.024 (24 THOUSANDTHS) DAMASCUS

[Dean Romig]

My personal standard of safety is for the first third of barrel length from the breech must be of sufficient thickness as to be a non-issue but forward of that is, in my opinion and for my own purposes, less significant but I will not post the thickness of barrels I have owned and shot in the past.

[Smoothebore]

Jerry,
There are many philosophies on the subject. At best those barrels are borderline for safety. I shoot mostly Damascus, and my advice is be patient and keep looking. There are plenty of guns out there with good stout barrels.

Dave

[Wild Skies]

Where did this .025 MWT dimension come from? Has there been some recent documented definitive testing done to arrive at that number or is it someone's personal minimum?

The reason I ask is that I was informed via direct correspondance with Michael Lynch, the chief inspector of The Birmingham Proof House (who undoubtedly has more experience in this regard than any other person or entity that I'm aware of) that they inform their customers only if the MWT falls below .020---even though the gun may have passed proof below .020. So, it would seem that .020 is The Birmingham Proof House minimum for concern as long as load pressures are kept under for which the barrels were proved.

Now having said this, we all know there is more to it than just MWT, like condition of the bores, pitting, dents, dings, previous repairs, etc. that can affect the strength of the barrels.