doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com How low would you go!

Amen

Is it .021 or .029? This might seem like a small difference but people I respect set .025 as a minimum. As someone said if the tin spot is right at the muzzle it is very different than say more than 9" back from the muzzle. One of the reasons for avoiding thin barrels isn't just safety but the ease at which they can be dented when very thin.

We like to think every one is honest and forthright and many are , but not all. Those selling a shotgun with thin barrel walls even in the forward 1/3 of the barrel might round up the number to .020 ". Is it really .018 .016 .015 " ? Seller hopes that buyer doesn’t have a wall gage. Ask the dealer if he'll make the sale contingent on an independent thickness check and with full return to include shipping both ways if not as advertised.

I had a German sidelock with .020 near the muzzle. It was a 1912 or so gun and probably had the barrels cleaned up at least once. With 2 1/2" cambers 16 gauge and weighing on 5lbs 10oz I was using RST low pressure loads to shoot it and used it for several years for desert quail. Did shoot a couple rounds of skeet with it but it was still a nasty recoil for target work. So think .020 is okay as long as that is just near muzzle.

90/30 or bust...

Exactly how do you measure that, ed?

20 thou is for 9" from the breech at the proof house. It's where your hands are.
Your hands are not 9" from the muzzle. I'll spot the easy to dent concern.
I have a 1973 Cogswell and Harrison 20 bore Konor. The gun was proved at .615 in each barrel. The bores are still .615. One barrel is .019 near the muzzle. I don't think the barrels are buggered. That's the way it passed Proof.
I don't worry a minute about shooting it.

My thoughts,

Joe

I have a 1906 gun that went through a fairly recent reproof. It has a small spot that is 19 thou about 6 inches back from the muzzle of one barrel. I've shot it quite a bit and have no worries. If the proof house says it's okay, then it's okay.

Like Kutter said, it really depends where the .020 measurement is in the bore. If it's in the first 12 inches then no way. I have a factory Beretta 16ga hammergun which I shoot appropriate loads made in 1949 that came from the factory with .017 wall thickness in the right tube 7 inches from the front of the barrels. There is virtually no pressure out there. I also have 2 beautiful English hammerguns that had extensive pitting in the bores. The pits were polished out and one had .017 15 inches from the the breech and the other .018 from at 14" from the breech. I have literally shot thousands of low pressure shells through both guns. I am willing to take that risk, some others may not. The English generally put the minimum at .020. I personally do not believe that .020 is an absolute minimum. Let's be clear, I am not advocating that people do what I do. I know my guns, my ammo, reloading practices, etc. Armed with that info I choose to shoot them at skeet and live birds on a regular basis. Many things in life involve risk. To me, my guns are not one of them.