10 ga. damascus sxs

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where do I start. This guy I work with had this 10 damascus that his grandpa owned and gave to his son then gave to his cuz. then I helped and now own. grandpa came up from the usa in 1934.I want to shoot geese with this old girl. what do i do to get safe rounds?the rifle is a remington
 
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It would be nice to know what model Remington you have and some details , such as how tight the action locks, what length barrells, chamber length and so forth? Sounds like it has traveled threw alot of hands of late! There is also a company down in the states that dedicated to only 10 gauge shotguns, if I remeber there info I will forward it, Dale in T-Bay
 
If the gun is sound, determine the shell length, reload with BP, just remember you'll have to dig up some Bismuth shot if using for waterfowl. This requirement for bismuth will make this a very expensive experiment.
 
Bismuth is a heavy metal similar in properties to lead and safe for guns designed and choked for lead shot but meets the requirements for non-toxic shot for waterfowl hunting.

But it ain't cheap!
 
thanks fellas, i am dropping it off to jennings.he is an english trained gun doc.to size it up. i know it locks up tight but will let dave give it the once over.
 
lthunt said:
modern load are not safe in damascus barrels
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IMHO, This is an example of someone not in possession of all the facts, spreading misinformation.

Those of us who make a point of learning about older shotguns, and by that I mean pre WW1, know that Damascus barrels can be as strong or stronger than any fluid steel barrel. There are many example of 100 - 130 year old Damascus barrels being successfully re-proofed by the proof houses in England. Just as there are examples of fluid steel barrels blowing up because unqualified gunsmiths had made the mistake of lengthening the chambers beyond what was safe and left the barrels walls just a little too thin, and the owner didn't make it his business to understand what he was firing.

At the height of the changeover from Damascus to fluid steel, the Birmingham proof house did a test to determine which were stronger, Damascus or fluid steel. They gathered 30 some odd barrels, including the best available at the time from Whitworth and Krupp. The results were inconclusive, meaning there was no winner, either Damascus or fluid steel. However, the three barrels that withstood the heaviest loads were all Damascus. Fluid steel won out in the marketplace because it is cheaper to make, not because it is better.

Read Sherman Bell's articles in Double Gun Journal if you want to find out more about the worthiness of Damascus barrels

If you want to shot the gun, have it inspected by a qualified gunsmith, and by that I mean someone who regularly works on old shotguns.

They don't need to be wall hangers just because someone doesn't understand what they've got.

I don't know why I'm saying this. The only possible effect it may have is to get others interested in using old guns. And that will just help to make them more expensive. I'm a dope!
 
I wouldn't recommend factory loads for the old 10 gauge until the chamber length is determined, something tells me that 10 ga. 3 1/2" Magnums may not be the most prudent, in that gun, at this time.
 
canvasback said:
At the height of the changeover from Damascus to fluid steel, the Birmingham proof house did a test to determine which were stronger, Damascus or fluid steel. They gathered 30 some odd barrels, including the best available at the time from Whitworth and Krupp.
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at the time

I would put the steel available even 20 years after this time to be much better. Compared to the steels we have today, no contest.

That said I love old guns too and completely agree with the spirit of your post!
 
Damascus Barrels

Damascus barrels are made by forging steel strips around a mandrel, and hitting them to weld them together. Fluid steel barrels are formed from one piece of steel. Generally, damascus barrels were made and designed for black powder loads.

Black Powder has a different burning rate than smokeless powder. Therefore, the peak pressure occurs at a different place in the barrel when fired. Also, the shotgun shells at the time were loaded with cardboard over powder wads and horsehair cushioning wads, and were either brass or paper construction. They did not seal as well as plastic wads, so the generated less pressure in the barrel. They could even be shorter chambers, as 2 9/16 inch long shells were quite common in the period this shotgun was made and used. Firing a 2 3/4 inch modern shell in a shorter chamber can raise pressures considerably.

Lastly, most of these old shotguns have thinner barrels (especially European ones) than todays designed for steel shot ones. They also tend to have tighter chokes. When steel shot first came out, people with older shotguns fired it in full choke barrels, and they sometimes bulged the barrel at the muzzle end because the steel shot did not compress like lead when travelling throught the choke restriction. Also, some of these barrels were made from a softer steel, and steel shot put grooves in the barrel when shot.

Todays recommendations when using steel shot is to use a modified choke.
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Nice shot can be safely loaded in your 10 gauge , the only pee off to the whole thing is trying to find 10 gauge brass hulls!:eek:
You will have to use factory hulls to load your BP with.
Will Bilozir has both ITX and nice shot, but I would reccommend nice Shot , it works very well in my damascus guns, hits well, and can be squeezed with a pair of pliers, so it is soft enough .

have fun with it!:)
Cat
 
I completely agree, there is a difference between then and and more modern steels. I was trying to get at the idea that one can blindly make assumptions about old Damascus barrels vs old fluid steel barrels. Your point and buffdogs points are all important to consider as well. The issues just apply equally to Damascus and fluid steel from that time
MauserMike said:
at the time

I would put the steel available even 20 years after this time to be much better. Compared to the steels we have today, no contest.

That said I love old guns too and completely agree with the spirit of your post!
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