8 gauge project

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james12345

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Hi, i'm looking at building an 8 gauge shotgun as project, most likely using a strengthened single shot 12 gauge for the action and adding an 8 gauge barrel. I have the tools to build the action but the barrel would be a challenge, whats the best option for making/buying an 8 gauge barrel? I was thinking of maybe a used kiln gun barrel if i could find one.
 
I think you might be stuck with DOM tubing with a heavy wall thickness for the barrel. I also think you need to look for a much bigger receiver. I have both a single and double 8 cartridge gun and their receivers are massive compared to a 12 guage.

cheers mooncoon
 
Are 8 gauge legal to own today?? I remember seeing a few of them as a kid on fishing boats here. They used them mainly to kill seals but I thought they were banned some years later as they were seen as punn guns or what ever you call them??
 
james12345 said:
Hi, i'm looking at building an 8 gauge shotgun as project, most likely using a strengthened single shot 12 gauge for the action and adding an 8 gauge barrel. I have the tools to build the action but the barrel would be a challenge, whats the best option for making/buying an 8 gauge barrel? I was thinking of maybe a used kiln gun barrel if i could find one.
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Did you see appaloosa on TV too? this sounds like a cool project I hope it goes well
 
3macs1 said:
Are 8 gauge legal to own today?? I remember seeing a few of them as a kid on fishing boats here. They used them mainly to kill seals but I thought they were banned some years later as they were seen as punn guns or what ever you call them??
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They where used as mounted to the front of Duck Punts back in the day of Market Hunters... the operator would scull up to rafts of ducks and geese out on the open water and when within range open fire.
They would use nails and other bits of scrap metal what ever they could find and load up the ole blunderbuss.

dero338 said:
they are not allowed for ducks hunting
10ga is the limit
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They where banned for the use of hunting Migratory Game Birds when ever it was we signed the treaty om Migratory Birds.
Dave from Reliable has one and made up a blank where he is able to slide a 10 gauge into the 8 gauge .... he is not allowed to use it for hunting though.
We where told this by him a couple years ago...
I have seen one or three and most recently there was one in the EE section maybe two years ago that last all of about 40 minutes before it was snapped up.
Anyone read the Book ''Traditions in Wood'' it is a book on Wooden decoy carveers and there are a few pages dedicated to the punt guns.
Rob
 
james12345 said:
Hi, i'm looking at building an 8 gauge shotgun as project, most likely using a strengthened single shot 12 gauge for the action and adding an 8 gauge barrel. I have the tools to build the action but the barrel would be a challenge, whats the best option for making/buying an 8 gauge barrel? I was thinking of maybe a used kiln gun barrel if i could find one.
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With all due respect ....whats the point?. I may regret this. :)
 
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FLHTCUI said:
They where used as mounted to the front of Duck Punts back in the day of Market Hunters... the operator would scull up to rafts of ducks and geese out on the open water and when within range open fire.
They would use nails and other bits of scrap metal what ever they could find and load up the ole blunderbuss.



They where banned for the use of hunting Migratory Game Birds when ever it was we signed the treaty om Migratory Birds.
Dave from Reliable has one and made up a blank where he is able to slide a 10 gauge into the 8 gauge .... he is not allowed to use it for hunting though.
We where told this by him a couple years ago...
I have seen one or three and most recently there was one in the EE section maybe two years ago that last all of about 40 minutes before it was snapped up.
Anyone read the Book ''Traditions in Wood'' it is a book on Wooden decoy carveers and there are a few pages dedicated to the punt guns.
Rob
Click to expand...

Thank you Rob for taking the time and explaining this. I have some 10ga but no 8. I seen that one on the EE also like you say was gone very quick. I have not seen one here locally in probally 25 plus years. take care :)
 
3macs1, hope I didnt come off as a ''know it all'' .
I bought an 8 gauge slug at the HACS show last spring.
When this thread popped up It brought back a flood of memories.
From Percy Bicknell and the Market Hunting days to the one that was on the EE.
There was one years ago in the local Buy&Sell and it too was gone before I bought the rag.
I had just finished my CORE and was interested in shotguns in general.
Good Luck with the Project to the OP.
Rob
 
FLHTCUI said:
3macs1, hope I didnt come off as a ''know it all'' .
I bought an 8 gauge slug at the HACS show last spring.
When this thread popped up It brought back a flood of memories.
From Percy Bicknell and the Market Hunting days to the one that was on the EE.
There was one years ago in the local Buy&Sell and it too was gone before I bought the rag.
I had just finished my CORE and was interested in shotguns in general.
Good Luck with the Project to the OP.
Rob
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Not at all Rob your feedback was greatly appreciated. :) I love shotguns as you probally can tell and never even thought about a 8 gauge before. Been shooting 10ga not that long but probally 1984 and love them so can just imagine what shooting a 8 ga would be like. Oh my shoulder hurts just thinking about it.
 
Funny this topic came up - I was experimenting the other day with a piece of DOM and some eight gauge shells used for splitting rock. My ears still ring - and pressures and power are far beyond anything that I would have expected. I would not repeat that test without serious protective shields - and would never put a beastly amount of power such as that up against my shoulder or near my head. The sound was multiples louder than a .454 Casull - the shock wave stunned - and the recoil of a 25 lb barrel - if it had been up against a shoulder, would have instantly made a fool into a wise man. Listen now - and you can likely hear my ears ringing from there.
 
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FLHTCUI said:
They where used as mounted to the front of Duck Punts back in the day of Market Hunters... the operator would scull up to rafts of ducks and geese out on the open water and when within range open fire.
They would use nails and other bits of scrap metal what ever they could find and load up the ole blunderbuss.
Click to expand...

I disagree with the loading method. Punt guns in England today are limited to 11/2" bore and bag limits must not be exceeded nor may non game species be killed or injured. That means that if there is a seagull in the middle of a flock of mallards, you cannot shoot nor can you shoot if the bag limit is 10 and the number of birds is 11.
During the market hunting days, punt guns were loaded with heavy shot and I believe often shot out to 100 yards or so hence the use of heavy shot. Scrap metal and nails would be useless beyond fairly close range IMHO. There were two general designs of muzzle loading punt guns; one had trunions and was lashed to the bow of the punt and the other had a crude bulky stock which slid along a plank on the bottom of the boat while the barrel ran through a loop of rope at the bow. By the cartridge era, I think all of the guns were mounted to the bow of the boat, some with trunions and some with proper spring loaded mounts. Punt guns usually run I think, from the mid 20 lbs up to 50 or 60 lbs and the ones that I have seen were around 8 feet long.

8 guage shoulder fired guns were used for cleaning up the cripples. In North America, all shotguns over 10 guage were banned for shooting migratory birds in the 1920s by an international treaty between Canada, USA and Mexico

Returning to 8 guage shoulder guns, the paper type of kiln gun shells have a second brass sheet metal rim crimped over the shell base of sporting shells (loaded with a solid slug). You can put the fired ones in a lathe and remove the extra rim so that they will fit a shotgun chamber, then load them with black powder etc. The more modern shells are plastic with an oversize base and rim and I have hear that the shell can be swaged down to fit a shotgun chamber (prior to loading with black powder etc.) I have never tried that myself. The paper shells are only good for 3 shots if you are using 1F powder and by then the paper is becoming perforated and the base leaking between the brass and the paper. I have made a few 8 guage shells by turning a steel base chambered for a 3 1/2" 10 guage shell then expanding the plastic body with a hot (boiling water hot) metal plunger. They work but I have not had time to make enough for round of skeet (need a bucket of round twoits)

cheers mooncoon

cheers mooncoon
 
Just got in from Pyrodex test - welded up the end of the 1" ID DOM and used a fuse - checked and it weighs 30LB - it is 2" OD - the carriage has sliding arrangement for barrel - with four bungee cords to spring back. This is early testing - just for safety purposes - decent accuracy - hit an ten inch block of wood at 31 yards. In this test, it recoiled about 4 - 5 inches - within reason for shoulder hold. I'll make some proper slugs and weigh charges and slugs and recoil.

I realize that this is cannon talk - not really for this thread, but just wanted to warn the OP that an 8 gauge can go off the end for recoil.
 
Off hand, I don't know where an 8ga blank could be had.
If tubing is being considered, DOM may not be seamless. Nicely finished, but not seamless. A welded seam may be perfect, may be strong enough to resist the hoop stress of firing pressure.
In theory, flawless drawn seamless tube should be acceptable for smoothbore pressures. Insuring that it is flawless is the catch.
Had a look at the seamless 4130 aircraft grade tubing sold by aircraftspruce.ca. Nothing listed that would be suitable for an 8 ga. barrel.
 
the accompanying photos are of a 12 guage double gun beside an 8 guage double gun and of a 8 guage double beside a 8 guage single gun. The width of the frame are 2.3" wide for a 12 guage double, 2.8" for the 8 guage double and 1.7" for the 8 guage single. I don't have a 12 guage single to give a comparison with. The 8 guage double is in fact a 10 guage on an 8 guage frame. The main point being that for a double gun, you might reasonably expect the frame of an 8 guage to be roughly 1/2 " wider than for a 12 guage double. and it would not surprise me if the single barreled gun is at least 3/8" wider in 8 guage than in 12 guage. Bottom line is that it is not realistic to use a 12 guage or even a 10 guage receiver to build a 8 guage

cheers mooncoon

12and8guagedouble_zpsd40ca84b.jpg


8guagedoubleandsingle_zps35b2ed2c.jpg
 
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