Posted by David W on September 4, 2008, 1:20 pm, in reply to "16 ga. questions"
Chick, Sounds like a great skeet, woodcock, grouse gun. What a nice family heirloom to have. As for the barrels, the only way is to measure the chokes. L.C. Smith 16 ga. guns back then were stated .650 bore and could be from .648-.651. The chokes should be 1" parallel and then taper to bore on both sides. I use telescoping gages and mike over the gage. So if you are getting .650 you know the barrels most likely could have been cut. As for being loose, try firing the gun (use snap caps and I use the lighter ones for ejector guns, no need to put more strain on them) and see if the gun tightens up. It could be a loose loop on the barrel and when fired puts the pressure forward on the receiver head. Also could be that the rotary bolt is worn, not drawing the barrels back. (try pushing the lever more to the left and see if it tightens up.) As for the gun not having a Hunter One-Trigger and having the ejectors that is common and vice versa. I believe the Hunter One-Trigger then was an extra $45.00. Damascus barrels were around I believe until the 1930's. You have to remember that they were the most common barrels around and people didn't like changes, and it was hard for people to switch over to something they knew little about. Who knows how many 2 3/4" shells and heavy loads were fired through it. It would be a smart idea to have it checked out.
If you read about the "Letter" post, you might see that getting a letter for this gun stating the length of barrels might not state it, but maybe with being 24" who knows. Good luck to your friend and keep us posted.