DAMASCUS-MINIMUM BARREL WALL THICKNESS
 

What is the absolute least barrel wall thickness you would accept if purchasing and excellent condition Parker 12 gauge DH with damascus barrels??
Thank you for your input!
Bob Jurewicz

This is just me and what I feel comfortable with but 25 thousandths is my number others may have other ideas...

For the forward 2/3 of the barrels .025" has been suggested as a minimum thickness for safety reasons. The rear 1/3 of the barrels where maximum pressures are exerted requires thicker wall thickness and the wall thickness at the juncture of the chambers and the forcing cone is the most critical as far as wall thickness goes. I'm not certain of this but I think .090" at this location would be about minimum. Others may disagree...

I pretty much agree with Eric and Dean. But I would feel a bit more comfortable with .030 in the tubes and .100 forward of the chamber.

This question seems to keep coming up, so I added the following to the FAQ based on Deans comments.

Opinions welcome!!!! Changes, or even deletion, are options. This one scares me a bit.

http://parkerguns.org/pages/faq/BarrelThickness.htm

IN Excellent condition would you have to question the wall thickness ? Or is this a excellent redone gun ?

Do you numbers change if it is a 10 ga?

Ray

Robin: You might include some of the stuff here
http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthr...wall+thickness

Although I have not done it, I think the best way to determine whether a gun is acceptable is to measure the wall thickness of a known original gun of the same gauge, weight, and frame size as the one being considered. The dimensions of the gun being considered shouldn't vary from the known original gun by very much at all. We haven't really discussed what the various wall thicknesses are for Parker composite barrelled guns as they come from the factory. Only when we know what Parker Brothers thought was safe for lightweight composite barrelled gun can we establish a base figure to post on our site.

The gun in question is a very nice one except the barrels have been honed and reblacked.
Right barrel MWT is .027". Left MWT is .022" for about 10 inches rear of choking.
I don't think this is a shooter!!
Bob Jurewicz

Ray, speaking in generalities, as the gauge goes up the internal pressures exerted on the barrel walls go down - the smaller the gauge, the higher the pressures and vice-versa.

This theory is based on the load used.

Bob how nice is nice..... And what gauge is it? If it was a 12 well maybe if it was a 20 I would probably pass or put tubes in it.

Thanks, Dean. I have a 10 ga with pitted bores. They are about .032 and.042. (I think, tho one guy measured them at .043 and.045) Have thought about cleaning them up but have hesitated. A couple of pits are pretty deep. Do you think this could cause a rupture? Ray

Robin ... What a great illustration ! ... I hope everyone prints several copies for future reference ... THANKS !

Jim Kucaba ... AriZOOna Cactus Patch ... Email: JimKucaba@aol.com

That is a pretty nice compromise without being too specific. It works for me until we get some more specific measurements from original Parker barrels. By the way, the minimum barrel wall thickness of my #6 frame ten gauge is .100. I feel fairly comfortable shooting the old
2 1/4 ounce copper fours in that one.

Ray, simple pits, even pits we might think of as "deep" don't generally contribute to ruptures unless combined with other serious barrel issues such as being below accepted safe minimum wall thickness or improperly repaired dents, etc. I have Damascus guns with considerable pitting in the bores which I shoot without trepidation because I know the barrel walls, from one end of the barrels to the other, are quite sufficiently thick and sound.

Bill, on a 6-frame 10 bore I would have guessed thicker.

Thanks again, Dean. I'm gonna shoot it this weekend for the frist time. If you don't hear from me again, you know what happened! :violin: