The Barrels of a Shotgun
Between 15 and 20 years ago shotgun barrels were made by combining bars of iron and steel and welding them together to form barrels of the proper diameter or bore. When these strips of metal were twisted to make a spiral tube they were welded together to make the familiar “twist,” “laminated,” and “Damascus” barrels. Sometimes three, four, and five strips of iron and steel were twisted together to make the “three-stripe,” “four-stripe,” and “five-stripe” Damascus barrels. This old type of a barrel was strong and flexible, but being comparatively soft, it was easily damaged by denting.
The Comparative Sizes of a 20-Gauge and a 12-Gauge Repeating Shotgun
The modern compressed-steel barrels are fashioned from solid drawn steel, are very hard, will stand much higher pressure than the Damascus type, and since the process of manufacture is simpler, a first-class steel barrel may be produced at one-quarter the cost of the old type. The several manufacturers have adopted trade names to distinguish the various grades of steel barrels. Various trade names come from abroad, and those of American manufacture are labeled “nitro-steel,” “armor steel,” “high-pressure steel,” etc. While differences very likely exist in the quality of the different barrels sold under the several names, all the barrels used by reputable gun builders will be found amply strong to resist any pressure exerted by ordinary charges of powder, hence the cheaper guns are perfectly safe and will stand many years of hard shooting.