Be confident.





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Albert: you might review this document
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...A/edit?tab=t.0
There is a list of testing labs about 1/2 way down.
There are industrial NDT labs all over the country but very few do barrel proof testing.

Most modern makers use a combination of mag particle or ultrasound, then pressure testing, to SAAMI or CIP standards.
You could easily spend >$1000 on radiography, mag particle testing, ultrasound and proof testing.

Almost all of us who use vintage barrels, both pattern welded and fluid steel, do so after the bore has been examined for pits or defects using a bore scope, and the wall thickness, from breech it muzzle, is examined.
Then with shells that reproduce the ballistics of the loads the makers recommended, being cautious regarding recoil in light of the >100 year old wood.
Oz. of shot and fps are the primary factors to consider; not pressure.

I shoot +/- 15,000 rounds a year at trap alone with my Parkers (SBT & SxS). I use mostly off the shelf Walmart 2 3/4 dram, 1145 fps and 3 dram, 1200 fps shells. I’ve had no issues. Have a trap friend whose modern CG blew up. Probably an obstruction. You have to be careful no matter what gun you are shooting.

Proof loads are available to manufacturers only ( Galazan ). Magna-Flux testing is used to test aircraft, racecars, school buses, etc. It is nondestructive and the cost is reasonable. Some engine rebuilders do magna-flux testing or have a source for that testing.

What is the significance of my 16/20 DHE gun having Titanic 16 ga. barrels and Vulcan 20 ga. barrels? The 16 is the original set but I believe the gun was sent back to Parker for the 20 ga. set to be fitted. One forend fits both sets of barrels. Both numbered correctly to the frame.

I have read somewhere that this was done at times at the request of the owner to save $$$$ on the added barrel set. Is this a reasonable assumption, and if so what would have been the difference in the price? The gun dates to 1929, but no idea what year it went back for the 20 ga. barrels.

That is not uncommon. Yes, the buyer was paying for the barrels. It was half the price of the gun. So a lot of money could be saved on an extra set by down grading. And the forend wood/metal would be finished to the same grade of the barrels.

Just because someone marked them that way when they gussied the gun up, does not make it so. It is like sticking a dorsal fin on your back and calling yourself a dolphin.

And an A-1 Special with a set of Vulcan barrels is still a lowly A-1 Special. The 32" 20 gauge Vulcan Steel barrels on my GHE 16 were installed in Meriden on that lowly A-1 Special. My 16 is still a lowly GHE.