Remington 1889 10gauge

[handloder]

I want to shoot black powder. I found a Rem 1889 in the back corner of a chicken coop long covered in barn dust and spider webs. Its got two hammers, a SXS of unknown chokes. Barrels are obviously Damascus. So I scrounged up some Remington industrial 10 gauge empties and threw my shotgun reloading skills at the new gun. After tinkering around reading and back alley fiddling I took some shells outside and BANG!, they worked. OK, now I'm hooked. The gun itself looks OK except the bores. There is modest pitting all the way down both barrels but my test loads shot OK (in my opinion). How about that 1.5 to 2.0oz of shot! The discussions/threads on castboolits are all over the map concerning black powder protocol, forcing me to say two rosaries a day hoping for enlightenment.
Besides scrubbing with brass brush and Hoppes, what to do further with the bores?
I really wonder why these old black powder shotguns aren't sleeved and put into service with WallyMart ammo. I had an 1895 Winchester sleeved in .30-40 Krag and the finished rifle is a thrill to shoot.
Is there a thread devoted to black powder shotgun cartridge development--no second hand lions need apply--where some credible info resides?
The heartbreak is finding empty 10gauge hulls.

Hope I didn't waste your time.

[elk hunter]

The best source of information on Damascus barreled shotguns was the now defunct "Double Gun and Single Shot Journal". The next best would be the Parker Gun collectors group. Third would be the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association. I don't know of any other good source of information. The original black powder 2 7/8" ten bore was normally loaded with 1 1/4 ounce of shot with 3 1/2 to 4 drams of FG black. The eight bore and the later smokeless ten bore were loaded with 1 1/2 ounce of shot. As for the bores of your shotgun if the pits are truly very small and shallow it may be possible to hone them out but, I don't recommend doing that. As for sleeving there was a fellow in England that did bore out and sleeve Damascus barrels but it didn't prove all that successful. Briley of screw in choke fame makes or did make sub gauge sleeves but they are quite expensive. Shooting modern American shotshells in an older gun can strain the action and the barrels. I've seen a couple of actions cracked at the angle from shooting such ammunition. I generally shoot low pressure smokeless loads in my old shotguns. As for hulls if you keep looking you will find some. Ballistic Products and such folks occasionally have them.

I'm not much of a source of enlightenment and I hope I haven't wasted your time.

Enjoy your 1889, they are wonderful.

[45workhorse]

In stock now, 30 seconds from now.......

https://www.ballisticproducts.com/Cheddite-10ga-3-1_2-86mm-hulls-50_bag/productinfo/1391035/

[HWooldridge]

I have an old 12 double with pitted bores and it shoots pretty well with BP loads. You can probably run an oiled flex-hone through the bores and the results would be good enough to hunt with.

[Eddie Southgate]

Buy a set of Sub Gauge tubes . I love Damascus but I do not trust it except Parker , LC Smith or good in proof English guns. I especially do not trust pitted barrels and would not try to hone the bores . Old inexpensive Belgian and other foreign guns often had thin barrels and a lot of what looks like good Damascus is not. They made wire wrapped barrels to look like Damascus but even new they were way weaker than good Damascus. You can still easily blow up a set of barrels with black powder and the end result is the same, gun destroyed and most likely you severely injured. Not worth the risk to me. Briley sells tubes but they are not cheap.