doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com How many of you shoot Damascus barrel guns

Ah, the good ol' days when I had time, money and interest in digging those guns out of the western woodwork.

As to shooting damascus guns. I'll just add this:

Forgot to mention in my previous post that when scouting for possible gun acquisitions, I must admit that if a particular gun piques my interest but does NOT have damascus tubes I feel a little let down. I'm likely to pass on an otherwise attractive gun, as silly as that may seem to some

I feel the same way, Krakow Kid. Damascus or twist barrels just add a certain "class" to a gun that fluid steel can never have (IMO). After all, I'm way, way past the stage of buying a do all gun. There's a special charm to reach back a century or more and join hands with the old men and to enjoy the product of their never to be repeated skills.

I use damascus barreled guns all the time. Usually stick to 28grm loads or lower.

Cheers
T

I love the beauty of a damascus barreled gun, there is just something that excites the eye. I shoot muzzle loaders and breech loaders. BUT everyone as been checked as well as possible to make sure that the barrels are in good condition and fit for purpose and I shoot them without a worry.
BUT this thread has just rung an alarm bell in my head.
How many of us have willingly shot a gun that we have been handed to shoot, without confirming it is sound!
I know I have, many times. Now that is scary.

I shoot Damascus barreled Lefevers on a regular basis. All those I shoot from a lowly H in twist to my "go to" sporting clays A 16 gauge have been examined and measured by those who are better at doing that than me. Reloading is way too hard to do in Hawaii so I use RST, Polywad and New Era low pressure ammo. I don't get to do a lot of hunting, so when I do shoot its 25-100 rounds at a time at the trap or sporting clays range. No problem so far.
I have yet to see a problem at the few side by side meets I do get to go to with those shooting good condition Damascus guns using commercial low pressure ammo.
On the other hand, I have seen a number of blown barrels, both Damascus and fluid steel. However, I rarely got the details of what was being shot and the circumstances behind the incident that caused that barrel to blow. I quit hunting public lands in New York after I saw a guy using a loaded gun as a crutch coming up out of a ravine and then attempting to blow the dirt out of the end of the barrel while the gun was still loaded. He then proceeded to resume hunting without even checking the barrel.

I shoot a Damascus Remington 1894 10ga and Parker NH Twist barrel 10ga quite bit. About a 1000 rounds a year between the two.

The term "safe" doesn't come to mind when I think of setting off an explosive charge a few inches from my face, especially in a very old gun. I think of it more in terms of managing the risk. Keep it below an acceptable level of risk and have at it. If you are the type that need "safe" as an absolute, I suggest you quit shooting all guns, quit driving/riding in autos and quit flying as a minimum. You might wanna become a vegan as well. But stay away from sprouts especially, and spinach too. Both are risky for bacterias that have caused deaths. Lots of food experts have written extensively on these as high risk foods due to the way they're grown.

I shoot damascus occasionally.

You sure he wasn't from Maine....

One suggestion for twist/damascus barrel reloaders.

I use a "color-code" to separate my damascus loads from all other reloads. I use 12 ga. Remington gold hulls ONLY for low-pressure damascus reloads. Only gold hulls go in the damascus barrels.

Obviously there is no harm in shooting one of these gold shells in a regular barrel, but I refrain from doing so.

JERRY