Craig, That is exactly what I was asking for. I am interested in the purchase of a 10 gauge lifter made in 1876 in original condition except for the barrels which have been rebrowned ( no honing) at some point. It now weighs 4 ounces less than what the letter states and thus the reason for this thread. I have found that in general, the larger the gun the larger the difference. My 8 gauge hammer weighs 2 ounces less than the letter and has the most difference of all my original guns. The gun in question did also go back to the factory to upgrade it to the deely forend latch so that could contribute to some of the difference. Like I said in a previous post, being anal is sometimes frustrating.

This whole thread got me thinking, so I just read a whole bunch of letters. It was making my head spin, so I stopped. Some say "Requested weight", one says "weight "6 1/4 to 6 1/2 pounds", and two 28ga guns letter with the same 5 3/4 pound weight, but one has 28" barrels, and a 14 1/4" Straight stock, and the other, my 2020 purchase, left the factory with 24" barrels and a 13" PG stock. Brian has that one at the moment, so I weighed the other, on a scale I imagine Parker used, and darned if it didn't weigh 5 3/4 pounds.

Wayne, asking questions is not anal in this hobby but rather a means to contribute and learn. The responses you have received since your original thread seem to confirm your concerns.

Asking questions in this ‘hobby’ is an absolute necessity.





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Okay, I've got a question I've been meaning to ask and this seems like as good a time as any. How much weight would you expect t to be lost (if any) in the rebluing process and if your gun is on the edge of safe barrel thickness, should it be reblued (I'm thinking the rusting and carding process may remove metal from the exterior of the barrel.

Buddy, I wouldn't give it a second thought. I think any metal loss in the bluing processes would be insignificant.






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Thanks Dean. That's exactly what I was hoping the answer would be. The minimum wall thickness on the 16 gauge VH in question is .021 and I was a little concerned. t

If that .021" is in the forward third of your barrels you have nothing to worry about IMO.





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Thankfully it is, Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas to you too Buddy!





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