doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Belgian 28g. hammer gun

RST offers 2-1/2 inch 28 gauge shells with 5/8 ounce of shot in a number of shot sizes. Not cheap, but no more than a box of factory Winchester AA 28s. The lighter than normal load would probably reduce the strain on the stock as well. Check out the options at http://www.rstshells.com/shells.htm

Note that 65mm = 2.559" or nominally 2 9/16" (2.5625"). The British have called their guns 2½" for years, but according to both Greener & Burrard I believe except for some very early ones they have generally had chambers of from 2 9/16" to 2 5/8".

Milt,
I like it - A modern back-action 28, sized for grandkids!

I'd measure the barrels w/ a metric (centimeter) scale before I assumed they were cut.

The first thing I did was call Mike Orlen from the road when I purchased it to see if he could extend the forcing cones in a 28g. He said no problem. When I got home I measured the chambers and came up with 2 5/8" so I decided 2 3/4" shells in a modern steel gun should work fine. Thanks to the members here being able to date it as a 1963 gun. I would have guessed more like 1910 or 1920 without their help. After all, it is a back action hammer gun as Yeti points out. So I saved the cost of extending the forcing cones (and the risk of cutting inside the barrels and changing the wall thickness) and the RST shells are great but will cost more than the gun after a few cases.

I had to run up to the local skeet range near here to drop something off and the sun came out so I shot a round of skeet with it using shells I had loaded a couple of years ago. I shot it really well which was a surprise for a sub 5 pound gun. The only misses were with the left barrel. The trigger pull was long with a very hard pull, so hard that I was literally pulling the gun when I pulled the second trigger. It also did not fire a couple of times in that barrel and I pulled the hammer back again and it fired on the second drop of the hammer each time. I guess when I have a little time I will pull off that lock and see what I can do with it. If I can't fix it off it goes to Dewey Vicknair for adjustment.

When I saw the gun at the gun shop I was thinking about my Grandson in a couple of years and maybe the kid in me was coming out a bit too. It was so light and cute. I measured a 14" LOP to a case colored steel butt plate so it was not designed for a kid. The spray on finish on the stock that is peeling a bit hides some fiddleback that I saw the next day when it was on my desk and the sunlight was shining directly on it. I guess they used a semisolid stain on it before spraying on the finish.

Using my Stan Baker bore gauge (the one with the three little balls on it) I measure the right barrel as .555 and the left at .553" with cylinder choke. When the dealer measured it with me he used one of the bore gauges that you turn a knob and three or four fingers expand more like a micrometer. I watched him and he came up with .05 choke in both barrels but only the last quarter to half inch so I figured there was an inch or so missing, besides the barrels do not touch at the muzzle. My gauge may not be able to pick up the small change because the balls are ready to slip out of the bore when you get that close to the end. I don't think the dealer was trying to pull something over on me since I have purchased from him before and I was watching him do it. The tag on the gun said .04 choke in both barrels. It also said $900 but after checking the consignment gun over with me he said I could have it for $600. Out the door it went.

The barrels are 24 15/16" long exactly.

I presume you realy mean .005" & .004" on those chokes .04"-.05" would be tight indeed in a 28ga.

The barrel stamps indicate a bore of 14.0 mm = .5512" and a choke to 13.9 = .5472"

2-piper,
You are correct. I was having my morning coffee and was not quite revved up yet. Thanks.

Revdocdrew,
Now I am really confused. When you subract those two numbers you get .004 which is what the dealer measured in both barrels. Only the right barrels is marked that way. The other just says 14.0 mm. Remeasuring as careful as I can I come up with .555 and .554 still with cylinder choke. The dealer had .004 for both chokes on the tag and measured .005 on both in front of me. He seemed to think they were only 1/4" to 1/2" long and seemed to agree the barrels may have been cut. My three ball Stan Baker gauge may not pick it up if it is only 1/4 inch long but that does not make sense to me either. Huh?

Well, I pulled out the vernier caliper which has an electronic readout although it was a somewhat inexpensive one. I read .554 at the right muzzle and between .552 vertically and .556 horizontally in the left muzzle which is apparently slightly out of round.

The thinnest part of the barrels are about half way down the barrels and I calculate .0275" thick which seems pretty good for such a light gun.

I am pretty good at measuring but I may be over my head here without the best equipement nor the most experience at it. Could the measurements be a coincidence between the bore gauge and the vernier caliper? I think I should bring the barrels next time I am at Dewey Vicknair's place or at the next show where that guy sells that caliper that goes 7 inches or so into the bore and have him measure it. Here in my amateur shop it looks like cylinder/cylinder to me.

Even if it is cyl & cyl, it will do fine on close birds.

There should be an additional marking -- the barrel weight. It should look something like 1K123. That is the barrel weight in kilograms. It was done at the proof house after it passed proof. It is the Belgian method to let you know if the barrels have been tinkered with. So all you need is a scale...

I was thinking about that chamber marking of 65mm. I seem to recall that the 28ga is not legal for hunting in Belgium. One of the reasons you do not see many.

My guess on the left trigger is that it just needs a good cleaning. Perhaps some light stoning.

For the price you paid, you got a little gem.

Pete