Question On Safety Of Damascus Bbls

[Greg Westberg]

Hello all, I'm wondering if anyone could give me an opinion on a set of damascus bbls. They are from a German maker (Carl Grudig), it's 16ga, 2 1/2". The 30" bbls are 4 Iron Turkish, have a bore diameter of .668. There is no pitting, rust, dents, buldges or any other flaws with the bbls, both inside and out. No real wear on the pattern also.

The wall thickness is as follows:

@ 2 1/2" from breech (R) .130 (L) .130

@ 6" from the breech (R) .091 (L) .092

@ 9" from the breech (R) .068 (L) .068

@ 9" from the muzzle (R) .037 (L) .039

As you can see the WT is pretty much the same for both bbls.

The gun has not been Nitro proofed.

I know that they should be checked out by a good bbl man, but as we have none around here, it's hard to get an inspection.

With the above info, would you feel safe in shooting low pressure (6200psi) nitro loads in this gun?

Just looking for your personal opinion, nothing legal at all of course.

Thanks so much for all your help!!

Greg

[Dean Romig]

The prime concern on wall thickness is the exact point of the forward end of the chamber where the cone begins. That is the most critical area of the entire barrel length. That said, however, .068" within the first ten or twelve inches from the breech is bordering on the 'questionable' so, without examining the barrels more closely, as in a hands-on evaluation by an expert, I think I would wait.