doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Sleeving a doublegun

I'm a big fan of people doing what they like. I shoot an armload of different guns so it's impractical to change their barrels.
One benefit of those tubes is it puts the choke outside the original barrel.
If I was going to spend 3K on a SxS for targets, I'd have the Turks build me one exactly as I wanted.
I notice the site picture to be subtly different between 32's and 28's, but mostly the MOI. And that effects my scores a great deal, as I typically shoot swing through.

Thanks, gunmaker.

I shot a round yesterday afternoon and a friend there told me of M 21, with 32" barrels, that may be for sale. I've never shot one and never been especially fond of their looks, either. But, pretty is as pretty does, when it comes to breaking clays. I am going to put this on hold until I see what the asking price is, and maybe take a ride down to Savannah to try it out. It may not even come close to fitting me, anyway. The way I figure it, it looks like I will have nearly $2500, all in, tied up in a set of 32" barrels for a BSS. That's $2500 that could be put toward a suitable 32" gun if I could find one. the BSS guns are just so easy for me to shoot.

SRH

Yes. Kirk still sleeves. He just completed a job for me on a 16 bore Watson. Mitch Schultz is doing some other work on the gun for me. He described Kirk's sleeve work as "beautiful."

You definitely don't have to go to Birmingham/the UK for this kind of work. Kirk was trained at Churchill. PM me if you would like pictures of the sleeve work on the Watson.

Sleeve job on my 16 bore Watson by Kirk Merrington cost me $4,000. Breakout is below:

-sleeve barrels: $1,900
-tubes: $500
-new ribs: $600
-engraving: $600
-blue barrels: $400
Total: $4,000

Gun had been stored improperly and had major pitting. Weight and balance are excellent. Shoots very well. Was worth every penny. A hunting partner offered me a good deal more than the gun is worth. Gun is a gift for my father. You really have to see the quality of Kirk's work to understand.

Given costs involved, I would be hesitant to have this work done on anything lower than a BV2 using Rocketman's valuation method.

. UK price around �1500 plus engraving plus tax @20% for a standard sleeving job .That's finished ready to use.

Kirk sleeved a Belgian SLE for me and was able to take a cut down 25 in pr of barrels back to their original (likely original) 30 in length with new ribs weighing within 3 grams of the original marked proof weight.

Beatiful balance and looks good too.

I agree with Watson 16 the cost makes it either a high grade or treasured family gun only job.

"A friend, and fellow competitor, John Truitt, shoots 34" Parkers that he has had sleeved. The way he gets around the weight forward bias issue is to have the barrels sent back to him before they are blued. He strikes them himself until he gets the handling characteristics he desires."

So...doesn't the sleeve depend on the outer barrels for strength? If so, it might not be a great idea to strike away a bunch of steel to reduce weight....or is the sleeve thick enough that it doesn't need any help?

The term "sleeving" is misleading. The new barrels are full thickness all the way from the muzzle back to the "monobloc", then they line the chambers all the way to the rim cut for the shell rim. Nothing is used from the old set except the "mono bloc", or chamber areas, which may of may not be a true monobloc. The old ribs are used and the old fore end lug is put on the new tubes.

Look at some of the links Drew posted. They show this better than I can explain it.

SRH