doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Back Boring a Darne

Per your advice, I talked to Kirk Merrington. By the time we added up the price for back boring, rechambering, opening one choke to Modified and cleaning the action to get at the safety to repair it, we were way over $1000. At the time I bought my Darne, there was another one, a 12 gauge with 2 3/4" chambers without any of the problems that mine has for $1250. If I was going to go the whole nine yards, that would have been a better buy. So...

I'm sending it to another gunsmith who will rechamber it to 2 3/4", lengthen the forcing cone (that will go about 3" up the barrel and remove most of the worst pitting) and open the Full choke to Modified. $140 including shipping and insurance. I have been scouring the barrel with a brass cleaning rod with 0000 steel wool wrapped around a 20 gauge brass brush chucked into an electric drill which has gotten rid of a lot of the roughness. I plan to keep the action open as a safety as was suggested. After I put the 16 gauge shells through it that I have on hand, I will decide if I want to keep it and have more work done or not. Worst comes to worst, I think I can sell it for the $640 I have in it, meanwhile having had fun playing with it. Then if I'm forced to go to a 20 gauge SxS with a pistol grip and a single trigger, the world will probably not stop turning. Thanks again for all your help in getting me to these decisions.

John

You could try this, too.
DO NOTHING. Shoot some 2 1/2 ammunition in it. Decide, after a box or three, if you like the gun. THEN make the modifications. You should be about $140 dollars ahead of the game if you decide to sell it. Plus, the next guy doesn't have to live through/with your modifications, and won't be able to use your modifications as a tool to negotiate with you-"I would have liked it more if it still had the full choke, will you take $400?"
Best,
Ted

That $400 dollar offer sounds awfully tempting....Darne it.

Go ahead...make my decade....
Best,
Ted

Postscript: the gunsmith who I sent it to, send it back with a note as follows. "When the forcing cones were flexhoned after recutting, it was found that both barrels are ringed in front of the chambers. Probably due to the use of corrosive ammo over the years. Therefore this barrel set is considered to be unsafe to shoot."

When I look down the barrel from the chamber end, I can see the ring in each barrel that he is talking about. When I talked to him, I asked why the barrels should be ringed. He said it was at the joint where the barrels and the chambers were put together. When I look at the outside of the barrels, I can see a line around them at approximately the end of the chambers. Although, I am disappointed, I am glad that I didn't try shooting it.

I asked him if the distressed condition was something that could have been seen by the seller before I bought it. He thought it wasn't observable as he couldn't see it before he recut the chambers.

I'm interested in what anybody thinks about this situation.

I think you need a second opinion. Send just the barrels to Kirk for an inspection-not free, but, not much.

Best,
Ted

I find this very strange. Surely the gunsmith measured the barrels before he stuck a reamer down 'em. This would have shown any sudden increase of internal diameter consistent with bulging. I have to say that I would be very doubtful of this man's story. My suspicious nature would suggest to me that he had inadvertently run the reamer too far into the bore. Anyway, I guess you should have taken Ted's good advice. You would still have a useable firearm. I don't understand this urge to f#*k around with chambers.

Ted's a man of his word...I'd take him up on it.

Want I should loan you some money Teddy.

Only an idiot would screw with the forcing cones on a pitted monobloc gun. You need a new gunsmith. You can see everything in there that he can see. Make your own decision.