Victorian 20-bore hammer guns are not often to be found with long barrels. However, Cashmore seems to have made a few. I had one in stock with 32" damascus barrels and thought it unique. This week I bought another - with 31" damascus barrels and pistol grip stock.

The two guns have very similar actions. I just boiled off the metal parts and the locks have come up internally very bright and burnished. Still a good bit of original finish outside too.

I paid too much for this from the 80 year old who had owned it since 1941 but I felt this might actually be a 20-bore I could shoot with. I normally shoot small bore guns like a monkey plays a banjo.

I'll have a go at some pigeons with it later this month - in my view one of the very best ways to get acquainted with a gun.

You can see a photo of it here:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=...e=1&theater

Wow! What great condition.

I took a 16 gauge Parker ejector with 32" barrels to Cordoba and found it to be about right for doves.

Dig, those longer barrels might give you enough extra swing effort (MOI) for you to find it controllable. Let us know.

DDA

I love the longer barrelled small bores, Dig. I find exactly as Don said, that it really makes them "settle down" when the barrels are longer. My longest 20 now is only 30", and I shoot it well, but I just know there is a 32" awaiting me. My 32" 16 ga. L.C. Smith is a dream to shoot.

Both Zoli and C. Guerini make 32" 20 ga. O/Us that would make great dove/pigeon guns, IMO.

Are you going to "fresh it up" a bit?

SRH

No, I'll keep it looking pretty much as it does, I'll just clean it internally, lubricate it and clean out the chequer and apply a little stock finish to keep out the weather.

I have a Parker 16ga hammergun with 32 inch bbl and a J Venables & Son 16ga hammergun with 30 inch bbls. The Parker swings better but its heavier also.

Some day I'll find that long barreled 20ga hammergun, perhaps at the Southern this year.

Dig,

Very nice! What chamber length? Just curious, knowing that there were really no hard standards in place back when that gun was made. Regardless, 25 grams of US #7 [.100"] shot should do the trick on pigeons just fine somewhere between 1050 and 1200fps.

And in the FWIW Dept. there are some published loads for 20's using IMR 800X that have wonderfully low pressures. A friend & I both thot they were typos when we first saw the low pressures listed, so we specifically made inquires. It wasn't a misprint, the low pressures listed are, in fact, perfectly legit.

Bbl. length aside, I'd hope the gun proves the 'magic wand' you seek in a small bore. Do let us know how the sport goes w/it.

Kind regards, tw

Each to his own I guess. I cant see using anything with barrels over 28" in the grouse woods.

To take it a bit farther I see little "Need" for anything over 28" for the vast majority of upland gunning, Period. I have not done a great deal of Duck Hunting, but what I have done I did with good success as far as the shooting went with a 7½ lb 12ga having 26" barrels bored with .012" & .024" chokes Right/Left. This was primarily hunting in a swamp where I was calling them in without benefit of decoys, but did right good I thought, no long range pass shooting involved. With this same gun I have successfully shot Quail, Rabbit, a few Squirrel (Mostly hunt them with a .22LR), some Woodcock & a couple of Turkeys. I have never felt the need for a lot more length in the barrels, in fact I would not desire any more than 2 more inches, if they were a bit slimmer so the gun kept the same or slightly less weight. Have also done some mighty good shooting with a 6lb 14oz 12 gauge having 28" barrels as well as a 6lb 20 with 26" barrels. I normally just prefer letting them little round shots "Reach Out & Touch Someone", rather than swatting them with the gun itself.

Once you shoot a long barreled gun for passing shots, it grows on you. Just in terms of pure math, longer sight radius equals less sighting error.

I've hunted grouse and woodcock in thick Michigan and Wisconsin cover using guns with 30-inch barrels and did not find them a hindrance which, not surprisingly, shows that nca225 doesn't know what he's talking about.

While barrels have been known to come into contact with trees when hunting grouse and woodcock--unless you spend all your time walking trails--it isn't often the last 2-3" that's the problem. That being said, extra barrel length = extra weight. Not a lot of weight saving going from 30" down to 28", but more significant if you go down to 25". All depends on what floats your boat.

For most part the English do not have problems with bushes and branches. They do driven game, woodpigeon on flight line or hunt behind dog in north Scotland where few if any trees grow. American likes to go deep into thick bush where favored weapon is old vintage short-barreled smoothbore 20ga Ithaca Deerslayer loaded with 7.5 or 8s. Great skeet gun too.

Please don't laugh..... my "grail gun" is Winchester 37 20ga with 32" barrels.

I have never found barrel length an issue as to working in cover I take my guns (30") guns all over and hunt thick African bush, pigeon hides, rough shooting, grouse in butts, driven pheasants etc. I don't think an inch or two ether way makes you any more likely to hit a tree with your gun etc. The only real exception would be a double rifle for African hunting in thick mopane scrub. Short barrels make the walking a lot easier.

I just thought this gun particularly nicely made, un messed with and the handling and balance characteristics 'feel' right. It will be interesting to see. Chambers are the standard 2 1/2"

I prefer 25 and 26 inch barrels for grouse,bobwhite and woodcock.I also have 27,28 ,30 and 32 inch smallbores. Bobby

Parker DHE 20 w/32" pipes.

Bob, That 32" Parker is just about as sleek as a gun can look. "Rapier like" is what comes to mind.

Like a fly rod!

What exactly is it that you're contributing to a discussion about the usefulness of long barreled guns in the grouse woods by turning it to a personal attack? Several other members posted about the propriety of sub 28" barrels while hunting grouse. Are you suggesting they don't know what they are talking about either? BTW, have you published any authority on the benefits of 30"+ barrels in the grouse woods. You seem to be holding yourself out as an authority on the matter cause what works for you must work for everyone else.

Or is it that since I figure you probably don't share my infamous politics or maybe you have been singed in the past by one of my legendary insults, but those are confined to a different forum, so why don't you keep it there champ.

My comment bother you? Good. And, don't flatter yourself about anybody paying attention to your politics.

Ahh, you must have been singed, and I must have got you good or you did actually and intently pay attention to my politics, or both! Otherwise you wouldn't come here and try to even the score a year later. It looks like I got under your skin a bit more then you did mine.

I have never before yesterday directed a comment toward you. I dislike you. Simple as that.

Somewhat silly, I think, to "dislike" someone you've never met other than in Cyberspace. Or to "like" them, for that matter. (One reason I don't do facebook.) You may agree or disagree with someone's opinions, perhaps correct factual errors or have your own corrected. But like or dislike, for me, seem better reserved for when you've actually met someone. In the flesh.

+1 Silly indeed.

Parker DHE 20 w/32" pipes.

I have been waiting for delivery of a CG 20 ga with 32" barrels. I ordered it with DTs and an English sporting stock. Looking forward to shooting some clays with it and hopefully get it to use it in Argentina soon.

Michael Yardley has been advocating 32" 20 ga. guns for driven birds and SCs for awhile
Yardely

Mike shoots a modern over/under weighing 6 1/2 lbs or more and puts 30 or 32 g loads down them - essentially a gun of 12 bore weight shooting a 12bore load in side by side terms. I have shot with him using a Guerini 28-bore o/u with 32" barrels and 30g shells in it.

Doverham

Very interesting shotgun. Hopefully you will post pictures when you receive it. In the past double trigger were only available from them on 12 gauge. At least in the USA. Good to hear they will make them for a 20 ga. Any chance it has a solid top rib??

Sadly no solid top rib - CG only offers those on game guns which does not include 32" barrels. I hope to have it by the end of the month and would be glad to post some pics.

Here is a somewhat related question: will a 32" barreled sxs have greater barrel flip than a Churchill XXV?

Will look forward to your pictures Doverham.

Did a little research on the net after your post. Do see where they make solid ribs for 12 ga Sporting guns as Jaquas has one with 30 inch barrels and Fieldsport has one with 32 inch barrels. Hopefully for 20 ga and smaller down the road. Great to see the double triggers on their smaller gauges.

In reference to your barrel flip questions. Do not know the science but I do have a 32 inch barreled Poli 20 ga SxS. It is stocked the same as my other guns and has the same Point of Impact. But to further confuse the barrel flip issue, for me that is both SxSs and O/Us stocked the same and of different barrel lengths - same POI. Maybe this should be a new thread?

My 32" barreled Guerini 20 ga. arrived yesterday. I took it for a quick test drive, twice around the skeet field at the local fish and game club. Interestingly, the barrels weigh the same as my 32" Beretta SP1 12 ga. (3.25 lbs), even though the SP1 weighs half a pound more (8 lbs.). Somehow, Guerini managed to balance the barrels perfectly and I REALLY like the weigh it handles - it is a bit balance forward, but even shooting unmounted and dealing with some windblown targets, I did not feel any muzzle heaviness or slowness.

I hope to be able to slip down to Addieville in the next couple of weeks to see how it handles SCs, but I can already tell this is a great configuration for non-competitive clays and doves.

Beautiful hammers.

So this is a modern substitute - I had to forego the external hammers but it was also 1/3 the price of used FAMARS Castore.