Parker Trojan Model
 

Looking for general info on Trojan model. I’m aware it’s the lowest model sold by Parker. Looking for dates of manufacture. TIA

Charlie,

The Trojan was introduced in 1912. It was a result of work to try and introduce a $25 gun as a new field/base model. All other makers at that time had a gun priced at $25 and Parkers lowest prices offering was $37.50 (for the VH).

It was made until 1939 when Remington dropped it from the line after the move to Ilion, NY.

The gun featured plain wood stock with simpler checkering. A plain serrated buttplate with no spur. The frond fastening was a coil spring loaded snap on type. The frame had minimal sculpting/filing. And no engraving embellishments. The barrels did not have a patent dolls head rib extension. they originally just had a straight extension which was later eliminated completely. The metal finishes on the gun were the same as any other grade of Parker gun.

Though some exceptions exist, the Trojan was not able to be specially ordered. It was limited to 12, 16 and 20g. In specific frame sizes (2, 1 and 0 respectively). Barrel lengths were pretty fixed to two different lengths per gauge. Extras such as Ejectors and single triggers were not available.

Despite the plain exterior, the quality is quite good, and they carry, and swing nicely in the field.
My little 20 handles like a wand, and is truly a pleasure to carry.

Thanks for quick replyw
 

Wow. This is Charlie’s wife trying to help him out on the computer. Would like to print these replies for him but don’t see any way to send to printer. I’ll kerp trying but thanks for any help. I know he has a Trojan in his collection.

Right click on the page....
 

then select print from the options which appear!

Hello Charlie's wife. It's nice to see you collecting information on a Trojan for him. I think I can help you with printing and further Parker knowledge.

First, printing. I will assume you are on a computer that is running MicroSoft? That's how I tried the following process.

While reading the page of interest, you should be able to "right click" the mouse on what you want to print and a "drop down box list" should appear with a "print" option to select.

OR, if that gives you unacceptable results; "left click" the mouse at a point where you want to have printed, then (keep the mouse button pressed) move the mouse to the end of where you want to print. The text background will change color for that selection. Now let up on the mouse left button but keep the mouse "aimed" at the selected text and then press the "right mouse" button and select "copy" on the drop down list. You now have it available to drop into a email, word processor or whatever computer tool you use to type in text. Just go there and click the right mouse button and select "paste" from the drop down list. The rest is up to you.... send an email and print it when it comes in or .... BTW. you can "cut & paste" several times to build up what you want to save into one text area.

I hope that wasn't too much or ..... assumptive of me to explain this to you.

If you and he are interested in learning more about Parker Bros shotguns I would suggest first going to the main web page www.parkerguns.org and looking through the web links listed along it's left side. There is a lot of information gathered up there for easy access. Later, if/when you require more and more knowledge I would recommend a purchase of "The Parker Story" (2 volume set).

If charlie wants to buy a copy of the parker story, I will gladly sell him one. Have him ask me about it next time he calls me.

The very first Trojans had a plain black finish on the frame and the barrels. I have only seen two such guns. Parker then color case hardened the frames and rust blued the barrels like any other Parker. The fit of the metal to metal and wood to metal was usually on a par with the higher grade guns. They were every bit a Parker and handle well. In my opinion, it was the finest field grade gun offered in America. I have a fond spot for them.

I have never heard that Trojans were ever intended to be factory finished in all blue. What documentation do you have to support this?

Brian.....I have no documentation except for Peter Johnson mentioning it in his book. A lot of what Johnson wrote is not totally correct. But he interviewed Charlie Parker and he might have misinterpreted things or just got them wrong. I thought he was wrong about the plain black finish also. But many years ago a bar owner showed me his Parker that his father bought new from the factory in Meriden. The gun was little used and still had all of the original finish. The barrels were plain black and rather dull. The frame had the same black finish. I know a refinished gun when I see one and this gun did not appear to be refinished in any way and the owner said it had never been touched. I could be wrong, but after seeing that gun and one other, I became convinced that at least a few of the very earliest Trojans had a plain black finish. They might have been prototypes but I don't know. Peter Johnson didn't invent his notion of plain black finished early Trojans. He might have heard that from Charlie Parker. It's a mystery.