The Making of a Spiral Welded Damascus Gun Barrel

[timmy]

Very interesting, Grumpy! I could well believe the theory explaining the actual cause for Damascus barrels blowing up -- using the same volume of smokeless powder as black powder. This strikes me as something some goat-roping nitwit would try.

I find the use of Unique for handgun and shotgun loads curious, too, but I confess I do use it for both, myself.

[Grumpy]

Unique is a handgun powder .... and shotgun cartridges use handgun powders .... or/and vice versa.
I was surprised to find when trying to find out more of what Ashokgodara was talking about regarding the high pressure tests of damascus barrels that there is still a very strong attitude in the US against the use of guns with damascus barrels - just as you described. Time and time again I found people saying - in response to queries about suitable cartridges for guns with damascus barrels - `Don`t risk it`! It`s very sad to think that many perfectly usable guns have been relegated to wallhangers for no good reason.

[timmy]

Yes, that is very true, Grumpy. Like I said, every box of shotgun shells I can remember from my early days had a dire warning about using the loads in Damascus barrels.

This was in the days of paper hulls.

Maybe some old wive's tales had made their rounds among shotgunners -- I was too young to remember if there were. Or, maybe there were some catastrophic things that made the news in those old days. I do know that the USA did get a lot of cheap Belgian guns -- we usually associate Belgium with quality guns, but there were a lot of Belgian guns made by shoemakers, too, in those days.

As far as the intelligent shotgunners go, you made the point very well about their mindset, above: Knowledgeable shotgunners follow the recipe, unlike handgun or rifle reloading. A shotgun reloader is conditioned (again, if he is smart) to follow the instructions and eschew innovation.

So, if the box of ammo says not to use it, that's the information everyone went by. Remember, EVERY box had this warning over here!

I will tell you, I wish that I had known this 35 years ago, when Damascus shotguns were a dime a dozen out West. I can remember looking at a number of them, tempted by their very low prices. At the time, my idea was to line them with 45-70 tubes, as I related, but that was a high priced exercise, too. The thought of all those guns I passed up...

[Grumpy]

A `goat roping nitwit` ? What a nice term - I haven`t head that before. I can`t help wondering if there is a further category of `goat groping nitwits` ? ............... !
Seems to me that there was post with a rather cheeky comment attached which made me laugh .... but it`s disappeared. Probably just as well as I was going to respond with something naughty.

[Kittu]

i will not let you with somethingh naughty .
you will have lots of chance in next posts thanks again for informative post sir

[timmy]

Grumpy: "goat-roper" is a derogatory term out West.

When little kids are taught to rope calves, they often start by roping goats, as they are smaller than calves and easier for a small boy to handle -- at first.

So someone who is a beginner, not knowing a lot about what they are doing, is sometimes called a "goat-roper." They aren't "big" enough to deal with adult things, in other words.

This is not quite the end of the story, as goats are pretty smart. Many times, the goat can figure out what is coming, and to avoid the indignity of being a "practice calf," it will stand with its head against a building or fence post, and refuse to budge. Once it learns this trick, it is rendered useless for roping practice.

[Vikram]

Goat roper and got groper. LOL.

If you believe it,there was a user called "Grousegroper" on an American forum I am a member of.To which, another member responded saying, "what's next, a rabbit ravisher?" LOL.

Then,Beretta was advertising about "Extreme Duckers" vis a vis its A400 Extreme.


Apologise for the somewhat colourful sidetrack.

[Grumpy]

What a horrible word -`duckers` ..... to describe a wildfowl gun.
`Grousegroper` isn`t much better ..... sort of reminds one of what so many Mid-western lads are supposed to do with hens ........
I got lost with the various Beretta semi-autos. I remember trying a 391 of some description which I thought was pretty good but then Winchester ( Browning ) turned up at the party with the Super X3 - especially the `Performance` version - and everyone has been playing catch-up ever since. The only company to come near is Fabarm - the XLRs have the bells and whistles but Lion H38 is the better handling gun.

[timmy]

I've heard the term "water fowlers," which doesn't have the nicest connotations, either.

[Grumpy]

I had to think about that for a few seconds before I `got` it .......
No, not the nicest connotation ..... but do wildfowl foul the water ? I suspect they do.

[Vikram]

LOL.

Back to the topic: A lot more on Damascus barrels can be found on this link. Some very interesting photos too.

http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubb ... 0&page=all

[ckkalyan]

Hi Vikram,

Thanks for sharing this video...what an amazing process, requiring tremendous dedication and patience! Fantastic end product - simply beautiful!

[Moin.]

Hi Vikram, Grumpy, Timmy, Kalyansahab;

Have PM'ed you some very detailed material that you can download and read on the subject that I had with me.

Regards
Moin

[sa_ali]

amazing video and another one of huge knowledge bases.thank you all