im assuming this is without a chamber length gauge? would you mind posting a thread on how to do this properly?
in fact if some of you SxS enthusiasts wouldnt mind putting an info thread together sometime about what to look for - and what to avoid -when buying a SxS, im sure it would be much appreciated by the community.
Yes, a chamber guage would be the most accurate, but I've found I can judge the length of the chamber by running a wooden dowel down the side of the chamber until I feel the beginning of the forcing cone. I usually run the dowel back and forth several times to make sure the end is as close to the start of the forcing cone* as possible. Then, I mark the point on the dowel even with the face of the breech (edge of the barrel). Next, I simply measure the length of dowel as marked. Remember to subtract the 1/4" that is there to allow room for the crimp. I recommend 3 separate measurements done this way, in order to eliminate the odd bad reading.
So, if you measure 2 3/4" to the start of the forcing cone, the chamber(s) are 2 1/2 inch; 3" measurement means 2 3/4" chambers, and so on.
* For those who don't know, the forcing cone is like a funnel section that reduces the barrel diameter from the diameter of the shell down to the diameter of the barrel. It's not a sharp angle where the forcing cone starts, but it is easily perceptible. Holding the dowel against the right side of the chamber at the opening while feeling for the start of the chamber on the left side of the barrel (or vice versa) makes the angle more acute and slightly easier to find. Be VERY careful not to let the dowel slide in or out before marking, or you'll cause a false reading.
On the rib it is marked "Damascus Finish" and I think that must have been an old marketing ploy to ease the transition to smokeless powder guns
That's entirely possible, although it more likely means that the gun was built with damascus barrels. Damascus barrels are made through a process that involves twisting iron and steel strands together and then wrapping them around a mandrel and fusing the strips together by pounding them together (oversimplification). Many people these days assume that damascus barrels are poorly made and incapable of withstanding the pressures exerted by nitro powders. This is simply not the case. Damascus barrels are still made to this very day. But, they are prohibitively expensive for most people because their construction is heavily dependent on manual labour.
It is true, however, that most damascus barrels you or I will ever see were made decades, if not more than a century ago, and may now be unsafe due to corrosion, as would fluid steel barrels be if they were in the same era.
NOTE: I'm not ignoring the suggestion that tips on evaluating and buying vintage guns would be appreciated, but it's not going to happen during the hunting season. Sharptail (the CGNer) has forgotten more than I'll ever know about firearms, so perhaps I can tempt him to contribute to such an effort during the cold winter months.
