So glad you made this video so that the information will get out there. Personally, I've grown weary of explaining it to people. I generally shoot only damascus, and if in sound condition, they are fine. The reason I shoot light loads is not because of the barrels, but because of the stocks, which most often need to be treated gently in old age. It's rare for one to come in the shop without some need of stock repair. Barrels are rarely an issue if the gun has been cared for, but they should always be given the full check-up by someone specializing in vintage doubles. Not every gunsmith fits that category.

He did a good job of explaining the use of damascus and the chamber length. Nice.

An excellent presentation, Mike. My family is relatively new to gun ownership, so every bit of good information that we can get is cherished.

Thanks for a very informative review of some classic bird guns. 😎

I have Grandpa’s shotgun. It is…. Royal Gunworks 12 ga side by side external hammer, Damascus barrels. Grandpa was born in 1884, he purchased it in 1900 for his 16th birthday. It was used then no one can determine exactly when it was manufactured. I have owned it from age 10 (1959). I did shoot it when I was a kid but it has been in permanent retirement since approximately 1963. It will be passed to my grandson when I expire.

Thanks a lot for a great video. I rarely shoot anything but hammerguns with damascu barrels and as long as you go for 2½ with not too much pressure they do very nicely. My favourite gun is a Trulock bros. from approximately 1870 with a jones lever. It is slow, un-practial and everything you need for hunting. Only problem is that in my country - Denmark - 2½'s are getting difficult go come by.

Thanks Mike! Definitely going to feed my two damascus steel doubles 2.5", since they are both turn of the 20th century.

Thanks for the reassuring words. I recently picked up a Remington M1894 with Damascus barrels and even with my years of research identifying the ACTUAL problems shooting Dam barrel guns, the safety sally comments ive been getting about it were still weighing me down. People out of the blue claiming im gonna lose my hands and turn paraplegic even if I shoot low-power Blackpowder handloads. I mean the old guy I bought it from said he and his Dad hunted with it which means they put modern/smokeless shells through it.

Beautiful guns and good information.

This is always an interesting topic of conversation. I would add that, although pristine appearance of barrel interiors is comforting, a common practice in the past was to hone corroded and/or pitted barrels. Original chambers and/or forcing cones could have been lengthened. Any of these means that the barrels are no longer in proof. It's important that any gun that is going to be brought back into service have its barrel thicknesses measured at multiple points. It's very surprising how thin some of these old barrels can be. 2 5/8 in. chambers in old American guns, including in the fluid steel era, are common. Parker Bros. stated that those lengths were not lengthened when 2 3/4" became "standard". After the Remington acquisition, at some point they were lengthened. Firing modern 2 3/4" shells in a 12 ga. 2 1/2" chambered gun can be expected to add about 1000 psi to chamber pressures. That may or may not be important depending. I am not familiar with the Birmingham Proof House study you quoted. I know about the one from 1888. Those barrels were not cut to the usual thicknesses of shotgun barrels, a curious thing. We all know about Sherman Bell's good study of the topic with Remington's and Larry Potterfield's assistant. That one (?) set of fluid steel barrels were a molybdenum alloy quite different from modern ones.

Very well done!

All beautiful guns

I wish I would’ve found this video a few days ago. I’ve been scratching my head on my old 1873 Era Charles daily side-by-side 10 gauge. I’ve been hand loading for it the last couple of year's but started with 2 7/8 inch RST ammo. I measured the inside of my chambers to the forcing cone the other day. Got measurements of 2.775” i’m pretty sure the factory loaded 2 7/8” RST hulls are longer than my chamber and probably overlapping the forcing cones that I had to guess. They never patterned worth a darn. I’ll have to measure a factory hull unfolded.

Very interesting, I wasn't aware of this. Thanks!

Great info on shell-length as a factor in over-pressure.

Boomy shooty things on the pointy stabby things channel, I approve of this upgrade.

Informative. Nice Pieces.

Very nice guns. Great info.

Very nice video! My Wesley Richards 20ga 21/2 from 1882 is an early Anson & Deeley boxlock. I use Eley VIP Bismuth cartridges without any problems. In case of clay shooting the Rottweil Fasan 16/67,5 is my choice. This is a very nice and functional gun with modern handling and oldfashioned high end craftmanship. HNY from Norddeutschland!

Thanks, timely. I came into a W. Richards which I believe is the Belgian copy. Haven't found the right Gunsmith that knows them well enough to offer an authoritative opinion. This is a great video, thanks for the share.

Excellent video! I fully agree with you. Ive been shooting damascus for decades. Mostly with black powder and nitro where appropriate. Although less common, there are some vintage shotguns with factory 2 3/4" chambers. That is Not to say that just because an antique shotgun has modern chambers it should automatically be assumed to be safe with modern ammo! My advice to anyone is to be aware that they were all originally made for black powder so if it hasnt been re proofed or you arent sure, have a qualified gunsmith check it and stick with black to be safe. Chamber gauges are cheap...just get one and at least that part of the mystery is solved. Thanks!

Muito lindas. Se pudesse teria todas.

Ive got several damascus and twist barreled guns.. English/belgian..12 and 16 gauge guns.... No issues.. Shoot right ammo..and enjoy them..

I have an LC Smith 1926 approximately with 2 9/16" chambers. Enjoy out there but be safe.

Very good info thank you for this. I have a 1890’s Remington I received from a close family friend we farmed for for a long time. It had a twisted steel barrel that doesn’t have that intricate design that some of the Damascus barrels have. It is a 10 gauge gun. I have yet to find a gunsmith that can measure the bores on it. 2 questions. Is the twisted steel a lower quality steel then Damascus? And would it also be a 2 1/2 inch shell? Only marking on it is a serial number and all the research I’ve done is saying it’s a 10 gauge and it was made sometime in the 1890’s. It’s likely a very common gun and almost every farm house on the prairies had one leaning on the wall but that’s besides the point. To me it’s a piece of history and deserves to be preserved as such

A 2 1/2 is 2 1/2 open

Old style quality 👌

Excellent '' Great Stuff ''💯💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

So many people still think Damascus is the best steel around. It was very good steel when it eas first invented but modern monosteel is objectively better performance wise. That being said, Damascus looks incredible and I would definitely display a Damascus shotgun over my fireplace.

i own a Husqvarna double barrel shotgun 12ga(blackpowder) made in 1884, crime rates are getting higher and i would love to use my shotgun for defense purposes, i saw a shop that sold modern rubberball 12ga rounds, will my shotgun handle the pressure since its modern powder?

Where did you read up on these guns

I own this make Gun kindly let me know what make it is.

Thank you ! ! ! For shutting up these armchair experts, im so sick of thier ignorance, hey I'm trying to find a hammer for a JP Claybrough any leads for me ?

Mike you need a Mic

Are you aware you repeated yourself?

You're getting old, old man.

Thank God I can delete this bullshit.

Excellent '' Great Stuff ''💯💥💥💥💥💥💥💥