doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Shooting Damascus barrel ?

I know the general concerns about shooting Damascus and then combine that with extreme age plus barrel wall thickness plus pits, dents etc. and you end up with a dicey proposition. This is also assuming only shooting moderate to light black powder loads.

My question is only concerning chamber end issues.

How much strength to a chamber area does shooting full brass shells contribute to the safety factor as opposed to paper or plastic shells?

If there is some contribution, then would having some custom brass shells with a little thicker wall dimension add even more to the safety factor? To go a step further how about custom 4140 steel shells?

I feel stupid even asking this as the answer seems so obvious to me I feel I must be missing something just as obvious.

If your barrels were not originally made for shooting brass hulls, then there is no need to do so today.

Hi Travis,
I have never hand loaded for the .410
Are you asking if shooting a thick brass or steel shell will sort of "add" to the chamber wall thickness?
Not being a metalurgist, nor able to spell the word,I couldn't say.
But I would think that to truly have any affect of strengthening the chamber wall, the cartridge would have to fit so tight in the chamber , that extraction might be impossible.Or perhaps not.
I would also be interested in the answers of those that know...perhaps Rocketman will reply.Or 2piper.
cheers
franc
Interesting Q Travis

This Parker 20 was made in 1900 and as a kid, I shot field loads and SuperX 6 s in it with no problems.
A few years ago, a gun maker friend took it and "freshed" it up a bit as well as removing some barrel dings. When he returned it to me, even though he and another well known double man found no specific faults, he recommended that I shoot RST or other light loads and to not shoot express or heavy loads. I have followed his advice and still hunt with it a few times per year.
Most of my bird shooting is now done with newer Parkers.

Moral - have a qualified gunsmith examine your gun and pay close attention to his advice.

Good hunting!

It would seem that if a gun relied on the shell case for a safety margin, then the gun may be too questionable to fire in the first place. But, two thoughts come to mind. I believe maximum pressure is developed some distance past the chamber, and a steel bodied shell may not seal and allow gases to blow back.

This is not really a question to try to shoot a barrel that is a no-go from the get-go but more of a preservation by adding margins of safety question.

That is a good point on a steel shell and back pressure.

I would think any double gun designed to shoot shells whether they be paper or plastic should have no problem shooting properly sized full brass shells. That is possibly other than extraction.

I am just wondering if the full brass shells adds any resistance to pressure in that area?

so It was really more of just a passing thought I appreciate the indulgence.

1. Brass cases add zero strength to a shotgun barrel.

2. Maximum chamber pressure is called that because maximum pressure occurs in the chamber.

3. Steel inserts are called 'chamber adapters' or 'tubes' and allow a smaller gauge shell to be fired. A steel shell is a very bad idea because all shells must expand to conform to the chamber wall to properly seal the breech. Brass rebounds, as do metallic headed shells after firing so you can extract them.

All brass cases are not equal and the classic thin wall brass may provide different results than the thick wall RMC. I am not sure your statement in para 1 is correct. I note that Tom Armburst in his testing of the thick walled RMC brass hulls requires they be drilled as chamber pressure readings is radically off when simply measured through the solid brass hull. I am told this is because the more robust RMC hull does contain some pressure. I do not know the exact difference.

I also note there are variety of chamber adapters and not all are steel. I have often used chamber adapters from 20 to 410, 16 to 410, and 16 to 28 without having extraction issues.

Best course is to have the gun measured and inspected properly so you have confidence is shooting normal vintage (low pressure) loads through it.

I agree that trying to thicken the chamber wall with a steel case or thick brass shells as the means of making it safe when it otherwise is not would not be my course of action.

Thanks for the input by all.

My take away Is brass shell offers negligible to zero benefit.