Trojan rib matting
 

Does the matting usually end before the muzzle end?

The rib matting stops short of the muzzle on my 12-ga. 30" Trojan.

It should terminate on all grades of Parkers. Trojans however were less finely finished than other grades. The trojan will not have the hand engraved line at the end. And the matting will usually come closer to the end of the rib than other grades. And can even run off sometimes in some sections of the rib. Some guns you have to look very coose to actually see a termination on some of the lines.

Each line was cut individually.

You come here and you can learn something new everyday . . . and thanks to Brian, I learned today that Trojan matting is typically sans the termination line; the below pic supports this. The top barrel set is that from my Trojan, the middle barrel is a D-Grade hammer and the bottom barrel is a D-Grade hammerless.

Thanks for the lesson on ribs and matting.

Most determinations of barrel length originality are made with PGCA letters and or accurate bore measurements. The blank space at the end of the rib is the third method.

Though not always reliable.






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PGCA letters and bore measuring tools aren't always available at point of purchase either.

When I go shopping for Parkers I bring the ID & Serialization book and a "BoreMaster" with me. Too bad the book doesn't fit in my pocket too...





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Got out my Trojan 20. The matting ends about 1/4" or so from the nuzzles.
I love looking at the high grade stuff, but can't pass up looking in on a discussion about Parker's humble Trojan project.