I'm rethinking the comment I made regarding the possibility that the rib was shortened and relayed. The end of the blank inscription area on all my guns is just at the junction of the rib and rib extension, so had the rib been shortened, the inscription area would have been cut off, which, despite appearing messed with, is just where it should be.
The other thing that is making me lean towards being uncut, is the view of the muzzle. If it had been cut, the chokes would have been removed, and the walls would have more or less equal, which they clearly are not.
The keels are sloppy, for sure, but keels only served two purposes. The main reason for steel keels at the muzzle was to aid in keeping the weight down, lead solder being roughly .409 lbs/cubic inch, and steel being .283 lbs/cubic inch. The other purpose was to simply aid in the soldering of the barrels and keeping the solder from flowing out the muzzle end.
TPS does indicate there were a few 22" 12 ga barrels, and probably more, in that the book for this gun is missing.
|