Gentlemen: Oscar Gaddy wrote A Piece in Double Gun Journal back in 1997, about Damascus Steel barrels, and current research finds that the DS barrels can actually withstand more pressure than modern steel barrels do! If there are no obvious deep pits, or corrosion in the barrel, or dents, go ahead and shoot the damascus gun. Treat them nicely, and load target loads( 2 1/2 drams, 1 oz. shot), but go ahead and enjoy them. The " IFs " I listed are very important, and is the motivation why others in the past 50 years, including the authors of the Hunter Safety manual used in all 50 states and Canada have given the admonition to NOT shoot these old guns. Many shooters are not SAFE themselves, don't listen to caution, don't know a gunsmith, and wouldn't take Grandpa's shotgun to one for inspection if they did have one around! If the gun is in good condition, and has been cared for over its life, there is no reason to NOT shoot it. Many of those guns ended up on the wall during either WWI, or WWII, when powder and primers were impossible to buy. When the men came back from the wars, they wanted new guns to shoot cartridges, simply because of their military training. So, those damascus guns stayed on the wall, getting cleaned and oiled often, but not used. As those vets are now dying, many of the guns are showing up in the hands of grandsons, who got into blackpowder shooting, and wonder if the old gun will still shoot. ALWAYS HAVE THE GUN INSPECTED BY A QUALIFIED GUNSMITH. He should have a borelight, and better, one of the borescopes, so he can do a careful examination of the bore from one end to the other, looking for pits, and cracks. He should have bore hones to use to remove surface rust, if present, so he can examine the bare steel underneath. But, if the gun gets a clean bill of health, I would shoot it. The low pressures used in target loads are not likely to cause any bursting of the barrels. I know of one case where a man was shooting a damascus barreled shotgun that did have a crack in front of the forearm, and he knew about it, and continued to shoot it, until a friend of mine suggested it would be better for him and the gun's future life it he had that crack welded by a gunsmith. We were watching the guy at a trap shoot, and saw flame and smoke coming out the side of the barrel! Just a little alarming, I might add! I heard later that the guy, who I didn't know, did get that crack welded, and continued to shoot the gun. At that time, I was a thorough convert to the " Don't ever shoot a Damascus Steel gun", crowd, as that is what I had been told and trained was the facts. Then, I met Oscar, and spent some time in his basement shop examing damascus shotguns, and sections of barrels he had refinished. When he published his works on refinishing damsacus steel, I got him to autograph my copy. We lost Oscar to Cancer about a year ago. But, I remember him explaining the data on how strong Damascus steel is compared to modern steels to my brother in February last year.
I have seen a lot of shotgun barrels made with modern steels that are so corroded that I would not want to risk shooting them. I think the same common sense standards can be applied to damascus barreled guns.
