Update on Grade 5 Trojan
 

Mearl Mace and I met this afternoon and I got a chance to see his Grade 5 Trojan. It's a nice gun and someone obviously spent a lot of money to upgrade this Trojan. Here are my observations, followed by pictures.

1. The engraving is nice but I don't think it was done by a master engraver.
2. The receiver is blued and the sides of the frame have the profile of the higher grades but not as deep.
3. The floor plate engraving is not like anything I've seen.
4. The forend iron is original but blued
5. A metal tip was installed.
6. Checkering on forend has mullard borders
7. Trojan barrels with engraved bands at breach.
8. Trojan steel stamped on top rib
9. The butt stock is probably off a G grade gun. The serial number is not stamped in the wood under the trigger guard. Figure of the grain looks like G grade wood.
10. Butt stock checkering has mullard borders
11. Right barrel .736 bore, .725 choke. Choke starts 4" from muzzle
12. Left barrel .739 bore, .725 choke. Choke starts 4" from muzzle.
13. Barrels are uncut

Next post starts the pictures

Mearl would like comments.

Looks like a nice upgrade to me. I do not think this was done by Parker at all.
This was done aftermarket.

More

still more

Mearl also brought along 3 other Parkers. One was a VHE that was also upgraded with additional engraving and non original wood. It had a non factory vent rib and beavertail forend. Both the forend and butt stock were not original however the forend did have the reinforcing screw and iron with ejectors. There was a custom grip cap installed. This gun had the previous owners name on the trigger guard. Sorry I don't remember his name however he was a pro baseball pitcher for the Red's in the 30's and early 40's. Mearl showed me an original baseball card for him and a letter from the Baseball Hall of Fame stating that he was not in the Hall of Fame but had statistics that were Hall of Fame caliber.

The other 2 guns were original except for possibly the chokes on the GH. A 1891 GH that had Vulcan barrels which were factory. The second was a very nice 32" SC SBT from about 1922.

Chuck , thanks for taking the time and helping Mearl with his custom Parkers.

thanks Chuck for all your help it was greatly appreciated I wonder if I send this gun to Delgreco if he will know exactly who did the work? I'm just curious as to what went down with it, let me know what you guys think

Mearl, you mean Larry and Lawrence Del Grego. I suppose it is possible but not probable. Suggest you call and send photos first. Their contact information is on our links page.

A neat gun. You can see the Trojan sculpting on the bottom, but the sides were filed into a graded gun style. Very interesting work.

ok thanks, guess it won't hurt to contact them I'd judt like to know who did the work etc. somebody should know maybe I'll get lucky

ok thanks, guess it won't hurt to contact them I'd judt like to know who did the work etc. somebody should know maybe I'll get lucky

Another strange and terrifying gun - they seem to be coming out of the woodworks these days! You can call Del Gregos and ask if they will look at pictures, but I'm certain they would not commit to identifying the engraver. Without a signature, spending big bucks on a highly-engraved gun is dicey at best. Absent a PGCA letter and a little detective work in the Stock and Order books (e.g., who worked on what at the time the gun was built), there is virtually nothing certain about who engraved a particular gun. Even with all the collaborative (but circumstantial) evidence put forth in the latest Parker Pages' article, "An Ulrich Engraved Parker", the direct connection between Ulrich "visiting the Parker factory at Meriden" on a periodic "walk-in" basis to engrave a relative's gun is ephemeral at best and, at worst, sheer fantasy.

It reminds me of the long-held belief that Peter Johnson, author of the first book on Parker Guns (The Parker Gun), actually travelled to Meriden CT. to interview still-living employees of the original gun works. The simple reality of fact was that ALL of Johnson's correspondence with then-living Parker Bros. employees consisted of appoximately a dozen hand-written letters. The rest of his draft material was garnered from advertisements, shoot results from sporting magazines, word of mouth, visits with gun dealers aroung Richmond and Petersburg VA, Washington DC, and Baltimore. So far as his ever having visited Meriden for sit-downs with old Parker employees, he told Ed Muderlak in his wonderful interview, " I might have ridden through there on a train a time or two." Investigation over....