A fellow at our gun club had a 10 bore Belgian gun falsely labeled "manton" on it. Naturally it had damascus barrels on it of poor Belgian quality, not English best quality.
This fellow loaded his own shells with a scoop as though he was loading black powder but he used Nitro instead. He then loaded it all in a modern 3" 10 gauge shell...not the proof required 2-5/8" shell. Oh, then he loaded it full of about 1-1/2 ounce of steel shot.
Needless to say, this guy lost his thumb and part of another finger with his negligence. It is quite amazing that he didn't injure himself further.
Now the question is: who should be blamed? Sub-par Belgian Damascus barrel makers?
I wouldn't be surprised if this same shell (estimated at 26,000 psi) would have destroyed any fluid steel 10 gauge double as well.
Nonetheless, no one at the club will remember the 3 errors: steel shot, 8x powder beyond proof, wrong shell length. All the club guys remember is the harm a Damascus gun caused this fellow.
