--first time I have seen such good photos of such a dye penetrant Magnaflux test on shotgun barrels- Bravo--
It's good to check questionable barrels, or any Damascus barrel for that matter, before beginning any kind of work on them. That barrel may have survived proof testing but who's to say how long until it completely opens up? One can not be
too careful when it comes to gun safety whether it be scratch built or restoring a 100 year old relic. That's my sermon of the day.
It's a shame the Parker barrel set is unusable but we have two more sets under consideration:
Both are 12 bore, the top set is 31 3/4" long and carries Belgium proof marks dating it to the early years of the 20th century. It's stamped "Laminated-Steel" on the top rib and shows a faint hint of twist striping around the forearm lug. This appears to be fake striping as acid testing other areas produced no visible pattern.
The bottom set is 30" long, carries no proof marks or marking of any kind to identify its origin. It is a true plain twist, the stripes relatively wide, wider than that typically found on Belgium made barrels. The pattern and width of stripes closely resembles that found on British made barrels from the latter part of the 18th century. The ribs are joined to the barrels by soft solder again typical of British made barrels. This set could not have been sold in the UK, at least legally. Since 1813 proof laws in the UK make it an offense to sell or offer for sale any unproved firearm. Since this set carries no proof marks it is unproved in the eyes of the law. So, what road has this barrel set traveled to finally end up on my workbench? We'll never know.
Both sets have 3" chambers, relatively clean bores with mild to moderate pits scattered about within. Rarely do you find an old barrel set free of dents. Neither set has any dents and the muzzle end of both show no physical signs of abuse. Both sets are solid and ring well. The bore scope comes next to have a thorough look at the pit situation.
Hank