Having been an avid shooter for nearly 50 years I have seen Damascus Barrels 'give' even using low pressure black powder cartridges.
No reputable gunsmith will touch a Damascus barrelled shotgun these days. They were good in their day, but that 'day' was a century or more ago. If you look at the way they were made you will see the inherent dangers, a long thin strip of metal wrapped around a former and the edges hammer welded together. All sorts of impurities could be in the welds and none of it visible to the naked eye.
My advice is to deactivate it permanently, and use it as a wall decorator. A couple of friends of mine wish they had heeded my advice, they are both now missing fingers.
They stopped using Damascus barrels at the beginning of the 20th Century. Ask yourself why?
Shoot well, shoot safe, it's no pleasure shaking hands with a guy with only a thumb left on his hand.
Harry
