doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Gunsmith woes

Maybe so, but then tell me that’s your policy before you have me drive 40 miles to tell me you don’t need to see it to say no.

Where are you?
If you are uncomfortable saying what city you are in, just say what state or which three bordering states.

No trying to be cantankerous here, but if the purpose of taking it to him was for him to evaluate the barrels mostly, would it not have been prudent to tell him beforehand that you wanted to bring a gun with damascus barrels to him for evaluation, in order to determine if it is safe to use? It would seem that, had you told him that, he would've saved you the trip. I do understand that hindsight is 20/20, however.

I have learned in farming, messing with high performance boats, and these old double guns, to do my homework before taking the ride, or packing up the gun and sending it off. By homework I mean determining beforehand who is the best and most knowledgeable in the field of expertise needed. I once sent a brand new set of barrels to be fitted to an action of a doublegun I already had. I mean, these barrels were straight from the factory, a file or stone had never touched the hook. I quickly decided on a 'smith to do the work, based on hearsay about his abilities. He absolutely botched the job, requiring the barrels to have the hook welded before they could be properly fitted. Had I done my homework and asked him for references on people for whom he had done this specific job, I would have saved myself many dollars and much angst.

I agree with Chantry that it may well be a liability issue for some 'smiths. If they're getting all the work they need without that extra risk, I can't fault them for the stand they take, even though I shoot damascus guns myself, and feel I am well versed enough in them to make my own decisions as to their safety, or lack of.

My email to him to get an appointment included the type of gun, it’s approximate age and what I wanted to know. I did not say it was Damascus or twist, as I am not at all convinced that it is. It appears to me to be badly worn finish on fluid steel.
He did not disclose that he did not have the tools to give me wall thickness measurements, despite that being right up front in the email.

For those who have asked, I’m in Kentucky.

Good luck getting the info you need on it. Hope it turns out to be a good buy and that you gets lots of shooting out of it.

Best, SRH

Thanks. Man I hope so

KyJon will know every smith worth calling in your region.
He’s a regular here.

Start with getting the barrels inspected.
If you take a picture of the barrel flats, people here can decipher the proof marks just from the picture.

That will get you some idea of how they started their life, as well as when. I think you might benefit from that.

They aren't competent when, without examining the gun in question, they make a blanket statement "Don't shoot Damascus Barrels". Easy peasy.

I think you have to have one or two exchanges like that early on in your doubles life, to impress upon you that most retail gun shops don’t know diddly about old shotguns.

And they don’t need to.

Vintage shotguns are two or three generations of craftsmen removed from people currently making their living in gun shops.

I looked at the one picture I see in the posts, and to me it looks like a set of Damascus barrels in poor external shape. Why not just post some pictures of the gun, the area under the forearm, and the water table and barrel flats? Be nice to juat the name of the maker. From this, a lot of people here may be able to tell you whether they are likely damascus or not, just from the makers name and date of production. It's hard to make a really relavent comment when all the info on the gun is on a secret basis. A little info posted here may eliminate the whole need for a search. Expecting any useful info when nothing is provided is not realistic.