Old SXS found....

G

goldidig

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Guys, I am not a shotgun guy by a long stretch and know very little abou t them at all. I am pretty much into military surplus stuff but had a chance to get this old double from an 80 year old guy near me when I bought his collector milsurps from him. It's a J.Harris 16 guage S X S with damascus barrels. Neat looking old firearm. It appears to be in acceptable firing condition with a bit of pitting in the bore. Can anyone tell me anything about this 'ol gal? I assume that if it was to be fired, it would need to be done so with light blackpowder loads? Not that I intend to shoot it. I would expect it is destined as a wall hanger or I'll sell it sometime down the road. Any info is appreciated!
Thanks!
Al
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I am guessing that Harris was a Birmingham maker and that the gun was made in the late 1800s. More particularly though, the barrels look strange and I am wondering if 16 guage barrels were sleeved into a 12 guage breach. The sharp step from the chamber area to the rest of the barrel and what appears to be a trace of solder at the joint and perhaps a seam visible in the breach view suggest that the original barrels were damaged or badly pitted and replacements were soldered into place.
A close view of the bottom of the barrels at the breach end would greatly help and a close view slightly from the front of the sharp transition also

cheers mooncoon
 
Nice one... I,m gonna be in the market for one of those in the not so distant future. I've been meaning to get one of those for my antique collection.

Nice find.

:)
 
Any proof marks underneath the barrel ? Oh and I agree with mooncoon, it looks like the barrels were replaced at some time, take it to a competent smithy before trying to shoot it.
 
Thanks for the info guys, the chambers are 2 9/16" , There are absolutely NO proof marks on the under barrel area or anywhere on the barrels at all, for that matter. There is definitely silver solder at that step. I looked at it under a microscope and it must have had the barrels replaced as suggested. I have no intentions of shooting it although it certainly has seen use. It makes a lovely wall hanger though. I'll likely swap it off for something that interests me more anyway.
Al
 
goldidig said:
There are absolutely NO proof marks on the under barrel area or anywhere on the barrels at all, for that matter. There is definitely silver solder at that step.
Click to expand...

The lack of proof marks suggest that the original gun was made in the US. Even though it was common to have a retailer's name stamped on a gun made in Europe, there would also have been european proof marks on the barrels and frame. There were a number of Harris in the US but no J or I Harris around the 1880 -1900 time period is listed in Gardner.
The barrels would have been lead soldered into the breach sections; you have to heat the metal to red hot to get silver solder to flow and that would have separated the barrels most likely. soft solder would be adequately strong for the application.

cheers mooncoon
 
The barrels are definitely silver soldered into the breech section Mooncoon. No mistake on that. It shows up plain as day under the microscope. The receiver is engraved J.Harris for sure . There is a proof mark on the frame ahead of the serial number, just no markings on the barrels at all. It looks like a small crown over a pair of crossed swords. I tried photographing it but I can't get it to come out good enough in a picture to post. It's pretty small and not very well struck so it doesn't show up too good.
Al
 
that sounds like a Birmingham proof mark on the frame. Maybe the original barrel proofs were farther forward on the portion of the barrels that were cut off

cheers mooncoon
 
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