doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Poll-Damascus and modern ammo?

I will shoot damascus with low pressure loads. With all the usual safty checks and no less that 0.020 wall thickness.

tim

I use damascus barrelled gun all teh time with modern loads. The key is to use a load suited to the gun. with american guns, you need to guess what will work and I'd expect most to err on teh safe side.

With British guns you just need to match the proof marks to teh ammunition myou are using. If the gun is still in proof and sound, it will be safe to use with the corresponding loads.No need to go ultra-low pressure, just stick to the correct loads n the correct length hulls.

I favour Game-bore 'Pure Gold' 2 1/2" loads in true 65mm cases loaded with 1oz of No.6 and fibre wads for almost everything except ducks and geese. Hull also produce a good fibre-wad 65mm shell and Eley Grand Prix is a load I use in my 16-bores with damascus barrels. All these guns have 2 1/2" chambers and corresponding proof marks.

I shoot Gamebore's black powder shells in my Remington 12g 1894 AE. The barrels are thick and heavy, so I feel pretty good when pullin' the triggers. I'd have to say, the gun doesn't get much of a workout - it was bought just to have an American damascus gun around.
I think the barrels are the thing, no matter how careful your loads are. Pitted barrels might cut loose with a bottle rocket fired from 'em!

Just a generalization, but bore pitting is on the inside of structure that is stressed much more highly on the outside than inside. The pits would have to be extremely deep to make much difference in the ability of the barrel to handle pressure, IMO. The fact is that many a gun owner will go thru countless hours of hand wringing over a few pits less than .010" deep and have a number of guns laying around with similar depth engraving on the outside of the chamber area of a gun, a much more highly loaded area.

What Chuck said. Also, pitted damascus barrels from tests posted here were shown not to give way any faster than non-pitted barrels.

And don't forget the roll marking or engraving of the maker in the tapered area of the barrel.

Pitted barrels could be an outward sign of something deeper - something lurking in the metal itself.
...but shootem if you gotem eh!

so how about these? they have their 7/8th oz shot charges listed as making 5900 psi....

https://www.bandpusa.com/Shopping/product_info.php?cPath=65_70&products_id=98

I bought a box of the 1oz loads, though I'm sure they could get me a flat or two of the 7/8 loads if I so desired.

I bought the 1oz loads because thats all my store had in stock, and I decided that I would try them out in my Stevens 311A...

The 1oz loads feel pretty much like a regular 2 3/4 shell...sounded the same too...i will probably see if they can get me some 7/8oz to run through the W.C. Scott....

I just want to remind everyone here that Sherman Bells testing was hardly up to scientific standards and,as far as I'm concerned,didn't really prove anything.
I love the look of damascus barrels and feel this was a real art form but I also recognize the inherent weakness in this type of construction.
Having said that I also believe that their prudent use with proper low pressure shells certainly minimizes the possibility of a burst and if that's your thing go for it.
Jim

I would like to see actual scientific evidence that damascus barrels are inherently weaker, and if so, by how much.