Hi all, a chap in the US is makng me a black powder percussion rifle with a spare shotgun barrel. Is anyone in the US making damascus barrels now ? at a reasonable price !! My gunsmith told
me he knew of one guy who was making them a few years ago but cost was about US$7000 for a barrel.yikes, any help appreciated, best, Mike

Mike as far as I know the damascus barrels that were being made was not the same type damascus that we all know and love. If you find someone making them please let the rest of us know.

Mike,

No one, in the USA, is making them with the sort of patterns we are used to seeing from 100 years ago. There are a very few, here, who make skelp for muzzle loaders. People have been quietly doing this in Britain and the US for many years. A possible contact is Judd Brennan who lives in Alaska. I have no idea as to the pricing. If you wish, I can provide contact info for Judd. I spoke to him last year.

Greener is or was apparently "recycling" old stock. Not sure the status.

In Europe, I know that Heinz Denig has produced barrels that passed proof. Also in Germany, Manfred Sachse has been able to duplicate most of the old patterns. Whether either would produce a barrel for some one, I do not know.

I have heard stories about a smith in Switzerland who can duplicate the old barrels, but have no contact info.

The $7,000 price tag sounds in the ball park from some other stories I have heard.

Pete

IMO, it's like a lot of things - you can find all kinds of guys who will tell you they can make Damascus barrels but if you actually put them to task you'd find out they really can't.


Look at it this way...120 years ago there were guys who spent 8 or 10 hours a day making tubes. After 10 or 20 years they'd be pretty good at it. In 2009, show me the guy who has twenty years of tube making experience under his belt. So, if someone did make a set today you'd be on the low end of their learning curve.

I think Peter Dyson in England has quite a few pairs of Damascus blanks.

You can see what Dyson has available on his website. I think this is the best deal for a single barrel muzzle loading shotgun. Dyson will be at the Baltimore Show this weekend if you want to pop over for a visit. He usually has a few barrels with him for viewing.

I saw a Percussion Fowler about 20 yrs ago with a twist barrel
all of which were made by Mark Silver, an outstanding ML gunsmith. I think he learned his lesson however as he said
something similar to "Never again".

Here are 2 barrels I purchased from Dyson.


They need a lot of work. They never had the final grinding and boring done.

Pete

Pete are they the same pattern or can you even tell?

Mike,

No way to tell until they are ground.



After this they were bored. Finally, they used sulfuric acid to tell the patterns and match the barrels.

Peter Dyson is a great guy. I would have some concerns about using these in a gun I was going to shoot. From what Peter told me, they sat outside for nearly 50 years. However, Peter did tell me that some have used them in working guns, so the choice is up to the user.

Notice use of high tech OSHA approved safety shoes!

Pete

Some of Dyson's barrels are more "finished" than others. The available sizes are mentioned on his website. He probably has a few odd ones that are not mentioned.

Great, thx guys, I've dealt with Dyson before !! I'll give him a buzz, thx, Mike