Thanks Dr, Drew. Mike has a beautiful gun and I was flummoxed. Expertise on our board makes for a real education. I'll be changing the Reilly chapter on steel barrels and cribbing from some of what you've posted.
I had assumed that Whitworth was the be all and end all in steel barrels for sporting guns.....and knew he took out his patent in 1865 but that it didn't leak over broadly into sporting guns for a number of years. It's clear steel barrels were tried well before Purdey used Whitworth barrels in 1880. And, steel barrels were used on new Snider Enfields once the old iron Enfield rifle-muskets had been converted.
Is there a way to tell what kind of process was used to make the barrels for Mike Harrell' gun?
Last edited by Argo44; 09/01/24 05:49 PM.
