Note that in the early years of the 10 gauge 2 5/8" was also a standard chambering. The "Heavy" load for a 10 in the black powder era was 5 drams with 1 1/4 oz of shot. Lighter powder charges were available as well as 1 1/8 oz loads as in that time frame the 10 was often carried as a field gun. My only 10 gauge is a circa 1890 E grade Lefever 10 lb gun with 32" Damascus barrels "&" 3" chambers. I suspect this gun was ordered with those chambers as in that period of time chambers could be pretty well ordered to suit the whim of the user & to my knowledge 3" has never been a standard in the 10, so unlikely it would have been Re-chambered to that length at a later date.
That 8 lb 10 may well have 2 5/8" chambers & have been built as a field gun. I once saw & was able to pick up & handle a Barber & Lefever 10 gauge hammer gun. This gun had 28" barrels & though i was not able to weigh it I seriously doubt if it exceeded 7 1/2 lbs. I would have loved to have had that gun, but unfortunately it wasn,t for sale. A serious Lefever Collector had it on display at a Gun Show in Nashville TN way back when the TN Gun Collectors Association put on some pretty good shows there. About the only shows anywhere close around this area now are just "Black Guns" & such. Not sure if the TGCA even still exists now or not, I seriously doubt it. -
Last edited by 2-piper; 12/24/17 01:43 PM. Reason: Corrected double posting
