doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Long barrel 20-bores

Victorian 20-bore hammer guns are not often to be found with long barrels. However, Cashmore seems to have made a few. I had one in stock with 32" damascus barrels and thought it unique. This week I bought another - with 31" damascus barrels and pistol grip stock.

The two guns have very similar actions. I just boiled off the metal parts and the locks have come up internally very bright and burnished. Still a good bit of original finish outside too.

I paid too much for this from the 80 year old who had owned it since 1941 but I felt this might actually be a 20-bore I could shoot with. I normally shoot small bore guns like a monkey plays a banjo.

I'll have a go at some pigeons with it later this month - in my view one of the very best ways to get acquainted with a gun.

You can see a photo of it here:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=...e=1&theater

Wow! What great condition.

I took a 16 gauge Parker ejector with 32" barrels to Cordoba and found it to be about right for doves.

Dig, those longer barrels might give you enough extra swing effort (MOI) for you to find it controllable. Let us know.

DDA

I love the longer barrelled small bores, Dig. I find exactly as Don said, that it really makes them "settle down" when the barrels are longer. My longest 20 now is only 30", and I shoot it well, but I just know there is a 32" awaiting me. My 32" 16 ga. L.C. Smith is a dream to shoot.

Both Zoli and C. Guerini make 32" 20 ga. O/Us that would make great dove/pigeon guns, IMO.

Are you going to "fresh it up" a bit?

SRH

No, I'll keep it looking pretty much as it does, I'll just clean it internally, lubricate it and clean out the chequer and apply a little stock finish to keep out the weather.

I have a Parker 16ga hammergun with 32 inch bbl and a J Venables & Son 16ga hammergun with 30 inch bbls. The Parker swings better but its heavier also.

Some day I'll find that long barreled 20ga hammergun, perhaps at the Southern this year.

Dig,

Very nice! What chamber length? Just curious, knowing that there were really no hard standards in place back when that gun was made. Regardless, 25 grams of US #7 [.100"] shot should do the trick on pigeons just fine somewhere between 1050 and 1200fps.

And in the FWIW Dept. there are some published loads for 20's using IMR 800X that have wonderfully low pressures. A friend & I both thot they were typos when we first saw the low pressures listed, so we specifically made inquires. It wasn't a misprint, the low pressures listed are, in fact, perfectly legit.

Bbl. length aside, I'd hope the gun proves the 'magic wand' you seek in a small bore. Do let us know how the sport goes w/it.

Kind regards, tw

Each to his own I guess. I cant see using anything with barrels over 28" in the grouse woods.

To take it a bit farther I see little "Need" for anything over 28" for the vast majority of upland gunning, Period. I have not done a great deal of Duck Hunting, but what I have done I did with good success as far as the shooting went with a 7� lb 12ga having 26" barrels bored with .012" & .024" chokes Right/Left. This was primarily hunting in a swamp where I was calling them in without benefit of decoys, but did right good I thought, no long range pass shooting involved. With this same gun I have successfully shot Quail, Rabbit, a few Squirrel (Mostly hunt them with a .22LR), some Woodcock & a couple of Turkeys. I have never felt the need for a lot more length in the barrels, in fact I would not desire any more than 2 more inches, if they were a bit slimmer so the gun kept the same or slightly less weight. Have also done some mighty good shooting with a 6lb 14oz 12 gauge having 28" barrels as well as a 6lb 20 with 26" barrels. I normally just prefer letting them little round shots "Reach Out & Touch Someone", rather than swatting them with the gun itself.

Once you shoot a long barreled gun for passing shots, it grows on you. Just in terms of pure math, longer sight radius equals less sighting error.