doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Chamber Sleeved?

I was looking at new Steve Barnett advertisement for a Reilly for the date chart SN 32xxx (which would be 1891 or 1892). I've asked for the SN which will be on water table, barrels and fore-end. However, the ad claims it is 16 gauge "chamber sleeved." I've got a brain freeze and don't know exactly what that means. chambers are 2 3/4" obviously lengthened. the barrels appear to be intact but the rib has been cut. - portions of the address can vaguely be made out. Also trying to ascertain the address left on the rib for the chart.

https://www.gunsinternational.com/g...ammer-best-16-gauge.cfm?gun_id=103528320

The barrels, usually 12 gauge, but, possibly 10 gauge, in this case, are machined to accept inserts in 16 gauge. They are permenantly installed in the barrels. There can be any number of reasons for doing this, but, you now have a 16 gauge chamber firing into 12 gauge barrels. I’m told they pattern just fine, and there is a bit of a pressure drop in the barrels themselves.

Any number of reasons, but, to me, I’d just look about for a proper 16 gauge gun.

Best,
Ted

Thanks Ted. Brain fart. I'd actually asked the question a couple of years ago. This is SN 32822. . .originally a 12 ga. Got it. Just trying to figure out the history. No plans to buy anything except the pair to my 16ga side lever which is in Massachusetts owned by a Pakistani who is now convinced somehow that I'm ICE or something.

Gene,

You say that “the rib has been cut” but that could well be as originally made.

It is not uncommon for that part of the “rib” to be a separate piece of steel attached when the breech ends are joined.

It is typically done with guns with doll’s head or Greener cross bolt top extensions.

You can see it below in this Greener made J. V. Needham, which has a doll’s head extension.



The rib itself is laid at a later stage to the joined barrels, and if it needs to be re-laid that can be done without the tubes themselves being separated.

Chamber sleeving originally was a method used to convert paper case chambers to accept thin brass hulls. See J H Walsh "The Shotgun" for explanation and description of methods used.

An early adopter of chamber sleeving was Cyril Adams. I understand he would take a 10 bore and chamber sleeve it to a 12, resulting in an overbored 12 gauge. He would also go from 16 to 20. Steve Barnett had a couple of these guns for sale a few years ago. Briley used to do this but no longer.

I suppose a few gun owners may have resorted to chamber sleeving in order to use thin brass hulls. But I seriously doubt if that was a common reason for it.

I've pretty much always seen rusting, pitting, or other chamber damage as the primary reason for chamber sleeving, especially when the damage created extraction problems.