old shotgun

D

drslav

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looking for some info on old shotgun.age, value, origin
it is a 12 ga i believe, sxs damascus barrels, markings on locks say HERMANN & Co, on bottom of chambers has crowned circle that contains letters ELG and a star.some others i cant read. Back of the stock has deer and 2 dogs chasing it. really nice...here are pics( sorry crappy from i phone)
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Hi there, what you have is a belgian shotgun, quality varies greatly on these, from being a 100$ wallhanger, to one worth upwards of 400$ in nice cond, if you could taike more pics of it and send it to my email coltkid_ 93@hotmail.com, i could give it a better evaluation, some of these guns had "damascus etched" barrels, which were actual fluid steel barrels with a printed pattern of either twist look or damascus, as to make it look fancy, chambers are likely short in this gun, probably 2.5" and if you plan on fireing it, have a qualified smith acertain whether they are in fact genuine damascus or twist barrels or fluid barrels, these guns were designed fo low pressure rounds of the time period, probably black powder loads, so keep that in mind, modern ammo creates higher pressures which may not be suitable for this gun, you can also give me a cal 902 623 2279 on my cell Rod's my name
 
If the gun has fluid steel barrels etched to resemble damascus there will be "damascus pattern" on the top rib. Out here if the gun is reasonably tight, it would go for maybe $200. If loose or the barrels significantly pitted; more like $75 - $100. Belgian barrels are fine but the inside of the locks are usually fairly rough in finish

cheers mooncoon
 
top of the barrel says Royal Damascus. as far as it being belgian well i had the feeling once i saw the marking. Locks look quite nice inside. barrel is clean. has a little play . any idea on the age? was thinking of trying the brass shells with BP in this gun...after i get it to the gunsmith to check out. Just wanted to know what would be good price to pay for this. Guy wants $50. stock is cracked fore end does not look original and has been nailed shut. everything else works. any chance i can find another fore end?
i will take more pictures with my camera...
 
I don't think you can lose at $50 as long as the bores are not deeply pitted. The belgian proof changed to a crown over the oval in 1898 (for all guns as opposed to 1893 for guns with special proof).

The chambers are probably 2 5/8 for roll crimp shells but you can shoot plastic or brass 2 3/4 shells without problems. Don't use 2 3/4 or longer paper shells because they are much thicker and will cause pressure problems

cheers mooncoon
 
was thinking of getting 2 1/2 brass shells if i buy it. is it worth it? the chambers seem same length as my wingmaster in 3 3/4, barrel has very mild pitting just in the beginning passed the chambers rest needs a little clean up. And i have empty hulls kicking around. Any idea what i can use for load on this to be safe?
 
chambers can be measured with a guage but it is extremely unlikely that the chambers are 3 3/4 (sure that is not a typo for 2 3/4). 2 3/4 shells will fit in a 2 5/8 chamber but when the star crimp opens, it extends 1/8" into the forcing cone. With plastic shells that is not a problem because they are fairly thin and the increase in pressure is minimal.
You can load a 12 guage with 80 grains of 2F powder and use muzzle loading fiber wads between the powder and shot. Use 1 1/8 oz of shot. If you check the reloading manuals, you can probably find a load with SR 7625 powder down in the 6 - 7000 psi range. If you go below that pressure, there is a lot of unburnt powder left in the barrels. These guns were originally tested to about 4000 psi vs the 10 - 12000 of modern shells. The better guns will stand up to light modern loads but probably wear and loosen faster. You are far better off to stick with light loads and respect the age of the gun.

cheers mooncoon
 
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yes i am interested only in light firing just for fun. do not need power here. I imagine you are right about the chamber too.
Thank you for all the info. i will get the gun and try some loading. should be fun and smokey...
 
Do you have a good supply of plastic shells? I shoot black powder in an old shotgun. Black powder leaves the shells dirty and they don't last long. I have an endless supply of plastic shells from our gun range, so I have gone to only reloading them once. It saves me cleaning up the dirty shells after shooting black powder. If you are limited on supply, then you might want to consider the brass shells.
 
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