Nitro Proof for Damascus Barrels.

[Grumpy]

Just to show how safe - and good - damascus barrels can be my 1879 W.R.Pape 12-Bore double barrel hammer gun ( pictured elsewhere ) has had the pitting in the barrels lapped out, the chambers lengthened to 2 3/4" and was subjected to a Nitro re-proof at the Birmingham Proof House yesterday. The 128 year old gun passed with no problems and now has a Nitro 850 Bar proof the same as any new 2 3/4" chambered gun.
Here`s to another 128 years of shooting for the old lady !

[mehulkamdar]

Fantastic, Grumpy! She is a beautiful old girl and this is lovely news! They did know how to build them in the old days.

[Mack The Knife]

Nice one, Grumpy!

What is the maximum permissible pressure of a 2 3/4" factory manufactured cartridge?

Mack The Knife

[Vikram]

Congrats Grumpy.That in deed is a beautiful gun. May we be treated to the privilege of her pictures after the return from the proof house?

"Here`s to another 128 years of shooting for the old lady !"

Cheers.

Best-
Vikram

[Grumpy]

Mack The Knife, the proof for normal 2 3/4" cartridges is 850 Bar so the pressure has to be less than that and varies according the the type and amount of powder used and the weight of shot. The actual proof test is conducted at a much higher pressure.
Magnum Proof is 1370 Bar.
The only manufacturer that I know of who quotes the pressure levels of their cartridges is Baschieri & Pellagri :
http://www.baschieri-pellagri.com/uk/main.html
Click on a particular cartridge and then click on `Technical Notes`.
I`m pretty sure ( although I must admit to not being certain ) that the proof for 2 1/2" cartridges is also 850 Bar. I had W.H.Pollard damascus barrelled hammer gun with 2 1/2" chambers submitted for nitro proof on the same day ( which also passed ) so will be able to say categorically when I get the gun back.

[Grumpy]

A closer view:

[Grumpy]

The fences, top lever and very unusual location of the gold escutcheon plate:

[Mack The Knife]

Thanks, Grumpy.

Just tried one cartridge and got this...

http://www.baschieri-pellagri.com/uk/ca ... zerat.html

It's very reassuring to know that a good example of an old gun can still be safe.

I am curious about one thing though...why are they numbering their shot type like fishing hooks? Is this an Italian thing?

Is it just my imagination or does your Pollard have a slightly thicker grip than usual?

Mack The Knife

[Grumpy]

The pictures are of the Pape - not the Pollard. I have two other W.H.Pollard hammers guns at the moment but they both have steel tubes.
I presume that you mean that the wrist of the Pape looks thicker than usual ? It is`t - I think what you`re seeing is an optical illusion due to the narrow lock plates. I`ll post some pictures of the Pollards which have full size lock plates for comparison.
I don`t know why B&P use the `/0` suffix for their shot sizes......it does look very peculiar. They do make very good cartridges though and own the rights to the Gordan recoil reduction system - which works.

[Grumpy]

Yeah, well - I`ve just realised that they both have Prince of Wales grips - not straight hand - so are not a direct comparison.
Here`s the Jeffery that I got for Walter:

[Sakobav]

Grumpy

as usual great..128 years old..thats something..

Cheers

[penpusher]

Grumpy,

Nice.So old IS gold.What sort of pitting did the barrels have and how were they lapped to remove it?

penpusher

[Vikram]

I cannot see the photos except a table with columns. Any reason?

Best-
Vikram

[mehulkamdar]

Grumpy,

Beautiful guns! Simply incredible gun porn for want of a better term!

Vikram,

If you try to read the thread without loggin in, you may not see the pictures. They are very clearly visible once you log in.

Cheers!

[Mack The Knife]

I presume that you mean that the wrist of the Pape looks thicker than usual ? It is`t - I think what you`re seeing is an optical illusion due to the narrow lock plates.

Yes, you are right about the optical illusion when compared against the Jeffery.

Thanks.

Mack The Knife