"The sickening truth was irrefutable: the barrels of my precious gun were visibly, unmistakably, and irreparably Damascus, made in the old black-powder days by twisting strip steel around a mandrel, then heat-welding it. For unnumbered years Damascus barrels were highly regarded, but the coming of smokeless powder doomed them. In simple fact, nitro loads blew many of them apart, with resultant damage to the shooters." pages 145,146, Fallen Lady, "The Best of Babcock"...Geo
So sad that such an experienced and learned man as Mr. Babcock was taken in by the naysayers of the day. Too bad Sherman Bell and Tom Armbrust couldn't have conducted their research earlier.
