I just picked up an interesting little thing.
It is a 36-bore by Lang & Sons.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=...e=1&theaterThe photos above are of the locks, which are beautifully scaled and cleaned up nicely. I think I will re-chamber it to .410.
Cool! A friend had a 36-bore.. His was a boxlock by Woodward.... Cute little thing it was. When he wanted to show off, he'd take it on a quail hunt... actuallly killed a few birds with that thing. He sold it for a hefty price. If I remember correctly the shells were cut down from 30-30 casings.
Adam
A "True" 36 gauge has a bore diameter of .506". In the early days some makers of .410's listed them as either 12mm or 36 gauge, neither of which accurately describes their bore size. .444 Marlin brass can be made into short .410 cases but a .30-30 is too small even for that use, much less a true 36 gauge gun.
A .410 case falls too far into the chamber, I'll chamber sleeve it to .410. The barrels are actually stamped .430 (for the bores), but there is no chamber stamp. The conversion will make it a usable little gun. It is well balanced and very nicely made with a good length stock.
Hmmmn;
Interesting, neither a .410 or a true 36 gauge. Makes one wonder just what it was intended to shoot originally. I double checked & 36ga is .506. A .410 is actually a 67.5 gauge & the .430 would be a 58.5 gauge.
Might make cases from .348 Winchester blown straight, or 50 something. Look up dimensions in Cartridges of the World
xshedspace,
If you are looking for .506, I think 45-70 would be better than .348 Win.
Mike
It would be very interesting to know what both the length & diameter (at both ends) of the Chamber are.
Miller,Small Bore
The diameter and length can be found be found by making a chambercast.
Mike
That is the proper way to do it!
I will get around to it. The gun was list on the owner's ticket as a 36 bore, he bought it thinking it was .410 from someone who thought it was a 28 bore!
Well you know what they say about mistakes. One man's mistake is another man's ex-wife, no I mean opportunity.
Be nice to see the whole gun when you can. Wouldn't it be more valuable as it is as a curiosity; and quite rare? Maybe just turn down a couple of slide in chamber inserts so that it can be used but without destroying its individuality. Lagopus.....
Says .506 is the bore, not the chamber, so some 50-100 brass would probably be about right. Some kind of chamber inserts for .410 shells, if you dislike rolling yer own.
What will tell the tale is still a chambercast.
Mike
A chamber cast would be great, but if'n I had it in my hands I do believe I could have it measured before I could melt & pour the cast.
2-piper,
Maybe he will do that for us,calipers don't usually give as precise a measurement as chamber cast,but in this case it wouldn't make that much difference,I guess.The current drill is just deciding which case to use in somebody else's gun that we will never see our selves. I'm just curious now.
Mike
Mike;
Totally agree on the preciseness of the chamber cast. For the purpose though I would use a small telescoping gage & measure the diameter at each end & can get a good reading on length by putting the forcing cone in a shadow then measuring to the shadow with a narrow scale. These are plenty accurate for a shotgun chamber.
Miller,
I also use telescoping gages when the hole is too large for small hole gages.This is, IMHO,as precice as directly measuring a chamber cast.I thought you were talking about directly measuring the hole with a caliper.I have a more difficult time with the length, but wouldn't make a lot of difference in this case( looking for head dia.of case to use).
Mike