I've seen some statements to the effect that guns from India have DOM tubing barrels. Let me state up front that I don't KNOW how those barrels are made but if I were betting I'd bet against DOM. In India that would not be a cost effective way to make a barrel. Tubing is generally supplied in a uniform diameter from end to end, so to make a tapered octagon to round barrel will require losts of stock removal. With high speed precision machinery that is easily accomplished. In India however, hand labor is very cheap and production machinery rather scarce. For that reason I suspect barrels are hand forged there just as they were done here a couple of centuries ago.
This is an Indian single barrel 12 gauge, it weighs 5 pounds 13 ounces with a 32" barrel.
Sorry for the poor photo with reflections and all.
At the breech the barrel measures 1.070" across the flats but 1.146" across the corners of the octagon section, which has five flats and remains round on the bottom. So to make this barrel from tubing would require a tube at least somewhat larger than 1.146" in outside diameter. The muzzle diameter is only .852" so that would be a great deal of stock to be removed to get down to finished form. A good hand at the forge can rough forge a barrel close to final form so that not nearly so much remains to be done with file and grinding wheel. I thus speculate that this barrel was hand forged.
Actually, I think I'd prefer DOM. :haha:
This is an Indian single barrel 12 gauge, it weighs 5 pounds 13 ounces with a 32" barrel.
Sorry for the poor photo with reflections and all.
At the breech the barrel measures 1.070" across the flats but 1.146" across the corners of the octagon section, which has five flats and remains round on the bottom. So to make this barrel from tubing would require a tube at least somewhat larger than 1.146" in outside diameter. The muzzle diameter is only .852" so that would be a great deal of stock to be removed to get down to finished form. A good hand at the forge can rough forge a barrel close to final form so that not nearly so much remains to be done with file and grinding wheel. I thus speculate that this barrel was hand forged.
Actually, I think I'd prefer DOM. :haha:
