Eight Gauge, but not a Parker

[Bill Murphy]

I have been looking to add a Davenport eight gauge to my collection for many years, but I have always been snakebit by price, condition, or unwillingness to sell. Familiar story to Parker collectors. This weekend, an original 36" Davenport eight appeared on a table at a local gun show. I looked at it for a day, and made my decision on the second day, the cracked stock being the item of doubt. I got it home and found some faded case colors, fairly vivid Twist Steel pattern, and original buttplate in nice condition. The bore is spotless and shiny.

[charlie cleveland]

bill i really like those old davenport 8 ga s..i too have been looking at one with goodcase colors and good wire twist color on the barrels.the one i ve been looking at is a single barrel..is your gun a single or double barrel gun..glad you found your gun...charlie

[wayne goerres]

OH MAN. You cant tempt us and not show pictures.

[Mark Ouellette]

OH MAN. You cant tempt us and not show pictures.

Hey Bill,

Wayne is correct. How about a few photos? :whistle:

Mark

[Bill Murphy]

Charlie, it's a single barrel, described in the 1903 catalog as "The Davenport Goose Gun". I have an adapter in it and will shoot it as soon as I get a chance. The whole gun was covered in a light coat of rust, but I could see through that. What surprised me was the perfect bore, no doubt original. It's all cleaned up now, showing light colors and very nice twist pattern. At $20 in the catalog, it was two dollars more expensive than the "Elita" model which was available in 12, 16, and 20. The ten gauge "Davenport Goose Gun" was the same price as the "Elita". The eight was catalogued at 11 1/2 pounds. I'll put mine on the scale later today.

[Bill Murphy]

11 pounds, 4 ounces without the 3 1/4" 12 gauge adapter.

[Mike Franzen]

I've never seen a Davenport. How about a few pics Bill

[Bill Murphy]

I've been doing some measurements on the big eight. The bore diameter at the choke, if there is a choke, is about .790". The outside diameter of the barrel at the muzzle is 1.070" The wall thickness at the muzzle is .140". Now I have to develop a system to measure the bore behind the choke. I think the easiest way to do that is to use a wall thickness gauge and some simple arithmetic.

[John Dallas]

... and make the assumption that the bore is concentric with the OD

[Bill Murphy]

Actually, John, if you measure the wall thickness all the way around the barrel, (possible with a single barrel) and measure the outside diameter of the barrel, there are no "assumptions". Simple arithmetic will tell you the bore diameter. Assumptions involving the concentricity of the barrel only enter into the equation when trying to measure wall thickness without a wall thickness gauge. The measurement I am attempting will involve no assumptions of concentricity.

[charlie cleveland]

.790 is pretty tight for a 8 ga she must be what we all call extra full i hope she is... charlie

[Bill Murphy]

Charlie, I hope it is tightly choked. When I get around to getting the wall thickness gauge out to figure out the bore diameter, we will know.

[Bill Murphy]

OK, here is the verdict on the Davenport bores and also my method of measuring eight gauge bores when we don't have a bore micrometer big enought to measure the eight, or even a ten. I first marked off the 16" and the 8" depth mark on my $90 Manson wall thickness gauge. I then measured the wall thickness of the Davenport barrel at those depths, from the muzzle. I then flipped the gun over to see if the wall thickness is the same on the other side. I then measured the outside diameter of the barrel with a vernier caliper. The same measurement could be taken with a 1" to 2" micrometer. The wall thicknesses at 16" and 8" are .160" and .145". The outside diameter at the 16" and the 8" marks are 1.180" and 1.140". The bore diameters, calculated by doubling the wall thickness and subtracting it from the outside diameter, are .860 and .850. Allowing for errors in measurement at any of the many points measured, done on a bench with no vise for the gun, I would place the bore diameter at an estimated .855. A more careful measurement of the muzzle at .800, rather than the previously posted .790, would place the choke measurement at .055, a nice full choke for an eight gauge. Test fire to come when the snow melts off the pattern board area.

[charlie cleveland]

glad she was full choke bill can not wait to here how it patterns..charlie

[wayne goerres]

Bill if you keep an eye on ebay you can find a set of used pin gauges that go from .750 to 1.00" pretty cheap sometimes. I think I gave $25.00 for mine.

[Bill Murphy]

Thanks, Wayne. I have pin gauges, but I like the idea of getting measurements down to the 16" point. The pin gauges may not even go beyond a long choke. With the Manson gauge, you can also come in 16" from the breech end. By the way, pin gauges and micrometers are a simple way to measure .410 bores, since most of us don't own a .410 bore micrometer.

[Rick Losey]

Test fire to come when the snow melts off the pattern board area.


i would think the first shot from an 8 gauge would take care of the snow on the pattern board :corn:

as for your math- agreed- as long as you have two of the variables - you had wall thickness and outside radius, you can get the third.

Before I acquired my gauges I bought a gun I wanted the wall thickness of. I borrowed a bore gauge, measured the outside and did the math. Later when I assembled my set of gauges I repeated the exercise and then measured the walls- the numbers agreed. just don't tell the late Mrs Peterson I actually used the math she taught me in school - the shock would kill her again.

[Pete Lester]

It sounds like an interesting gun....... but

[Mark Ouellette]

Hey Bill!

Send the gun to me and I"ll shoot photos and post here for all to enjoy. Oh, I won't even charge you for the photos. Consider them a donation to our PGCA friends. :)

Mark

[Bill Murphy]

Charlie and Mark will be pleased to know that, recently, I picked up a Davenport 10 gauge with 40" barrel in high condition, about the same as the 32" 8 gauge. I couldn't attend the auction where the 40" gun was being sold. Next day, I asked a friend if he attended the auction and what did he buy. He did attend and said he bought a long barrel single. Wow, what luck. We reached a quick deal and I have the gun.

[Dave Noreen]

The 10-gauge head on my bore gauge would rattle around in the bore of the local Lefever 8-gauge, but about 5 inches from the muzzle began to engage and measure the choke.

[charlie cleveland]

good for you bill....i have a friend who has a 10 ga. and a 12 ga davenport both with 40 inch barrels...i passed on a 10 ga back last year wish now i had it...boy that nice clean barrel is a really nice most of these old guns barrels were pitted pretty good...my 8 ga davenport has a rough but shootable bore its full choke and patterns well...i havealso a chamber mate to shoot 12 ga shells i also took and made me a 8 ga to 10 ga adapter works very well...now bill you need a 12 ga davenport and you will have a true trio...dont think they ever made a 16 ga but i could be wrong...charlie

[Phil Yearout]

Had to consult my friend google to see what a Davenport single barrel shotgun looks like :cuss:. No fair!

[Dave Noreen]

In that we will all grow old and die waiting for Murphy to post a photo of anything, here are The Goose Guns. from a W.H. Davenport catalog --

81421

81422

[Milton C Starr]

I always thought the Davenport 8 gauges were a nice looking single barrel .
Actually there were a few nice single barrel guns made around that time period.

IIRC Hopkins & Allen bought Davenport and continued to make the goose guns for years afterwards .

Theres been this Hopkins and Allen 10 ga on GI for years now , you can definite see the Davenport appearance in it .
https://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/shotguns/shotguns-10-gauge/american-made-single-10ga.cfm?gun_id=101383424

I seen a guy on another forum buy a Davenport 8 ga that someone had sawed the barrel off down to about 18" , the seller was even as so kind to give him a box of industrial 8 ga ammo so he could go shooting :rolleyes: .

Oh heres a nice picture of a Davenport 8 ga .

[charlie cleveland]

yep that looks just like my old 8 ga davenport...mine has 36 inch barrel full choke....i shot some 10 ga 3 1/2 inch shells in it with a adapter i made from gage mate...it pattered on paper real good it would take a turkey at 50 yards...i would not care if i had a nice 10 ga and 12 ga to go with the 8 ga...charlie