I have read for years and now most recently on this forum that it is not safe to shoot smokeless powder in shotguns that have damascus barrels. For those same years I have been shooting both smokeless powder hand loads and factory field loads in two of my 10 gauge damascus barreled shotguns with no problem at all. I also wish to share one of my experiences with my Belgum made gun in the photos.
Several years ago I had on loan a fluid steel barreled Greener 8 gauge that had been sleaved to 10 gauge with four inch chambers. That gun was fed a steady diet of what I recall was 63 grains of 2400 pistol powder behind two ounces of number 4 buckshot making it an 80 yard goose killer. I gave back the gun several years ago but kept a handfull of shells. Then about 10 years ago I bought this W.M.Moore (pictured) at a gun show for $160.00 taking a chance that the 26" barrels had not been cut. Not only did I learn that they have not been cut but also the gun has four inch chambers. You guess it, I had to know if the gun would handle factory 3 and 1/2 inch 10 gauge factory loads and no better way than to proof test the gun with these killer reloads. I mounted the gun in a tire and loaded both barrels with the hot loads I fired the gun from afar with a piece of nylon cord. The gun flipped high into the air and stuck barrels down in the sand. When I checked it out there was no evidence of any problems so I tied it back into the tire and fired the second barrel the same way with the only difference being that this time it did not stick in the sand. I then proceeded to load it with Federal factory 10 gauge magnums with 18 pellets of 00 buckshot and I have been shooting the gun with that ammo ever since. My belief is that damascus guns that show no signs of pitting are as safe to shoot as anything else provided that the chambers are long enough to handle the unfolding of the shotshell.
Ron
I edited my thread and added a couple of pictures of some knives I have so as to show I have a pretty good understanding what damascus is. My response to damascus being just a bunch of wires twisted together as being inferior to one solid piece think is not true. Think about how much a 1/2 cable (nothing but a bunch of twisted wires) will lift compared to a 1/2 bolt. By the way the one knife is a Harley Davidson primary chain and the other is a piece of stainless cable from an airplane. Both my damascus guns are original guns and not damascus fakes. The other one being a 10 Gauge LC. Smith that I shoot factory smokless 10 gauge shells when I can find them and when I reload for it I only use smokeless powder.
Several years ago I had on loan a fluid steel barreled Greener 8 gauge that had been sleaved to 10 gauge with four inch chambers. That gun was fed a steady diet of what I recall was 63 grains of 2400 pistol powder behind two ounces of number 4 buckshot making it an 80 yard goose killer. I gave back the gun several years ago but kept a handfull of shells. Then about 10 years ago I bought this W.M.Moore (pictured) at a gun show for $160.00 taking a chance that the 26" barrels had not been cut. Not only did I learn that they have not been cut but also the gun has four inch chambers. You guess it, I had to know if the gun would handle factory 3 and 1/2 inch 10 gauge factory loads and no better way than to proof test the gun with these killer reloads. I mounted the gun in a tire and loaded both barrels with the hot loads I fired the gun from afar with a piece of nylon cord. The gun flipped high into the air and stuck barrels down in the sand. When I checked it out there was no evidence of any problems so I tied it back into the tire and fired the second barrel the same way with the only difference being that this time it did not stick in the sand. I then proceeded to load it with Federal factory 10 gauge magnums with 18 pellets of 00 buckshot and I have been shooting the gun with that ammo ever since. My belief is that damascus guns that show no signs of pitting are as safe to shoot as anything else provided that the chambers are long enough to handle the unfolding of the shotshell.
Ron
I edited my thread and added a couple of pictures of some knives I have so as to show I have a pretty good understanding what damascus is. My response to damascus being just a bunch of wires twisted together as being inferior to one solid piece think is not true. Think about how much a 1/2 cable (nothing but a bunch of twisted wires) will lift compared to a 1/2 bolt. By the way the one knife is a Harley Davidson primary chain and the other is a piece of stainless cable from an airplane. Both my damascus guns are original guns and not damascus fakes. The other one being a 10 Gauge LC. Smith that I shoot factory smokless 10 gauge shells when I can find them and when I reload for it I only use smokeless powder.