doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Why so long?

I am looking at three doubles with extra, extra long barrels. 36�, 40� and 41+�. Did the extra long barrels give any real performance advantage? Does the extra 6�-12� give you a complete burn of all black powder? Were they just a sales gimmick like 25� barrels were fifty years later?

All guns seem to date to 1870-1880 time frame. They could have been for Swans or surface shooting waterfowl I guess, but not for walk up hunting. Weights come in at 10+ to 13 pounds. One 12 and two are 10�s. Might have been for live bird shooting before they imposed a lot of restrictions on guns and loads. Long and odd looking.

Not likely live pigeon guns. Interesting guns nevertheless.

I have read somewhere that some guns had particularly long barrels to put the muzzle blast beyond the ears of the horse you sat on. Not sure how true.

I seem to recall reading that Walter Chrysler of Chrysler Corp. owned a double barreled duck gun with 42" barrels, believing they would provide him with extended range. Reportedly, the report from this gun was very muffled.

For Black powder loads. The longer the barrel the more black powder you can burn.
I don't know if that fact has anything to do with those guns though.

I have two guns with 36" barrels.
The second gun was bought on the strength of liking the first ones performance so much.
Not only me who can see how far it is that I can knock down foxes with a load of number two's.
Choked very tight & with slow burning powder they are extreme range guns.
The same loads fired from modified 28" barrels are definitely not the same in performance & there is un burnt powder left laying in the 28" barrels.

All that I have read from ballistics expert opinions does not back up my real world experience; Believe it or not.

So have @ me experts.
Believe what you like Jon, but I recommend that you try long barrels for yourself & see for yourself If I just believe they are good for long shots.
Another thing I believe is that you cannot work out the answer to this with math.

O.M

If you want to be surprised shoot that 28" barrel over a long sheet of paper. Then check the amount of unburnt powder on the paper. When I shot Black powder the standard for going to maximum loads was to go till unburnt powder found on the paper and then back off.Black powder burns much slower than smokeless and barrel length was more important to velocity.

The long barrels gave hunters up to three bore-obstruction-banana peel-blows before a new gun was needed.

If you look closely there's a hack saw blade slot under the forearm.

Well I have heard from one of the sellers who knows part of his guns history. Seems a duck hunting club ordered a dozen of these long barreled guns. Where the other eleven are no one knows. He thinks they all got cut down to a more mormal length over time. This one passed through three known owners and has not been used for many decades. So at least one of these long barreled monsters was meant for waterfowl. Somebody must have thought such long barrels would give them an advantage. Perhaps just a more complete burning of black powder. Perhaps just being closer to the birds with such a long barrel.