Many years ago I foolishly bought someone else's old Belgium 16 ga. hammer gun project. It was a basket case of parts,a crudely semi-inletted new stock and barrels purportedly redone by Oscar G. Talking with a local competent gunsmith quickly made me realize the extent of my error: It would cost $2,000 or more to finish this gun, which would then be worth about $600. I literally put this gun away and forgot about it. Being now retired, I have decided to try and put this hammer gun together. This is an old Belgium gun marked New England Arms on the rib, so nothing special...JABC. The guy I bought the project from had all the parts stripped, polished and lightly engraved. With an enormous assist from a couple of Utube videos, I have been able to put the sidelocks and receiver back together and now am looking at inletting the new stock. Being mindful that I am already underwater financially on this project, I am wondering if the action really needs to be case hardened; a process which is beyond my abilities, I'm sure. I am OK with how the parts look now. Will I end up spending hundreds to have the case hardening done ? OR could I just skip the case hardening process and shoot the gun with only 3/4 oz. low pressure reloads ? I would appreciate any and all thoughts Board members may have ? Thanks
