Ogden-Smiths Hussey
 

I picked up a 20ga with 28" barrels. The gun shop was selling it as parts as they measured the barrel wall thickness .012 9" from muzzle. The thinnest I could measure was .02 on either barrel at any place. There is evidence that it has been fired, after/if it was honed. The barrels are steel and light, 2 pounds 1.4 oz without the forearm on a digital scale. The entire shotgun only weighs 5 pounds 6.2oz. It's a nice condition little gun wood, action, ejectors don't show abuse or restoration. The exterior of the barrels show wear as expected for the gun as a whole. I have two questions: It seems to be on the edge of safe to shoot. As stated above there is evidence it has been shot. So, I need the thoughts of people with more experience on this. My second request is for input on anyone's experience with Briley tubes. I'm thinking of both 410 and .28. With their fitted tubes, it would still be under 6 pounds.

Any history on this would also be appreciated. There seems to be a limited amount, mostly history and years in business. Nothing regarding grades, production numbers, etc. Apparently Griffin and Howe has some records on these, but not this particular one.

Thanks in advance
Jeff

Why not have it sleeved back to 20 ga.? If the gun is in good condition and you have little money in it sleeving would be a good alternative.

I’m a big fan of any gun with Hussey engraved on it but .012 is really thin no matter where it is. The Hussey Of Ogden, Smith and Hussey was HJ Hussey’s son. G&H has some of HJ’s records but I don’t know about O,S,H records.

Would you mind posting some photos of the gun?

JDG

I've had Briley full length sub gauge tubes fitted. It was a somewhat different set up as they were sub gauge tubes in an O/U for shooting skeet. I never had any problems with them and they came with several choke's, If they didn't add to much weight it might be a viable alternative.

Double check the wall thickness and maybe have someone else measure them. 20 thousandths at 9" from the muzzle should be ok. The main pressure is towards the breech. They are thin and will dent easier.

Atkin, Grant & Lang https://www.agl-uk.com may hold the records. If you send them an email, they will respond.

Ken

I've owned shotguns that were sleeved, my first thought on all of them was obviously, what happened to the barrels? Second thought was who did the repair? Third thought is always the most important, would I let one of daughters shoot the thing? To me, sleaving kind of diminishes the story of the shotgun. That excludes situations where there is no feasible alternative.

I'll get some pics posted in the next few days.

I'm taking it to my normal gunsmith this week to have him check it out. I checked the thickness using the gunshop's equipment (same equipment they used to get .012) and came up with .020, I then used mine (home made and good for most situations) and came up with .022.

I spent a great deal of time both in the shop and at home trying to come up with their numbers because I found it hard to believe the steel on this was a little over 2x's the thickness of an aluminum can and I'm certainly no professional gunsmith.

Thanks again for any input.

Jeff

Jeff,

I assume you measured around the barrels (i.e., next to the rib, top, bottom, and the opposite side of the rib). Did the gun shop show you where the thin spot is located?

I know you don't want to have the gun sleeved. Even if you did, I'm not sure who does sleeving in the states. I heard there are issues finding tubes.

Ken

When in doubt, sleeve the gun. Here's the absolute best:

http://www.merringtongun.com

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