I have a richard double barrel shotgun and i dont know what its worth it has damascus barrels. I know damascus steel is worth alot of money but you can only see the pattern in one place and it looks like at one time somebody tried to clean it with car wax or something.
richard double barrel shotgun
- Thread starter spydergt
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Jim Watson
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There is a fine English maker of shotguns, Westley Richards.
There are cheap, usually Belgian, shotguns branded Richard and other names that sound alike to try to fool the customer. Looks like that is what you have.
Damascus barrels are NOT worth a lot of money because they are not safe for modern smokeless shells.
An interior decorator who was not afraid of guns might pay $100 for it to hang on the wall.
There are cheap, usually Belgian, shotguns branded Richard and other names that sound alike to try to fool the customer. Looks like that is what you have.
Damascus barrels are NOT worth a lot of money because they are not safe for modern smokeless shells.
An interior decorator who was not afraid of guns might pay $100 for it to hang on the wall.
Given the age of the gun and the probable deterioration of the barrels due to powder fouling and primer corrosion working their way into the tiny crevices of the Damascus barrel, I STRONGLY recommend that you NOT fire that gun, period. It should be considered a decorator only.
Jim
Jim
If you can only see the pattern in one place, it's possible it's not a genuine Damascus type barrel. A lot of the Belgian knock-offs of high-priced English shotguns just etched a pattern on the outside of the barrel to look like Damascus-twist steel, which would eventually wear off from repeated cleaning. If you look down the inside of the barrels, and there's no pattern evident there, that's what you have. Ironically, the cheaper solid steel barrels actually hold up better than the Damascus as shooters, because they lack the microscopic pores in the steel that let rust and corrosion get a foothold to weaken the metal.
The answer to that would be a qualified "maybe", depending on whether it checks out mechanically by a qualified gunsmith, if you can find shells of the correct gauge and length (2 1/2", 2 9/16", 2 3/4"?), and if it shows proof marks for smokeless powder, or says something like "Nitro Proof" on the barrels. Otherwise, it's just a decoration.
I'd have it checked out by a smith before shooting it. The pics don't really tell me much about the condition and when it comes to old Belgian guns it's better to err on the side of caution.
Jim Watson
Member
In the day, W.W. Greener referred to cheap barrels with a fake pattern as "Sham Dam".
They are not any stronger or safer to shoot than real Damascus.
I know there are people shooting Damascus barrels with black powder and even nitro but they are generally using high end guns, many of them re-prooved to show they are not corroded out internally. That does not apply to what Mr Greener called The Fraudulent Gun with a brand name written to make the buyer think he was getting something nicer.
I am cautious on such things because my neighbor the gunsmith had a very similar gun on the wall with a two-inch piece blown out of the left barrel, about 9-10" up from the breech. Right where your left thumb would be while shooting.
Y'all be careful, now, you hear?
They are not any stronger or safer to shoot than real Damascus.
I know there are people shooting Damascus barrels with black powder and even nitro but they are generally using high end guns, many of them re-prooved to show they are not corroded out internally. That does not apply to what Mr Greener called The Fraudulent Gun with a brand name written to make the buyer think he was getting something nicer.
I am cautious on such things because my neighbor the gunsmith had a very similar gun on the wall with a two-inch piece blown out of the left barrel, about 9-10" up from the breech. Right where your left thumb would be while shooting.
Y'all be careful, now, you hear?
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