What loads should I try in a 1896 12ga damascus shotty?
- Thread starter svt-40
- Start date
I am sure I'll get jumped on here for saying this.(happened before). But remember those damascus barrels can have unseen corrosion inbetweeen the wire wraps. Tread cautiously. imagine a stretched out slinky hanging off the end of your stock.
Not to totally rain on your project but definetley learn lots before pulling the trigger.
Not to totally rain on your project but definetley learn lots before pulling the trigger.
i have used the following in my 1870s damascus double, 2 1/2" chamber.....cutdown Fed. Champion case, F-209 primer, 85grs. Goex FFG, .715" round ball, card wad, felt wads soaked in BP Lube, roll crimp. Done. Note Fed. Champion is feds. paper case for the 12 Ga.
You won't get jumped on by me. Your warning is sound.david doyle said:
There is damascus and there is damascus. Damascus from a quality gun maker that hasn't in the intervening century been honed to remove pitting, had the chambers lengthened or otherwise fooled can be safely shot with blackpowder and even low pressure smokeless loads.
But there is also a lot of crap damascus from the same era, particularly in cheap Belgian guns. I've always admired damascus guns but if I owned one I would make very sure that I had it examined and measured by a double gunsmith who knew exactly what he was looking for.
Claybuster said:
In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with belgian barrels and in fact they supplied barrels to both England and United States for makers based in those countries. The vast majority of belgian guns I have seen, were cheaply made but barrel strength was not an issue.
The real issue is deep pitting, perforated or incomplete welds, and the wall thickness of the barrels. I saw a nifty guage recently for measuring the wall thickness well down from the muzzle. It should be recognized that the thickness at the muzzle does not necessarily reflect the thickness 10" closer to the breach and in the case of one of my guns, this was .01" less than the muzzle.
A further concern is the chamber wall thickness which should be around .15" I occasionally see guns which have passed proof and yet have chamber walls as thin as .10" and while they may be safe for black powder loads, I would not shoot light smokeless loads in them.
A final concern would be barrels which have been repaired with acid core solder and which have pitting between the barrels from the outside in. Somewhat related are guns with loose ribs which have rusted deeply and unseen from the outside in.
Of the guns that I have seen, the most common area of concern was not the chamber area (except for those with conspicuously thin chamber walls) but the front 1/2 or 2/3 of the barrels.
cheers mooncoon
An article in a recent "Double Gun Journal" describes the testing of a number of old "beater" Damascus barreled shotguns with modern proof loads. The tester made sure the guns were clamped down and he was a safe distance away when firing the loads.
To his amazement, none of the guns blew up nor were the barrels damaged.
That said, the gentlemen of this forum still provided good advice.
To his amazement, none of the guns blew up nor were the barrels damaged.
That said, the gentlemen of this forum still provided good advice.
Measure twice, shoot once :>) These barrels were maybe .010" thick at the burst and rusted completely through from the outside in, probably as a result of using an acid core solder in a clumsy repair. More or less they tore along the rust line rather than unwrapped along the spiral welds.
cheers mooncoon
cheers mooncoon
