Old Jansen 16 gauge

SMLE 303

SMLE 303

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Ontario
I was at the Carp gunshow yesterday, and bought a double barreled 16 gauge, made by Jansen. The seller told me it was made in the late 1890s and that he considered it safe to use with older lead shot aslong as it was #4 and smaller. There is light pitting in some parts of the barrel, and the left hamer is some what loose, and has a weak spring for the firing pin return. the right firing pin seems to be to stron as it puntured some of the primers of the shells I fired. Im going to take it to the gun smith and get it reblued and refinish the stock, so hopfully with some of these modifications it will be a nice shooter. Any opinions, expierience or knowlege on these particular shotguns would be appreaciated.
Quinn
 
I would not invest in the expense of rebluing the steel and refinishing the stock.
This will cost more than the gun is worth.
The cost of the mechanical repairs it needs could also be an issue. Sounds as if the right firing pin hole needs to be bushed, and the pin refitted or replaced.
Forget the business about shot smaller than #4. More importantly, is the action tight? How long are the chambers? Is it damascus or laminated steel? Is it nitro proved?
This is likely one of the thousands of common grade shotguns exported from Belgium in the latter part of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th. Might be a shooter, might be a hanger. It has problems.
 
There are tons of Jansen and sons hammer shotguns here in Canada, unfortunately they are not worth that much as they were an economical shotgun of the day! Most of them have damascus barrels and short chambers. Personally I load down or use black powder in my Jansen 44 shot SXS, I have a friend who has many of these and he will only shoot black powder thre his guns. The nicest one are the smaller gauges as they are built to purportion, unlike what they do today. I would have your gunsmith make sure its not damascus and not have short chambers before shooting it with modern ammo. Dale in T-Bay. PS if it says Laminated Steel its damascus 99% of the time!!
 
the action is pretty tight, not any play.the chambers are 2 3/4 inch, the shells I put in fit properly. Thte seller told me they were not Damascus steel, I specicifly asked about that when I purchased it. It was only $150, so if it isnt worth restoring then I will de-watt it and hang it over the fire place. It will be a pity though as I bought a tone of 16 gauge shells. I am going to the smith tomorow, so we will see what its going to cost and if its worth it. Maybe I should have bought the Spencer 12 gauge instead....
 
Cat: I did take that into account, and thats why I placed a fired shell into it. when that fit, I fired 4 rounds ( 2 in each barrel) and it was fine.
 
SMLE 303 said:
Cat: I did take that into account, and thats why I placed a fired shell into it. when that fit, I fired 4 rounds ( 2 in each barrel) and it was fine.
Click to expand...

What kind of 16 gauge ammo did you buy?
checking the chamber of a shotgun is actually pretty easy to do with a piece of dowell and a pencil.
I run the dowel up the chamber until I feel it hit the forcing cone, then mark it.
I do this several times just to be sure.
I have a Jansen as well, but it is a damascus gun, and is too far gone to repair, so i have been using it as a parts gun.
Hopefully, yours can be repaired without too much money invested.
Double hammer guns are too much fun!:D
Cat
 
claen her up with steel wool put a good coat of paint on her and hunt bunnys all winter long with her great gun for bunnys DUTCH
 
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