The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-07-08
HIGH ACCURACY ATTRIBUTED TO
 NEW TRAP GUN
Veteran Inventor Believes Firearm Has FesteSt
 Lock

Pittsheld, H., (UP)-July D. William D, Troutner, 75, machine shop proprietor. has fashinoed a l2-guage trap-Shooting gun which is the envy of gunsmiths over the nation.
 Troutner, who has been working with and making guns since he was l7 years old, has received offers Of as high as $350 for his newest creation, but he has de- clined all bids.
 Some of his inventions, including an automatic ejector, are still used on several makes of shotguns He was inventor of the first ejec- tor movement on the aPrker guns -an invention which he traded tc the Parker company 30 years age for a gun.
 But 1t is Troutners newest crea. tion, which he says is so accurate that he can break 25 out of 25' clay pigeons with 1t, that hos brought him mot prominence again.
 Puts 8 Years On Gun
 TrapShooters and gunSmIths from Texas, Oklahoma, New York California, Colorado, Ohio, Indi- ana and many parts of Illinois have come to see the famous gun, which Troutner labored over for eight years before finishing. He first made drawings Of the gun, then q model of it, before starting the actual work on the firearm. A half dozen parts had to be re-made.
 A short drop and fast lock are two outstanding features of the gun. Its accuracy is directly trace able to those two factors.
 Troutner has utilized the fastest lock known to the gunsmith and that Is one Of the reasons why his gun Is aSsertedly one.fifth faster than any other firearm made.
 The hammer drop in his gun is only iive-Sixteenths of an inch, while other fast guns have hammer drops Of seven -siXteenthS and three- eighthS of an inch
 Hammer Drop Shorter
 Secret of the faster lock lies m the shorter hammer drop, and both unite to make accuracy, since a slow lock neceSsltateS leading the tar- get" Troutner says he Is able 10 hold directly on target with his gun.
 He also asserts that this firearm has thrown all Of the i-8 ounce shot Into Q 26-inch circle at 40 yards. whereas the ordinary gun. at the same distance, Is supposed to put only 70 per cent of It's load into a 30-inch circle.
 Another feature Of the gun Is an election device. controlled by a steel toe on the hammer. The end Of the election hammer has a hook at- tached to the trigger spring. When a shell Is stuck in the gun. the ejector dislodges 1t one-eighth of an inch, and then with the gun brought to a standing cock, the empty. shell is elected easily.
 The barrel of the gun Troutner trimmed down from a bar of 24- DOuIlQ mOlyQbChuah obSSA " = three-pound piece of the finished metal. Originally six-feet in length the bar was cut down by Troutner to 3l inches.
 Forged From Single Bar
 All parts of the barrel, high rib and Jugs, he has forged and trimmed from a single ba" of the 450 grade AS per cent carbon steel, which has high tensile strength.
 Besides the air cooling feature the high rib gives the shooter of the gun the same sighting advantages as would a rifle. By the high rib arrangement the shooters eye IS free of contract with the barrel while the sun-glare from the barrel is cut down immeasurably.
 The gun has two bolts underneath and bolt in the extension. It also has fashioned beaver-tail fore end, keeps the operators hand free of contact with the barrel. The lat ter, when heated, usually affects marksmanship.
 Native black walnut is used for the gunstock and beaver-tail. The latter is ornamentad with fine net of hand-carved checkers.