Damascus Barrels- yes or no?

[J.B. Books]

The hardest part of shooting nitro powder loads in a composite barreled gun is pulling the trigger for the first time. It gets a lot easier to do after that. Eventually the novelty of it will wear off and you will feel just as comfortable shooting them as any gun.

Surely a good idea to shoot low pressure light loads but that is a good idea any antique shotgun.

The only risk we might be taking is should one do something stupid or unfortunate; overcharge or barrel blockage and something happens where a person is hurt, a personal injury attorney will most likely use those age old warning to build a case for liability.

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Leighton Stallones

I shoot nearly all laminated and Dammascus as well as many friends of mine. That story was started by unknowledgeable Lawyers in the 60's.

I think it started long before the 60's.... looong before.

These shell boxes are from much earlier than the sixties and I'm sure people can show even earlier boxes with the same warning.

They are all paper hulls.

"Researcher" Dave Noreen can probably tell us when that warning first appeared on various manufacturer's shell boxes.



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[wayne goerres]

Well they might be right about one thing. The rifled slugs in Damascus barrel.

[OH Osthaus]

i find the warning not to use in shorter chambers just as interesting

[charlie cleveland]

i would not be afraid to shoot slugs in a damascus gun... it just that its hard on the wood sometimes..but if a fellow wouldtake the stock off and reinforce the stock with super glue fiber glass or other such glues these old stocks then can take a big load with in reason..my old stub twist 8 ga has probably had 50 rounds of 2 ounce lead round ball loads shot thru it with no harm to the barrels or the wood....charlie

[Dean Romig]

Hold on a minute Charlie... I had that 8 gauge at my house and any damage that was gonna happen to that gun has already happened....
if we're talkin about the same gun...


What I mean to say is, that gun shall forevermore be indestructible.... is that better?

[Researcher]

The first time I've seen something like the Damascus and Twist warnings appear on shotgun shell boxes was the early 12-gauge 3-inch Super-X loads from about 1925 or 1926 --



No mention on this 2 9/16 inch 16-gauge Super-X box of about the same vintage --









The one-piece shell boxes phased in in the 1933-35 time frame, and I've never seen one of those without Damascus and Twist warnings.

[Bill Anderson]

[QUOTE=Dean Romig;143589]I think it started long before the 60's.... looong before.

These shell boxes are from much earlier than the sixties and I'm sure people can show even earlier boxes with the same warning.

They are all paper hulls.

"Researcher" Dave Noreen can probably tell us when that warning first appeared on various manufacturer's shell boxes.


In our retail word, everything you see, ad or label, just about anywhere, is all about "making money" plain & simple. All the major gun manufacturers were making the transition to cheaper and faster to produce, thus more profitable steel barrels. So one of the tactics by ammo companies in collaboration with gun manufacturers was to start labeling all ammo so you would discard your Damascus guns. They wanted you to run out and buy one of the new steel barreled guns and in turn you would also buy a good supply of the new fangled ammo to go with it. . That is the single biggest reason the warnings appeared. And it worked until just a few short years ago when Sherman Bell finally did his extensive testing.

Bill

[todd allen]

How do I feel about Damascus bbls?
I think Fabbri should offer Damascus as an option on their higher grade guns.

[King Cobb]

I just had to bring this one back to the top in case anyone is reading that is in a similar situation to me 2 years ago(was it only 2 years ago....). I am currently in the process of buying my 4th Damascus parker. I have come a long long way from when I first posted this question.