Chantry Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 I would have bought anyway, but getting that $1200 check certainly made the decision easier. Stephen Grant 12 bore hammer gun w/side lever, London. According to the serial number it was made toward the end of 1876 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Coffinmaker Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 Oh Boy Floating Side Locks, Exposed Hammers, Really nice wood, Damascus Barrels. The Damascus is a little off putting but that is a marvelous acquisition. Gorgeous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 Wow! That is one beautiful shotgun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 Posted May 9, 2020 Share Posted May 9, 2020 Chantry: Will you shoot it? If so, will you do anything special to verify the integrity of the barrels? Gorgeous gun! LL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chantry Posted May 9, 2020 Author Share Posted May 9, 2020 2 hours ago, Loophole LaRue, SASS #51438 said: Chantry: Will you shoot it? If so, will you do anything special to verify the integrity of the barrels? Gorgeous gun! LL Yes I will shoot it with BP loads and I doubt I'll put more then 250 rounds a year through it. As to shooting Damascus barreled guns in general, there is a lot of bad information out there. Any one seriously interested in shooting a Damascus barreled gun should spend some time at https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php there is a lot of very good information there. My own take, based on what I have read so far, is that it was a combination of low quality Damascus barrels and people reloading smokeless powders the same way they loaded BP. BP is loaded by volume, not weight and there wasn't the same amount of available load data that we have now. So you get a shooter who has always loaded 75 grains of BP (for example) to hunt birds. That same shooter tries the new smokeless powder and loads 75 grains of that in the gun. You can guess the results. Link: https://www.midwayusa.com/larrys-short-stories/damascus-barrels-rumors-and-facts/183 I've read credible stories about tests from the early 1900's where British Damascus was tested against fluid steel (aka modern) barrels and some of the best British Damascus barrel didn't blow up until the pressures were in the 60,000 PSI range, far beyond any shotgun barrel was designed to handle. Under current British law, with a few exceptions, any firearm being sold has to pass proof which is tested at the Birmingham Proof House. I often look at some of the shotguns at https://www.holtsauctioneers.com/index.html and most of the old shotguns that they auction off have gone through re-proof for smokeless powders. I have 5 English hammer guns now. One of them is, approximately the same age as the Stephen Grant, had the chambers lengthened from 2 1/2" to 2 3/4" and was re-proofed in 2000 for 850 Bar, which equals to 12,328 PSI. I shoot it 3 or 4 times month for skeet at a local club If the barrel is not badly dented or badly pitted or otherwise in poor shape it SHOULD be safe to shoot loads at whatever the most recent proof stamp reads. I can point people to gunsmiths who are experienced in working with British guns and can give a more definitive answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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