A great thread on shooting damascus barrels with nitro powders

[Bill Murphy]

That thread is much like watching a professional wrestling match after three martinis. I would rather reread Sherman Bell than the linked thread. Sherman says it like it is without the bickering.

[J.B. Books]

Originally Posted by Bill Murphy

That thread is much like watching a professional wrestling match after three martinis. I would rather reread Sherman Bell than the linked thread. Sherman says it like it is without the bickering.

That's fine. I can't compare the two because I have never watched a wrestling match and don't drink beyond a beer once in awhile to be social.
To me there was not that much bickering, he countered opposing opinions for the most part with critical thought and supporting info. He reinforced SB's work with other information and his own experiences with such matters. I found it interesting and thought I would share with others.

[Stepmac]

Originally Posted by Bill Murphy

That thread is much like watching a professional wrestling match after three martinis. I would rather reread Sherman Bell than the linked thread. Sherman says it like it is without the bickering.

I followed Bell's articles in DGJ with interest. He said that he was going to test wall hangers and then he took pictures of the guns all lined up. While a few were indeed dogs some looked pretty non-wall hangerish to me.

He did an excellent job documenting his efforts and it wasn't easy to get any of the guns to let go, but some eventually did, but only after huge overloaded proof test loads were used.

As I was reading Bell's articles I kept thinking, Why am I always told to NEVER shoot damascus guns with other than BP loads? Others obviously do.

I called Martin Rettings, who sell old guns and have for decades from their store in Culver City, CA. They told me that "directly from the NRA" that it is not safe to shoot damascus barrels since there can be microscopic rust that develops within the welds and that all damascus barrels grow weaker and weaker over time. Then the fellow said, "But lots of guys do it."

So it is a personal choice to shoot or not to shoot and I've made a personal choice to shoot my GH. I can't wait!

Have any of you folks ever heard of one letting go?

[Dean Romig]

Originally Posted by Steve McCarty

Have any of you folks ever heard of one letting go?

Not without a barrel obstruction of some sort.