An interesting 16ga double for sale with lots of pictures

[BPJONES]

Barring any serious pitting in the bores, there is no reason the ole beauty couldn't be singing "the hills are alive with the sound of music"!

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Barring any serious pitting in the bores, there is no reason the ole beauty couldn't be singing "the hills are alive with the sound of music"!

Most likely there isn't. You will find people online issuing dire warnings against shooting any old damascus gun, but I feel these are misplaced. Strictly speaking damascus is a misnomer for many twist barrels, which went all the way down to qualities for export to benighted savages who knew no better. But this one is good.

It will be weaker than plain steel, but the forward parts of plain steel barrels are much thicker than they need to be, from the point of view of pressure. That is to prevent accidental denting from the outside, to be damaged less from a bore obstruction, and to permit boring or lapping out pitting. Since a shotgun needs weight to keep the recoil down, they might as well be quite thick as not. WW Greener, in the days of 2½in. cartridges but not just of black powder, found that a shotgun wouldn't burst barrels thin enough near the muzzle to cut with scissors.

It is very rare for a burst in the forward part of a shotgun barrel to be caused by anything but a bore obstruction or the barrel being previously impaired. In any material this could be a dent from the outside left unraised, so that bore wear creates a thin spot. Or an unwise amount of reboring. Or removing too much metal from the outside in refinishing after rusting, possibly just adjacent to the rib. A peculiar weakness of damascus is that it can be more easily cracked than ordinary steel by the raising of a dent deeper than should be raised.

I doubt very much if any of these apply to "your" gun. That stepless transition of octagon to round would make it very unlikely that excess metal removal from the outside has ever taken place, and it certainly hasn't on the rib, where "canons damas" is engraved.

[BPJONES]

I agree with there is a lot of "misconception" surrounding damascus barrels. If one chooses not to shoot them that is fine and well, but if the barrels are in good condition with reasonable wall thickness closer to the breech, there is no reason they cannot be shot with proper loads. I think more shooters are finding that out as I think in the last few years more of these guns have seen use again, both in muzzleloaders and breech loaders.

[sharps4590]

Along with what you guys are saying one sees more and more Damascus barrels that are passing proof today.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Well it has sold, and for $381, which was a steal, and I hope it went to one or other of the people here who were interested. They said no international shipments... That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I hadn't noticed the bore photograph earlier. It doesn't look pitted. It can be a mistake to look for perfect mirror bores in a muzzle loader. Even the best makers often didn't bore them that perfectly until breech-loaders came along and let the customer get critical. On that scale it makes no functional difference.

That muzzle looks as if it might have been shortened, probably a long time ago, but there is no harm in that. It could have been to remove damage, or some shotguns were made with what look like absurdly barrels to us now. I think it may have been for use on horseback, since getting the muzzle blast away from the horse's head reduces the chances that he will drop the pilot.

[BPJONES]

Yes, someone got a gun for a good price that still looks to have a lot of shooting left. I don't think the barrels have been shortened. If you look at the muzzles, the barrels are touching together. For them to be touching they would have had to have been shortened very little (which is possible) or re-regulated (doubtful). Of course this is speculation on my part but I have seen a few barrels that were shortened and on those particular examples none of the barrels touched any longer. Of course some double barrels were made where there was a bit of a gap between the barrels but that's not the case with this gun.

[Iron Whittler]

I can not tell a lie. In a moment of weakness, I Iron Whittler bought it. Looked to be a fine specimen of "old school" gun making craftsmanship. Seller is closed for weekend, so it will be Monday before it can be shipped. Anxious to see it in hand. Iron Whittler

[Beagle333]

Congrats!! That's a nice looking shotgun. I believe it worth that price. Enjoy and update when you get it and learn more about it, please?

[Iron Whittler]

Beagle333, Will do. I will get some detailed measures on the bores. I have never loaded a muzzle loading shot gun before, so input on powder, wads, and shot charges will be a big help. I DO NOT wish to harm a piece of firearm history by improperly loading it. Dennis

[stubshaft]

THANK GOODNESS YOU BOUGHT IT. I just saw the post (been working) and have a MANIA for 16ga. guns. It is a real pretty piece.

I can not tell a lie. In a moment of weakness, I Iron Whittler bought it. Looked to be a fine specimen of "old school" gun making craftsmanship. Seller is closed for weekend, so it will be Monday before it can be shipped. Anxious to see it in hand. Iron Whittler

[Ballistics in Scotland]

For just about the ultimate on muzzle-loading firearms technology, here in your choice of format is William Greener, father of the largely breech-loading WW Greener.

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43799