doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Saw a Massive Set of 8 Gauge Barrels Today

While picking up a shotgun on which I'd had some work done, I got to talking to the gunsmith. During the course of the conversation, he pulled a set of 8 gauge barrels off the rack, which are in for refinishing. The barrels were marked as being Belgian twist and were extremely heavy. As in about 6 pounds heavy. Massive. 36 inches long. Barrel wall thickness at the muzzle looked to be approaching 0.1 inches. Unfortunately, the rest of the gun was not present.

The barrels had faded to a muted grey and white, but will be refinished to black and white. I suspect they'll be spectacular when completed. The ribs appeared tight and the barrels rang like a charm. Bores were bright and shiny. No pits on the exterior, either. Not even a mark on the rib.

I've no idea where this gun might have lived for the last 100 or so years, but it was obvious from the condition of the barrels that the owners had cared for the gun during its life.

I was curious, though. What would such a heavy gun have been intended for? It seems too heavy to be a sport gunner's tool and too light for a market hunters gun.

In any event, the barrels were a reminder of a time past, when the tools of the hunting trade were not nearly as efficient as they are today. I really enjoyed being able to hold and examine them.

That's a light set of 8 ga tubes. I think the lightest Parker 8 I have weighs over 9lbs. for just the barrels. I think they would be pretty efficient at shooting bigger birds like ducks or geese that are far away. I'm not a waterfowler by any means but I don't think the weight would mean much when most of your time is spent sitting in a blind, not walking a field. I'll say this much - the 14+ lbs doesn't feel that heavy when the gun is well balanced and you're excited about shooting something.

Yeah a set of 6 pound 8 gauge barrels would be light for sure. I think the barrels on my Churchill might weight 12 pounds by themselves. I've shot it at geese and when you're coming up on a bunch of decoying pinkfeet it don't feel that heavy.

Lots of guys shot 8 gauges for wildfowling back when they were legal. They for sure weren't strickly a tool of the market hunter. I just picked up the new book about Carroll's Island Hunting Club and it seems like all those boys used were 8 and 4 bore guns.

Destry

Market Hunter, is the book you refer to Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, Decoys & Long Guns? If so I have a copy because I own a couple of Chesapeakes; also interesting because of the shooting in that period.

I own a shoot a double 8 by Joseph Lang. A great goose gun but not one that you would want to carry too far. They are spot on for geese in the 50 to 55 yard range. Lagopus.....

lagopus where are you shooting a double eight for geese? if im not mistaken only tens and lower are legal for waterfowl in the U.S.

eddie

Lago,

Yes, it's amazing that they're kill a goose dead just that little bit further than a magnum 10 gauge. I've made some really fun long shots with mine. Best one I ever did was on a duck though, with a borrowed Holland & Holland double 4 bore. Dead in the air at about 74-75 long paces. It was the gun not me on that one, I just got lucky and put the charge where the bird was at the time. Amazing that the gun would do it though.

Eddie,

Lagopus is from the UK where they're still perfectly legal.

i kind of figured, i was just wondering, i didnt see a location under his screen name.

lagopus, i hear you can still use battery guns over there? i think i also heard sinkboxes are legal too but i could be wrong.

eddie

Destry - Are big bores legal for waterfowl in Canada?

Canada is the same as the US, nothing larger than 10 gauge and non-toxic shot only!

Punt guns are still legal there and a few guys still do it. That's the one thing I always wanted to do in my trips over there I've never been able to manage. I know some punt gunners but it's only done when conditions are exactly right and I've never been there when things played out. They do it during the day though unlike in the old days here. Punting at night, though still legal, isn't done anymore through sort of an unwritten agreement. Flighting geese and ducks at night with a shoulder gun is still done a lot and it's really fun. My one night flight at geese is one of the most memorable events in my sporting life. I'm sure Lagopus has done that and can give is a good story.

DLH