newbie found a parker Trojan in CT

[Aaron Bernstein]

A little follow up to my new-member post with some pics.
First: long story short, my friends mother found grandpa's old guns in the basement and told dad "they got to go" it just so happens that mom works in town hall and saw my pistol permit application come across her desk. so the next time i'm over up he comes from the basement with 3 pre-ww2 shotguns and a 1938 Winchester .22. I nearly soiled myself when I saw"Parker Bros Makers Meriden CT" on the barrel!



the next day forms are signed and the state was called and they are mine. spiders and all
I cleaned them up some, bore is nice and shiny now, except for some pitting at the chokes and dirty chambers

here's a photo of the lot after some ballistol and steel wool

Yes thats my foot, no that is not my purse

I don't have anymore "before" shots of the Trojan but to give you an example of the extent of the rust on all of these guns here's the barrel of that Winchester Model 61



anywhoo, after some basic gun care (30 years too late)


i offered him $500 and he said "just take it"

I have no intention of restoring this gun and i couldn't afford that anyway, i definitely would if this was a higher-grade collectors piece, but it seems like this was a "working gun", well used for target, clays, upland, turkey, and behind-the-ktichen-door critter gitter.
I want to return it to good working condition, but have a few questions:

For a 10%-20% Trojan 12ga #2 with a tight lockup and beat up wood, what should i do before i load her up? aside from basic care, i kind of want to leave it looking as-is for now but want to know about checking out the chambers and the chokes.
How do these things take modern ammo? high-brass? I know no steel shot for waterfowl, how about foster slugs?

I'll have more info for everyone this weekend, i'm pretty sure the Dean of the college, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts frown on students doing gunsmithing in the dorms.

Thanks in advance for Your interest and advice, this is a wonderful welcoming community and I look forward to becoming a member soon. I'm so excited to have stumbled into a world of appreciation for artistry and quality craftsmanship than originated in my own back yard (i've worked in Meriden for 7 years before going back to school).

Thank You

[B. Dudley]

Looks like you got a great buy on your first Parker there! Looks like a very Honest and solid gun.
Might want to hit those barrels with some oil and a frontier pad or 0000 steel wool to remove the light surface rust.

[Aaron Bernstein]

oh almost forgot... Is it safe to dry fire this Trojan, as far as I can tell it has single piece hammer/firing pins and the disassembly instructions say to dry fire before takedown.

obviously if i snap it all the time eventually something will break, i do plan on getting some snap caps eventually.

[OH Osthaus]

do you have a couple fired shells - cut them down so they are obviously not live when you look for them. knock the primer out with a thin nail or rod and fill the hole with rubber sealant - that will last for a few tries

[Harry Reed]

A Browning A5, .22 pump and another semi-auto shotgun along with your Parker. Enjoy You are living right. As for firing the Parker, carefully study the barrels for any dents, bulges (however slight) or other signs of stress. If they appear sound they probably are. You have stated that it locks up tight. I would be comfortable with game loads and #7 or #8 shot. Remember, the wood on this gun is nearly 100 years old. Heavier loads are more likely to harm the wood then anything else.

Oh, looks like one of your other shotguns has a Cutts Compensator on the end of the barrel. The tube on the end is threaded and can be changed to other chokes. The tubes are hard to find, but are still around.

[Big D]

My home made snap caps use a pencil eraser in the primer pocket

[Mills]

That sure is a nice haul there. I got a Fox Sterlingworth 16 that had worse rust spots than yours and they came right off with oil and steel wool. There is still some light spotting where the rust was, but that just makes me worry less about it when shooting it.

[Aaron Bernstein]

Originally Posted by Harryreed

A Browning A5, .....
Oh, looks like one of your other shotguns has a Cutts Compensator on the end of the barrel. The tube on the end is threaded and can be changed to other chokes. The tubes are hard to find, but are still around.

It's a Savage 720, a licenced copy of the Auto 5 made in the USA with the same parts as a Remington mod 11 i want to try and find a magnum barrel for it

and the comp choke is a "Savage Super choke" its like a cross between the lyman cutts and a poly choke, it's missing the outer adjustment tube so I might try and remove it. all of the replacements I can find come with a barrel, receiver and stock attached

[Harry Reed]

They can be removed. I had one on a Browning Sweet 16 and had it removed. If it is a poly, the barrels will have narrow slits in the end of the barrel so when it is tightened the choke is tighter and when it is loosened the choke is opened. Removing a poly is more of a problem then removing a cutts. Be aware, after removal the barrel must still be over 16 inches.

[OH Osthaus]

Originally Posted by Harryreed

Be aware, after removal the barrel must still be over 16 inches.

i thought it was 18 inches