Will It Blow?

[Roundsworth]

I do like Ruff Hunter with all of my guns (if I am not the original owner) and have no idea what has been through the barrels on them. I handload cartridges for all of my guns, which were made from 1872 on up. There have been a few where I had to extrapolate other load data for similar sized cartridges and then place my well being in the hands of God! I will not risk life and limb. I have been ridiculed for it, but I am still in one piece.
On a similar note....In 1986, we took the Missouri out for her first sea trial. I was part of the gun crew that test fired the first shots out of our 16 inch guns. It was the first time in 30 years or so after sitting idle. Being in the gun room, just a few feet from 200,000 pounds of recoiling gun was interesting! That was probably the ultimate test/proof firing I've ever dealt with. A service charge of 660 pounds of propellant behind a 2700 pound BL&P is pretty awesome. Cheers!

[Richard Flanders]

I've done the old 'arms length' thing in testing a damascus bbl'd Ithaca Flues 12ga. The forearm popped off but the bbls were/are just fine and I shot a round of skeet after the test firing. I just used a Federal target load. I think this apparatus Bruce showed is an excellent setup for test firing. I like the bungeed shot bag that will allow the gun to recoil some without shocking the stock too much. I would likely add some hvy sheepskin or soft leather to the bbl support saddle and enclose the stock in a sheepskin bag made just for that to prevent scuffing of any kind(I have lots of sheepskins). This is a very good setup for testing bbls. I have a couple of Caldwell Lead Sleds for sighting in rifles. Neither has much of a pad in the pocket where the buttstock fits. I spent about $100 in components trying to get a scope sighted in on a Win Mod 70 fwt .30-06 last year. Just couldn't get it to NOT print all over a 10" target at 100yds. Finally I realized that the too-hard seat for the butt was causing such jarring on recoil that the scope was loosening and moving all over. I folded up a thick wash cloth and put it in for a better pad for the butt and the issue instantly went away. None of these guns are meant to take being fired against a hard immovable object; you'll break the stock or jar something loose. I like this setup Bruce shows.

[Parkerman]

Appreciate this thread. Bruce--I am an admirer of your Parker Collection and your knowledge of the Brand. I think it is great that you are comfortable loading up an old "D" Parker and firing away (holding it at arms length is better than between your legs, certainly)
However, we spend a lot of time here on the Forum talking about wall thickness at various positions down the barrel and, subsequently, about the problems that can result from honing and whatever else to said barrel.
I hope before you "let her rip" you did a wall thickness measurement to make sure that you were safe when firing. I for one would miss your written commentary if something would cause that to go away.
Respectfully

Linn Matthews #37

[Bruce Day]

I did not take measurements. I forgot my bore gauge. I saw old pits, I saw nothing that would suggest it was ever honed, no bright clean bores or anything that gives me concern, I saw full length chokes, nothing that hinted to me that the barrels had been messed with. It had old small pits which I like to see because an old gun that has been neglected and shot a lot normally has pits. Without measuring , the walls looked low 30s to me. I have three other 16 ga's much like this one and am very used to these barrels. You look beyond the small pits and the dingy barrel outside and they were a beautiful set of tightly scrolled damascus barrels that were not made up of short, different pattern segments like you see in some G's.


I don't have a wall thickness gauge, only a bore gauge, but using a bore gauge you can tell if its been bored out beyond nominal, just not how much is left.

[Jeff Christie]

I'm the guy who created this 'Rube Goldberg' engineering marvel. It isn't a test bed- it started life as a shop project of a sergeant of mine's son in New Jersey. It was meant to hold my service match rifle (US Rifle Cal 30 M1) for cleaning from the muzzle end. It was out of perhaps and over abundance of caution that I went this route to test the PH, a very light 1 frame 12 ga.

It worked and worked very well.

[Bruce Day]

Just another day living on the edge, firing these old damascus guns.

Not much is as pretty as nice damascus barrels. Given a choice between fluid steel and damascus, I'll take the latter.

[Paul S Lewis]

Bless Sherman Bell.
I will be hunting next to this gun November 6th. My own GH in hand.
PSL

[Bruce Day]

Mark Landskov, being on a Missouri class battleship, indeed Missouri herself, had to be a highlight of a great Navy career. You had to be aware every moment that you were on a piece of national history. Just looking at those great state ships was awesome and being part of a crew, indeed , the gun crew which was the core mission of the ship, had to be a thrill. I can't imagine the noise, smoke and recoil when just one gun fired, much less a salvo from a battery of three. Maybe some time you can talk to us about it.

[Roundsworth]

Thank you for the kind words, Bruce. It was a real privilege to serve on Missouri, especially in Turret One. I was part of the re-commissioning crew and was a few months shy of de-commissioning her.
The entire ship was a real work of art, built by artisans in their respective trades. My turret was 2,030,000 pounds of rotating steel and handling equipment and extended to almost 5 decks below. The turret main structure ranged from 7 to 17 inches of hardened steel, welded and riveted together in sections. I could just imagine a welder, sitting for his/her entire shift, in one spot, welding two pieces of 9 inch thick armor together! That's a lot of welding rods.
The entire ship required lots of manpower, but it sure was worth it. When we were underway, my division worked until 1800 or 1900 almost every night. When the brow was dropped in a foreign port, though, we were the first ones to go ashore, much to the chagrin of our shipmates. Preparations for shooting were extensive. Post-fire cleanup was even more intense! The bore brush was a beast and we used a capstan to pull it through the barrels. Our Master Chief Boatswain's Mate had 42 years under his belt, and he could really chew some ass! He made sure we did not spill any solvent on his teakwood deck. Yes, I did my turn at the Holystone. There were quite a few acres of wood to stone.
Indeed, if I could have....I would have tried to do my entire 20+ years on Missouri!

Note the projectiles on the left of the photo. Those were 2700 pound BL&P projectiles with full service charges. All nine of the main guns, plus six of the 5" guns fired at the same time. It is spectacular. The ship printed thousands of that photo so each of us could have at least one copy.

[Richard Flanders]

What a great picture Bruce!! Now, THAT is a show of pure, unadulterated raw power. That's how you take it to the bad guys for sure.

Don't hold back on these stories Mark. I'm sure we'd all love to hear more.