doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Changing chokes in Damascus barrels?

Hello all, I am working on a funny little project to build an AJ Aubrey for myself with multiple barrel sets. The original set is 32" Full/Full and I'd like to have a set of shorter (28 or 30) bbls with wider chokes for upland game.

The bbls are damascus now and I know I can have fluid steel bbls opened for wider chokes (with the understanding there has to be enough metal to work with) but what about damascus? Can they be honed out in the same manner by a qualified double gun man? Or should I go seeking only fluid steel?

Thanks,
Shane

Damascus barrels can be honed. Many of the Aubrey barrels are fuller & full. You will have plenty of material to work with.

Pete

Indeed they are Pete! Thanks for the reply. That should make the search easier. So off to find a junker with shorter damascus barrels.

Shane

Choke in a barrel most often results in a thicker wall. About the only exception to this would be if the barrel were first made as a cylinder then the outside "Swaged" down to produce the choke. This is sometimes encountered in cheap single barrels, but not commonly in a double. It is in fact rather common to find the OD of a barrel being beefed up a bit as the choke is approached from what it was a bit behind the choke.

Indeed, that's true Jent, but with the more open chokes I'd be more likely to be carrying the gun a far distance or shooting in heavy cover, which would make the shorter, lighter barrels nicer.

I will say I have shot 26 or 28 inch barrels my entire life, but recently have come into a few 30" barrel guns and I really like shooting them. The 32" barrels still feel a bit unwieldy.