Sometime in your past, you had a friend, a very good friend, that would hear you talk about a project like this, and say something like, “Dude, you really need to get laid”.
He was exactly right.
This is the kind of project that will result in $5000 in to a project that when complete will net $500. NOBODY wants or needs a 24 gauge. It isn’t cool, it is a PIA.
Get a project. Just get one that makes a bit more sense.
Best,
Ted
Don'tcha just hate it when someone comes along and destroys a perfectly good fantasy with stuff like reason and common sense?
I think Jon should go for it. And I don't think the cost would be astronomical either. Jon has told us he has a stock duplicator, and enough nice blanks to last several lifetimes. So doing the work himself would result in a negligible cost for restocking. Use those nice blanks before they end up being sold as firewood in an Estate Sale!
Bone Charcoal case hardening of the action can be done for a few hundred bucks, or less. Cost for filing and polishing out some small pits on the frame is nothing but a little time and a few pieces of emory and crocus cloth. Rust bluing the barrels can be done by a do-it-yourselfer for under $20.00 in materials. This baby could be done by dove season if he gets cracking. OK... Dove Season 2024.
So that leaves the little matter of shells to reload. Jon could just have some brass shell casing produced by a company like RMC, Ballistic Products, or South American CBC. He could have a couple hundred made by CNC lathe, and still be under that $5000.00 figure in total project costs. What's the alternative???... laying on your death bed and wishing you had saved the $5000.00 to buy an extra nice casket with solid brass handles and a silk lining? And if anemic ballistics are a concern, just have the brass shells made in a 3" length, and turn that 24 gauge into a one of a kind 24 ga. 3" magnum with your own headstamp! How cool is that? If that sounds crazy, the Preacher told us how lengthening the chambers of a vintage double would actually result in greater barrel wall thickness at the end of the recut chambers, so that should not be an issue at all. This project is becoming a Win-Win No Brainer!
P.S., one of my first posts here dealt with the nutty idea of replacing lost barrels on a small XX frame Lefever by finding two sets with a blown barrel, and then separating the ribs and tubes. Then I wished to somehow jig the good tubes up and rejoin them. That never happened. But it shows that I do understand crazy ideas that make zero economic sense. I never found two blown 16 or 20 gauge barrels sets for a large cocking hook Lefever. I still wonder if it could be done. It would be even better if I had been able to find a set that wasn't blown up, and just fit them to my frame. I have found several spare Lefever orphan barrels in 10 and 12 gauge, but not in 16 or 20. The firing pin spacing is only about .004" different on several I measured, so either 16 or 20 should work. If anybody has a set to sell, let me know. I'll even pay the $12.00 fee for a successful sale to Dave, unlike those cheapskates who advertise business ventures in their taglines..
