doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com How many of you shoot Damascus barrel guns

I've shot dozens of Damascus double guns over the years and never had a single problem. One Fredrick T. Baker gun my wife gave me when I graduated college I shot for years (the only gun I owned for many of those years)before I learned it had Damascus barrels (its barrels had been blued years before I got the gun and the pattern did not show thru the later finish). Learning this gun had Damascus barrels so many years later certainly gave me a fright; but if any gun has ever been "proofed", this would be it! As FYI, I've only witnessed one barrel explosion (thank God!); and it was not pretty, as it removed a fair portion of a man's left hand. That barrel was an Armor steel 12-bore LC Smith barrel; but there was nothing wrong with the barrel itself, a fibre base wad had lodged in the left tube about 8" from the breech. Forensic examination revealed a very evident bulge where the wad had been lodged, and damage to the barrel set itself was catastrophic; the explosion produced a gaping split open about 8" long in the left tube, the auto ejector fore iron/splinter forearm was blown off the gun and the wood forearm reduced to shattered bits; and the barrels were bent approximately 6' to the right and about the same distance downwards.

Genelang,
It would be helpful to read the Smokeless vs Black articles by Sherman BEll and also his articles over the last few years of
trying to destroy old damascus and twist junkers with proof loads. Never did it even with 18-20,000 PSI type proof loads.

Some bp and some low pressure smokeless loads in Lefever G, FE, and a very healthy(and thick walled) Syracuse "Hollenbeck". Shot the G at Sandanona Vintagers a few yrs. back with smokeless. Never hunted with any of them.

jack

I have 2, both Remingtons. One is a 1900 12 bore and the other is a 1889 10 bore. RST shells. If I want the stink, smoke, and messy cleanup from bp I'll shoot my Thompson Center 50 cal.

A fellow at our gun club had a 10 bore Belgian gun falsely labeled "manton" on it. Naturally it had damascus barrels on it of poor Belgian quality, not English best quality.

This fellow loaded his own shells with a scoop as though he was loading black powder but he used Nitro instead. He then loaded it all in a modern 3" 10 gauge shell...not the proof required 2-5/8" shell. Oh, then he loaded it full of about 1-1/2 ounce of steel shot.

Needless to say, this guy lost his thumb and part of another finger with his negligence. It is quite amazing that he didn't injure himself further.

Now the question is: who should be blamed? Sub-par Belgian Damascus barrel makers?

I wouldn't be surprised if this same shell (estimated at 26,000 psi) would have destroyed any fluid steel 10 gauge double as well.

Nonetheless, no one at the club will remember the 3 errors: steel shot, 8x powder beyond proof, wrong shell length. All the club guys remember is the harm a Damascus gun caused this fellow.

I Have shot Damascus barreled guns for 25 yrs or so without any problem. I use them for both target and hunting situations. I reload mostly using the old style AA hull/1 oz shot/Rem 209 Primers/Claybuster wads. I would also ad I shoot 2 3/4 in shells 2 1/2 chambers and again no problems.

P.S

The low pressure loads preform so well I use them in the steel barreled guns also ... makes life easier. Dennis

Out of my 1881 Damascus barreled 10 ga. I shoot 1 &5/8oz of lead at a chronograph 1290 fps....1 &5/8 oz of Bismuth at 1260 fps.

I 'd have more fear shooting a pre-1900 fluid steel gun than I do a high quality Damascus barreled gun in good shape.

I regularly shoot a Parker with a minimum wall thickness of .040 with 7/8 oz handloads. I also shoot 2 3/4 dram equi. Gun Clubs and AAs with no worries. Parker proofed both composite and fluid steel barrels in the same manner. You need to read the Sherman Bell articles and find out for yourself.

I quit reloading years ago, but find the Polywad and RST 'vintager' style shells very effective in my older guns, both steel and damascus/twist. I don't shoot high pressure 'modern' loads or steel in any of my old guns. The low pressure jobs don't kick and are plenty effective on the game I shoot...Geo

I shoot a I.Hollis 2 1/2" chambered 12 ga., a Manton muzzleloader in 16 ga., and a Remington 1889 in 12 ga., all damascus. Used to shoot a 10 ga. L.C. Smith 0 grade damascus gun but traded it off last year. Appropriate loads in each.

SRH