GH 20 Damascus Question

[John Knobelsdorf II]

William:

That is VERY nice looking. She looks to have been cherished and carried in the field, with the honest wear that I respect. The crisp small scroll work of that era is marvelous.

One thing that happens for me when I look in on this forum is: I see things I did not even know I wanted, and now wish I had and now I am on the lookout for. This my friend, is an example of that phenomenon.

Congratulations on having a family gun. Any backstory to share about it or who carried it before you inherited (that you feel you can share)?

[Researcher]

obvious question: how many DH grade Damascus guns?

According to the tables in The Parker Story there were 129 20-gauge Damascus barrel DH-/DHE-Grade guns produced, 69 with 28-inch barrels. Other lengths were 1 24", 1 25", 44 26", 2 27", 3 29", 6 30", 3 31" and 3 32".

[William McClintock]

Originally Posted by Dave Noreen

According to the tables in The Parker Story there were 129 20-gauge Damascus barrel DH-/DHE-Grade guns produced, 69 with 28-inch barrels. Other lengths were 1 24", 1 25", 44 26", 2 27", 3 29", 6 30", 3 31" and 3 32".

Wow! Many thanks for that.

[Ed Blake]

This is the barrel flat of my 32” Damascus 20 on a#2 frame. Gun was delivered in 1919 as a 12 gauge according to the letter. Sometime after 1920 the Damascus barrels were put on, but whether this was done at the factory cannot be documented. Great dove gun

[Researcher]

Originally Posted by Ed Blake

This is the barrel flat of my 32” Damascus 20 on a#2 frame. Gun was delivered in 1919 as a 12 gauge according to the letter. Sometime after 1920 the Damascus barrels were put on, but whether this was done at the factory cannot be documented. Great dove gun

Wow!! A full pound heavier than the 32-inch, Vulcan Steel, 3-inch 20-gauge barrels added to my 2-frame 12-gauge GH-Grade of 1889 vintage.

56213 10.JPG

In that my barrels are marked CT, U.S.A. but don't have the Overload Proved marking, I date them to the 1919 to 1926 time frame.

[6pt-Sika]

Originally Posted by Ed Blake

This is the barrel flat of my 32” Damascus 20 on a#2 frame. Gun was delivered in 1919 as a 12 gauge according to the letter. Sometime after 1920 the Damascus barrels were put on, but whether this was done at the factory cannot be documented. Great dove gun

That gun would look very nice back beside a certain DH 3 frame 12 with 28” barrels I happen to know of

[C.O.B.]

I have a GHE Damascus 20 (also sold one a few years ago), CHE 20 which according to TPS is one of 8 with 26 inch Damascus barrels and a GH 20 with 30 inch Damascus barrels.

[Bill Murphy]

The 32" #2 frame 20 gauge barrels on my VH are marked 4-15. The barrels on my #3 frame 16 are marked 4-13, but then they are only 28" long.

[Pa SxS]

Ed, the 3 in the bottom right flat is for grade 3 (DH) guns. The D4 stands for 4 blade Damascus. Teriffic gun!

[William McClintock]

Originally Posted by John Knobelsdorf II

William:

That is VERY nice looking. She looks to have been cherished and carried in the field, with the honest wear that I respect. The crisp small scroll work of that era is marvelous.

One thing that happens for me when I look in on this forum is: I see things I did not even know I wanted, and now wish I had and now I am on the lookout for. This my friend, is an example of that phenomenon.

Congratulations on having a family gun. Any backstory to share about it or who carried it before you inherited (that you feel you can share)?

My wife’s uncle wanted me to have the gun. He carried it for years. I have no idea where he got the gun. He wasn’t really much of a bird hunter, but he likes nice guns.