Far as I know they were the decarbonized barrels. Believe the rifle barrels were the same. Remington developed rifle barrels using a rolling mill - before that everyone lap welded a barrel the entire length. This was very weak compared to a Damascus barrel with short welds going around the barrel. A sales pitch was that the barrels could be bent in half without breaking. They started with a 2" diameter by 9" long round stock with a hole drilled down the center. It would then be stretched out with the mill. No welds. They sold rifle barrels world wide. When a lot of wars ended they had to do something with employees and equipment. They hired a lot of shotgun gunsmiths from stateside and overseas and in 1873 went into producing shotguns.
__________________
Paul Harm
|