Parker Trogan
 

I've been looking at a Parker Trogan at the LGS the last few days. I don't really know enough about them to ask an intelligent question, so I'll tell what I do know.

The S/N is 205xxx. 28" barrels (uncut), twin triggers, extractors, Hard rubber butt plate. It has been refinished. No dolls head, but lockup seems tight. It looks like an old, well worn, but well taken care of field gun. On the right side of the frame, and right side of the stock there are wear marks, right where I would expect them to be if a man carried it in the crook of his arm.

The GBC (guy behind the counter) checked it with a gauge he had and said it has "short chambers" and was choked modified and full. I understand "short chamber" probably means 2 9/16th?

Right now, it looks "old" but I think a lot of that may just be that it hasn't been wiped down recently. The bores were filthy, so I asked the GBC to give them a lick and a promise cleaning, which he was glad to do. The interior looks good and shiney. No pitting inside or outside that I've noticed.

One thing I really liked is that it seems to jump to my shoulder. Even my wife who knows nothing at all about a shotgun commented on that. "That's neat the way you snap it to your shoulder like that." I laughed and told her that once in a while, I can fool people who know nothing into thinking I know something."

Anyway, thanks for letting me think outloud. I'll shut up now. :bigbye:

What is the asking price of that Trojan?

wayne: the fact that it jumps to your shoulder is reason enough to buy it now!

Bill, they've got it tagged at $850.00. No idea if that's good, bad, or indifferent, but with Stevens 311's pushing $400.00 and up, I didn't think it was too bad. I'm going to try to get it down some of course.

Ed, that's sort of what I was thinking. I'm a pump-gun man mostly. About all the shotgunning I've done is deer hunting with buckshot, so I've never worried much about how a shotgun felt. It was a good feeling.

$850 would not be a bad price on a 12g Trojan providing all is functional and the condition is not bad. Without us seeming pictures of the gun, it is hard to say for sure. When you say the gun had been refinished, in what way are you talking?

I'm not sure what it should should look like so I'm taking the word f the dealer that its been reblued at some point.

Brian and Ed work in the trade, so for the most part I would trust their input. I will only add that I agree with you in regards to the pricing of 311's. If those cinder blocks are able to fetch $400 then just about any decent Parker should be worth twice that.

On the same note, I am seeing a lot of 12ga LC Smith's with uncracked wood selling in the same neighborhood as a 311. That sure as heck doesn't make sense to me.

Apologies to those who love 311's. I just don't care for them, especially the small bores built on the same frame.

Wayne in my opinion it is a good price for a shooter. I am a bit concerned that it has been reblued and still looks old and worn. Of course not seeing the gun all any of us can do is take your observations into consideration. What is worn to one person may be just what another person is looking for. Again, for the price, especially if he will come down somewhat, I think it sounds good.

Got it for $750.00. Details later. Pictures tomorrow.

You can't buy happiness Wayne, but you can buy a Parker.

I may have overstated it looked "old and worn." It doesn't have any bare metal showing or anything, it's just not a bright, shiney blue. More of a flat, subdued blue. The area on the lock around the hinge pin shows some wear, but to me it looks like right where a man would hang the gun in the crook of his arm. Sort of like holster wear on an old Smith & Wesson revolver, I tend to think of that as honest wear. The wood is plain without any fancy grain. The checkering is sort of flat. But the more I looked at it, the better it looked.

I plan to take a few pictures of it tomorrow, then walk down the hill behind the house here and fire a few low brass shells to make sure it works.

Thanks George. I tried that and if there is any movement, I can't feel it.

The only problem I've found is I can't get the barrel to come off unless I dry it. I did some searching on the forum and apparently this is a pretty common problem. I'm hoping some cleaning, and lubing will work on that. That's the way I'm going for now.

Will it hurt to dry fire occasionally? I don't worry much with newer guns, but this one is pretty old. I'll have to pick up a set of snap caps for 12 ga.

Wayne and George: I recently sent my 16 VH back to DelGrego's to have Lawrence tighten my fore end up. When I was discussing this with Lawrence, Lawrence stated that Parkers fore ends, unlike many other doubles, were designed to actually be the primary element that keeps the barrels tight to the face. Lawrence further stated that the only test to determine barrel to face tightness is to slip a piece of paper between the breech end and the block, close the gun and see if you can pull the paper out. If the paper can be pulled out, the barrels are not tight to face, if the paper can't be pulled out then the gun is tight. When I asked Lawrence about taking the fore end off and shaking the barrels, he said this is not the test for Parkers. Didn't mean to hi-jack this thread but George's post to Wayne reminded me of what Lawrence D. had said to me recently and I thought it important enough to post. There may be other opinions.

Can't pull a piece of paper out either.

You're in good shape Wayne. Sounds like a good honest Parker. Post some pictures after the sale. All the best and Happy Easter

Spray some solvent on the uncocking slide and work it back and forth and the gun may start coming apart without dry firing. However, dry firing on a non ejector Parker is harmless. Another thing, it is pretty difficult to blow up a 12 gauge Trojan.

Yea, I was being kinda tongue in cheek with that.

That's what I've done with the uncocking slide. I'll see if that doesn't help. I didn't want to dry fire it if it would hurt anything. I had done a search here last night, and read a couple of old threads where dry firing came up and nobody had jumped in to say "Don't do that" so I figured it was ok at least on a limited basis.

I'm sorry for my ignorance... What in an "uncocking slide"? I know of a de-cocking lever on some pistols but... nothing like that on a Parker that I know of.

$750 for a one-of-a-kind Parker is a great deal.