Dry-fire Trojan
 

Got my close to mint 1926 20 gauge Trojan today and had it apart to check it out and do some cleaning(didn't need much). After getting it back together is it alright to dry fire or should I use snap caps to release the pressure from being cocked?

You won’t damage a Parker by dry firing it but if it makes you more comfortable, by all means use snap caps.

The springs are not the issue. It is the stop plate for ejectors that are a reason to have snap caps.

As I see in an example hang tag:

"If the gun is fitted with our automatic ejector, it is an excellent plan to have in the gun two exploded shells, so that when the gun is opened and the injectors operated they will have some work to do; other-wise the force of the blow occasioned by the ejectors being thrown against the stop plate tends to batter them and injure the plate."

Quoting from the far right tag, final sentence:

http://parkerguns.org/forums/attachm...4&d=1477448771

Since your Trojan does not have ejectors dry firing should not be a problem, that's because a Parker does not have firing pins, only hammers. If you should ever dry fire an ejector gun without empty hulls or snap caps open the gun very slowly and press your thumb gently against the ejectors before they fire and this will provide the needed shock absorber. Perhaps Brian Dudley could give some advice on whether your gun should be stored in "relaxed" position. I was told by a gunsmith I trust the design of my Miroko Charles Daly 20ga O/U was such it should be stored with the hammers in relaxed position. It's the only gun I have ever done this for. Knock on wood I have never experienced a gun break a firing pin or hammer/hammer spring.

Even when the hammers on a Parker hammerless shotgun have been dropped the springs are never completely relaxed - they remain under tension so it really doesn’t matter if you drop the hammers or not.

The hammers are conical in shape and the ‘cone’ terminates in a rounded point (firing pin per se) and the conical hammers drop into corresponding conical recesses in the frame. Dry firing a Parker hammerless shotgun does absolutely no harm.





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I have many Parkers that have been stored "cocked" for well over 100 years without any breakage. Maybe something will break in the second 100 years.

Thanks for everybodys post! Does anybody know where I can get a original hangtag like the one on the far right?

The PGCA is in possession of some hang tags that were found upstairs in the office building on Cherry Street in Meriden. The chances of a hang tag corresponding to your gun’s serial number are very slim but possible I suppose.





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I would think that the "Directions for use" hangtag would be fairly common and packaged with every gun. Is the PGCA selling any of the hangtags that were found and whom do you contact?

Yes, but only to those who have a gun with one of the serial numbers for which a hang tag exists.

I don't know who is holding those hang tags.





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