doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 14 Gauge

I have a 14 gauge Damascus Double (D. Kirkwood), which I had planned to shoot via Gauge-Mates Gold, but Gauge-Mates is essentially out of business. Suggestions welcomed on how best to return this gun to use--our good friend Mal McGregor suggested 16 gauge with duct tape!

Thanks

Berrien

These folks make brass cases for your 14 gauge.

http://www.rockymountaincartridge.com/in...ts%20Prices.pdf

Although the tubes may be marked 14 there is a possibility that the chambers are 12.
I have had a couple like this

I have a 13 bore Purdey with sixteen chambers. It was converted from flintlock to centerfire by them in the 1870s. They couldn't put cut 13 bore chambers into the barrels because, originally being muzzleloader, the walls weren't thick enough where the chamber needed to be cut. So they cut sixteen chambers in. It was intended for Kynoch thin wall brass sixteens, the inside diameter of which was 14 bore.

The Magtechs work great in my 16/13 Purdey.

Here is a link to a thread on the gun:

http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=94560&page=1

I have a 14ga Patrick Mullin I posted a few months ago. I got lucky and found some fairly cheap original Greener brass to use in it. Loaded up with black and 1-1/8 oz of 5's it was medicine on pheasants last fall.

If I were to do it all over again I would have bought Rocky Mountain. I just found about 30 cases cheap and couldn't really justify having both. RMC cases are a bargain when you really get down to it.

Can you post some pictures of your Kirkwood? They are one of my favorite makers.

Here's a link to some of my struggles / successes:

http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=382867&page=1

bsteele--

Thanks for the encouragement though I still like Mal's "idea" about using 16ga. shells and duct tape.

I will post some pictures but they are a bit sad--it is a wonderful David Kirkwood sidelock but it has suffered at the hands of clods (at best). Checkering highly abused (deep recuts); cracked stock; trigger guard badly and incorrectly reblued; typical screw damage etc. I bought it years ago at Amoskeag's simply out of concern, and I, like you, am devoted to Kirkwoods (particularly the sidelocks).

The stock (except for the checking) can be salvaged by the talents (e.g. Dennis Smith) on this Forum, but going further is a slippery slope (that I know painfully). And, before going too far, I, at least, wanted to be able to shoot it! I was talking with Gauge-Mates (they would do off-gauge reducers) when they stopped machining anything. The RMC is probably the best approach, but a bit expensive to have say 25-50 shells. I was hoping for something like Gauge-Mates.

Regards and again thanks to all--

Berrien

Call these folks

http://mcace.com/shotguninserts.htm

or

http://littleskeeters.com/

But 14 to 16 is a bit thin, and maybe 14 to 20 would add more meat to the insert.

I use a set of Lothar Walther inserts from 12 to 16 and they sure are thin, but work quite well.

http://www.lothar-walther.de/224.php

The 10 to 12 Silver GaugeMates are split to insure functioning, but do sever the 12 gauge hull. They, also, work quite well.

Mike

Mike

Thanks--I have sent emails to Alaska and Germany.

If Gauge-Mates were still around, I was planning on going to 14 to 20 or 14 to 28 ga.

Again, thanks.

Berrien

Berrien,

Good and thanks for the report.

There are two ways to go.

One is to make chamber inserts and then make a new extractor to fit the new hull size and leave the inserts in semi-permanently.

Second it a pseudo shell (gaugemate), that the minor ammo fits and the whole affair is extracted each opening.

For the semi-permanent, a qualified machinist should be able to render a pair with a suitable chamber casting.

Then just make a new slave extractor.

14 to 20 would be wonderful

Mike