thinking of sawing off an old Damascus Shotgun

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sixshooter

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I've got this old Janssen & Sons side-by-side with external hammers, and it's useless to me as a functional gun, and I'm not a "wall hanger" kind of guy. I am, however, a "conversation starter" kind of guy, so I was thinking of sawing this thing off. I've read that 18" is the minimum, but cut at 18.5 to be safe.

I remember hearing that Damascus barrels come apart like a spring if you try to cut them... any wisdom on that?

Also, any thoughts on if I take the firing pins out of it (it'll never be safe to shoot anyway), does it still qualify as a "gun"?
 
I believe it would have to be destroyed, functionally, in order to no longer be a "firearm". But I'm not entirely sure on that. I've heard of people welding or cutting crucial pieces, such that it can never be fired again, to do what you're thinking of. Not simply taking a part out. I could be wrong, though.
 
That old timer is a conversation starter....... why ruin it?

Plus ,I believe some where shot gun shells still can be found for that type of barrel. I think. A little looking through the web may lead you to the source.
 
I don't think of it as ruining it, just re-purposing. I'm not 100% sold on doing it yet... just feeling out what others think and looking for suggestions
 
What re-purpose? You're going to make it non-shootable, but you said it's not a wall hanger, what are you going to do?
I'm confused on why you want to cut Damascus barrels.
Are you just trying to remove any residual value it might have? :scrutiny:
RT
 
Six- I've done it on a 100+ year old Belgian double. The tubes were brazed to the upper & lower ribs so there was no unwinding of the steel (not likely anyways unless the gun is a super POS). I added a barrel band at the muzzle after cutting to prevent the tubes & ribs coming apart as a just-in-case. With the barrel band on I stood the barrels on the muzzle and fed silver solder in from the back side. Turned out pretty well. Because I didn't trust those old twist barrels I made chamber inserts to reduce it from 10 GA down to 20. Shoots pretty good all things considered.
 
I don't get it either. What would a non-functional gun be if not a wall hanger? Just because it's not actually hanging on the wall doesn't mean it won't be a conversation piece. Chopping down the barrels serves what purpose other than destroying any value it might have? Is it going to be a coffee table piece? Might as well leave it intact as an heirloom. Stuff it in a closet and forget about it for a few years. Sell it if it has no sentimental value. I just don't see the point in chopping down just for the sake of doing it.
 
At least it would be functional folk art... also useful in the event you are being attacked by a bald headed bear in a quirky John Candy / Dan Aykroyd comedy.
 
First of all - it's already non-shootable for me, in that it requires special shells that I have no interest in ordering, or real use for. I'll never shoot this gun. If I want to go make noise and shoot just for the sake of shooting I've got my old man's flintlock collection. If I want a functional shotgun, I've got those too.

Second of all - it's a Janssen. From what I've heard, in top quality they're worth at most $150. The one I have is rusted (beyond normal surface rust in some places), has a broken firing pin, and questionable barrels. So it's probably not worth the gas to drive it to an appraiser.

So, something that's utterly useless, probably not sound enough to fire, and virtually worthless... sounds like junk. So I thought chopping it down and making something more interesting aesthetically (in my view, which is all aesthetics is anyway) was the way to go.

Alternatively, I may take it to a local gun shop and see what they have to say. Maybe It'll be worth something and I'll end up selling it. As I said earlier, this post was just to ask questions about Damascus barrels and sawed off guns. I'm not sure what I'll do with it ultimately.
 
I say go for it. It's your toy. I did the same thing with an over/under 12ga that I picked up for $100 (along with a 410SxS) and was in bad shape cosmetically. So I did what made me happy and chopped it down to just over 18.5"
Do it and be happy.
Baikalrefinish009.jpg
 
Damascus will "unwind". If yours has a bunch of rust, it could be present in the layers of metal beat together. I would clean it up. If it looks good, I would become a wallhanger type.

Question-just askin'. If you are not going to shoot it (I would not), and you are not going to put it over the mantle, what are you going to do with it after you cut it?
 
I just called a gun shop near where I live that said he'd give me $20 for it and sell it as a wall hanger. If $20 is all it's worth, I think I'll cut 'er down.
 
Also, any thoughts on if I take the firing pins out of it (it'll never be safe to shoot anyway), does it still qualify as a "gun"?
Click to expand...

I believe you have to flame cut the receiver multiple times for it to no longer be a gun. Basically melted for all practical purposes.

That's how you de-mil machine-guns, but I have never seen ATF specify how you would do it for a normal Title 1 firearm. Reasonable to assume it would be similar.
 
I'd put modern ammo in it and safely blow it up.

Then you have a conversation piece.

Just invent a really cool story to go with your popped shotty.
Something with bears or wolves.
 
Here's mine.
 

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The process in which Damascus barrels are made is that the layers of wound metal are forge-welded together. They are not just wound up and crimped.

The problem with them lies in the miniscule gaps and seams, each of which can trap moisture and rust. That's what causes Damascus barrels to fail. The only way it would 'unwind' is if the metal was already so rusty inside that it was going to fall apart.
 
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