Weren't all 16ga Trojans on the #1 frame? I know it varied with the graded guns, but I was under the impression that on Trojans, all guns of the same gauge were built on the same frame.
That could be; Parker did not note frame size in the records, however, observed guns are as you say.
Actually the one-frame was standard in 12-gauge back before wood nitro powders became popular in the 1890s (Dittmar's Wood Smokeless was available in the mid-1870s), but the advent of two-frame Parkers in 12-bore really followed the introduction of the Parker hammerless in late-1888 and thereafter. Many of the 1880s & 1890s Damascus 12-bores have one frames (1/16-inch over one inch between firing pins), which I believe were used mostly on the upland bird guns, while the two and three frames (2/16- and 3/16-over-one-inch) were used to build up barrel thickness (and weight) on trap and waterfowlers. As loads got generally heavier after 1890, and customers wanted their guns warranted for nitro powders, Parker went to the two frame on 12s for barrel thickness, but then shaved down the frame's exterior to make the 1 1/2 frame while maintaining the 1 and 2/16-inch between the pins.
This was mostly history when the Trojan was introduced in 1912, and I suppose to keep things simple on a cheap gun the frame was standardized as No.One (1/16-over-one-inch between the pins) to allow for sturdy "knockabout" barrel thickness consistent with "modern" loads. But with the Trojan frame being unique there was no reason to distinguish two different exterior dimensions (1/2 and full size) as it is doubtful that the Trojans were anything but "one size fits all."
The funny thing is that smaller frame size does not necessarily translate into a lighter gun. For example, my 1936 VHE Skeet gun has a 1 1/2 frame and weighs 6 lbs 15 ozs; I have weighed other later-date Skeet guns with the hallowed 1/2 frames that are heavier, and Bill Hedricks VHE 1/2 frame is but an ounce or two lighter. This was covered in
Parker Guns: The "Old Reliable." Somebody, no doubt, will jump in and cite any known exceptions.
Investigation continues. EDM
