Jon, why do you call this "short-chambered"? By my reckoning, it's actually a "magnum," at least an "old magnum"! Is my memory faulty, or isn't the standard 10 guage chambering for that period 2 5/8" and the "magnum" 2 7/8".

I have a Remington 1889 hammer 10 guage made in '93 that is marked "Magnum" and has 2 7/8" chambers. I've always assumed that it was rechambered from 2 5/8" aftermarket because the "magnum" stamp doesn't look factory to me.

BTW the gun shown by the original poster is a very beautiful example of a hammer double, heavy or not! My guess is that nobody made it to "carry all day," just to tote to the waterfowl blind and blast away!