Talk:Double-barreled shotgun

Safety of older shotguns

i've heard that using the older double barrel shotguns (two hammers) with newer shells is dangerous since newer shells are higher grain than the old paper shells, does anyone know more about this? --AlexOvShaolin 05:51, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

The issues here are not the exposed hammers, but the barrels and chambers. Many older shotguns used damascus steel barrels, which are made by wrapping square wire around a mandrel, then welding and forging the wire into a barrel. These barrrels are relativley weak compared to solid, or "fluid steel" barrels, and they are prone to rusting through at the welds, which can be nearly impossible to detect. Also, many older shotguns are chambered for shorter shells, such as 2 1/2", rather than the modern 2 3/4" and 3" shells. These shorter shells do produce lower pressures, so a shotgun marked "2 1/2" shells" should only be fired with 2 1/2" shells, even if a longer shell will fit in the chamber. Some gunsmiths will re-chamber a 2 1/2" gun for 2 3/4" shells, but only if it's a high quality gun in good shape. You would probably be better off cutting down some 2 3/4" shells and reloading them as 2 1/2" shells.

If you do want to fire an old Damascus barreled gun, have it inspected by a gunsmith who specializes in old shotguns, and then proof test it with a higher pressure load than you plan to use to verify the barrels are still sound. Keep in mind that the proof test may well blow a barrel open, so you're generally better off just hanging the Damascus gun on the wall, and buying a cheap used pump shotugn. scot 15:55, 21 November 2006 (UTC)

thanx for the response, you might want to consider putting some of that into the article, i think it is quite useful information. --AlexOvShaolin 22:49, 27 January 2007 (UTC)

Patterning Double Barreled Shotguns & Choke Configurations

As someone recently new to Skeet & Trap shooting I've learned that patterning your shotgun is just as important as sighting in a rifle. An integral part of the patterning seems to be selecting the proper chokes. For example on an Over/Under double barreled shotgun, one may use a skeet choke in both barrels, but for Trap (or Down The Lane - DTL) a Full choke is used in the Over Barrel and a Modified choke is used in the under barrel. I found one site that talked about this, and thought it might be a logical continuation of the discussion on 'Regulation'.

The reference site is http://www.ssaa.org.au/stories/shotguns-a-beginners-guide-to-shotgun-chokes.html

It seems that the topic of shotgun chokes is not covered in full detail in either the shotgun wiki page or the double-barreled shotgun page, but as someone who was looking for general information on the topic it seems like it would be a welcomed addition to one of these pages if not both. --Mbedit (talk) 01:29, 11 November 2008 (UTC)

multiple barrels

is is possible to have four-barrels? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.235.162.134 (talk) 21:43, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

I've seen guns with three barrels, but none with four. The guns with the three barrels invariably have a rifle barrel as the third barrel, mostly below but some above the two shotgun barrels in SxS configuration; and they are designated as "drilling" guns, not shotguns. Ratbertovich (talk) 21:11, 17 February 2010 (UTC)

There were four-barelled shotguns made in England in the mid-late 19th century (designed, IIRC, by the same chap who developed the Lancaster pistol), but they were never especially common since a "double" was the traditional hunting shotgun and effective repeating shotguns started appearing in the latter part of the 19th century anyway. Commander Zulu (talk) 05:37, 24 February 2010 (UTC)

SxS shotguns are often more expensive??

I bought one, long time ago, and if I remember correctly it was the cheapest double-barrel 12 gauge in the shop. Aren't they easier to produce? Ssscienccce (talk) 13:23, 30 January 2013 (UTC)

Regional Use

I have found no reason to include this specific mention of regional use of double-barreled shotgun's in India. The second sentence is also not cited and there is no information that I could find that help me understand why the author includes those regions. I think this whole section should be removed. NedTown5000 (talk) 07:26, 20 June 2020 (UTC)