Strange 20 guage ??

[Bill Faulk]

I looked at a PH gun on one of the vendors tables at the Southern.
The barrels were muzzle end of the barrels were true 20 ga configuations.
I measured f&f chokes.
The chambers were sleeved for 20 ga shells.Gun originally must have been a 12 ga by the looks of the sleeve.Seller had no answers ?
Is this possible..how can this be done?
Bill

[C.O.B.]

Bill I don't think you can reduce the guage by sleeving. Was there a noticable taper in the barrels that would indicate the size difference fron a 12 to a 20?

[Bill Faulk]

yes.that is what i can not see how this is done.the chambers were sleeved to accept a 3"20 ga and easily seen.however the muzzle ends appear to not have sleeve but true 20 ga constriction... Bill

[Autumn Daze]

Bill, Could this have been a set of tubes you saw such as Briley?

[Bill Faulk]

Dave,
Ilooked up the SN in my book.Gun was shipped in 1892 as a 12 ga.
The chambers were 12 ga and sleeved for a 20 ga.The muzzles appear to be true 20 ga..no tubes.
I have heard the English have a process to do this but have never seen an example...this would be a Frankenstein gun...

[Dean Romig]

That would be done with barrel liners. A couple of years ago someone posted pictures of this having been done with what appeared to be a metal other than steel - it looked like bronze or some such metal.

[charlie cleveland]

the chambers of a 12 could be eaaly sleved to 20 ga but getting the bore down to the size of a 20 ga would be something else if it doesnot have liners... could barels have been connected of a 20 ga to the 12 gachambers... charlie

[Donald Gonzales]

Gentlemen and ladies --Sleeving a 12 to a 20 is a severe reduction, but highly possible. I have a D grade that was sleeved from a 16 to a 20 and it looks great. In the process, the barrels are cut off in front of the chamber. The monoblock is then drilled and reamed to the outside diameter of the new 20 gauge chamber. New twenty gauge barrels are made to match the barrel diameter of the 12 gauge mono block. The barrels are then turned down at one end to the diameter and length of the reamed monoblock. From that point,barrels are tapered and contured to the muzzle. The barrels are then permently attached to the monoblock by tig welding, silver soulder or some other method and the 20 gage chambers are formed.

The actual sequence I have presented, might not be exact, but the steps are all required. Don

[Bill Faulk]

Thanks all
Donald what you posted is the same information I received from a retired German smith..The gun was very heavy as well.It did puzzle me.

[Hammer Gun]

Bill, I believe that teague in London does this very expensive.