inherited some old guns
 

I wonder how typical this is....

My dad died, and I got his guns.

The truth is, I can't imagine them being worth anything. An old hammerless Ivers Johnson .32 short revolver and two 12 gauge shotguns. One a damascus double barrel and the other is a "modified" and "less old" single. The old damasus has a broken stock that was screwed back together and the .32 is a functioning weapon. A local "gunsmith" looked at it and said it was ok to shoot, and I did confirm that shooting a few rounds through it.

I really should put pics up... and pull the damascus gun out and see if I can see any manufacturer markings. Other than NOT shooting the damascus gun... anyone have any ideas of what I can do with it other than put it on display?

Re: inherited some old guns
 

You can shoot a damascus gun you simply have to use the correct loads.

As for worth that depends on you. I have my grandfathers 45's one from each grandfather. I also have my grandfather ( mom's side ) Mossberg model B he got when he was young. These are priceless to me.

Re: inherited some old guns
 

Your Iver Johnson could be OK, or an early model made for black powder ammo:

Post the serial number and letter prefix from under the left grip.

And regardless, do not fire .32 Auto/.32ACP rounds, even though they fit.

Re: inherited some old guns
 

I am not necessarily contradicting Maine04657, but perhaps I can add some comments.

Yes, good quality Damascus barrel guns can be fired safely. Some "experts" even claim they can be fired with smokeless powder magnum loads and say that some Damascus guns have been fired with hundreds of modern proof level loads with no problems. (They do NOT say that some have blow up while the "testing" was going on.)

That may be true of very well made Damascus guns that have been carefully inspected, but to extend it to all Damascus barrel guns of any age and condition is dangerous. In my experience, many such guns were far from top quality to begin with, and age has resulted in severe deterioration, internal rust and damage.

So, when dealing with a gun that has not been carefully inspected, and with one I have not personally even seen, my general advice is not to fire a Damascus gun with any load, even black powder.

So I would disagree that "you can shoot a Damascus gun you simply have to use the correct loads". That may well be true of some Damascus guns, but it is not a good general rule and could be dangerous if the reader interprets "correct loads" as the latest and hottest steel shot magnums.

JIm

Re: inherited some old guns
 

thanks, guys.
i have no ambition of firing the damascus. i've seen what appeared to be a high quality modern shotgun with the barrell blown out... so it can happen to any gun, i know.