Dean,
The quick answer is no. SAAMI (Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturing Institute) allows working pressures in shotgun shells to be about 11,500 psi. Though a shotgun shell may have a modest velocity and payload it could have a higher pressure. I believe it was John Brindle that wrote some articles in Double Gun Journal early on about smokeless powder for black powder. What he deduced was that pressures at 8,000 psi and below would be safe for Damascus guns in good order. Sherman Bell also wrote a number of articles in DGJ titled Finding Out For Myself and produced pressure curves from certain smokeless loads that were the same as black powder loads. He also blew up two Parkers, one Damascus and the other Vulcan steel, of the same frame size same year of production and about the same grade. THey both blew at the same place and at the same pressure which was about 31,400 psi. My thought is if the barrels have not been messed with they are safe to shoot. I still have all my fingers, but i'm not finished shooting. I do have to give credit to Ross Seyfried for getting me started shooting my Damascus Parkers. He did an article in Guns and Ammo in the 1980's about low pressure loads for Damascus guns. My father was not happy about it. We would shoot sporting clays and about half way around the course he would ask to shoot my Parker (I have the Parker he found under the Christmas Tree as a child). He would break both targets and I would offer him two more shells. He would shake his head no and give the gun back.
Harry
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