrel. It was fun spending some time on the site figuring out what the various markings meant. It is SN 158611.

The gun was probably purchased by my wife's great-grandfather on her mother's side. We came into possession of it some years back and it has just been sitting in the attic. Recently I took a home defense shotgun course and bought a Mossberg tactical shotgun and joined a local sportsmen's club. They do trap and skeet shooting and I had been thinking about getting a second barrel for the Mossberg pump, but if this Trojan is functional I may use it instead.

The gun is tarnished and in need of a cleaning. Any suggestions? Also I thought it would make sense to arrange to have it remotely fired the first time just to ensure that there are no issues since I have no real performance and maintenance history on this shotgun. Does this make sense or am I being silly?