Found an old shotgun in the attic.

Question

I found an old shotgun in my attic.

It is a T. Barker double-barreled shotgun. On the side is engraved "Belgium" and on the butt is a design with two dogs, a doe and a "vine" pattern. It is either a 10-gauge or 12-gauge...I haven't really checked.

It's pretty rusty, and the action is a little loose (It occasionally hangs open) however it seems quite old, perhaps early 1900s.

Firstly, what about would something like this be worth?

Secondly, how could I go about cleaning this up, restoring it to its original appearance (It is rusted and quite dirty). Are there any specific tools or methods I should use for cleaning out areas such as the barrel, action or hammers?

Thirdly, would it be safe to hunt with (Considering I checked it to see if everything was in working order and that I was using the correct gauge).

Thank you!

Answer 1

T. Barker was a popular cheap Belgium made shotgun imported from 1870 to 1914

They were usually Damascus and there fore not safe to shoot, especially if it does not lock up solid

It also probably has a shorter chamber  than todays ammo

The only safe way to shoot it would be to tube it down to a smaller gauge

restored it would be worth maybe $200, maybe

I would consider a restored piece to be  $100 worth of wall art

The best thing to do would be to spray the gun down with Ballistol and let it soak in overnight

Then wipe the gun down with some heavy denim cloth

It will take some elbow grease but you will not damage the patina

This will remove most of the surface rust and help free u any stuck parts

If there is any pitting or scaling rust treat that with some 000 steel wool

Clean the wood with Purple Power or simple green and then hit it with Murphy Oil

Buy some of the wooden peg gun hangers and find a wall for it

  

Answer 2

Piece of c**p belguim that is meant to look nicer and be of better quality than it really is. That and you said it's rusted, I wouldn't trust to shoot it. A good wall hanger but that's it.

Answer 3

It is not safe to shoot.  It is a Belgian cheap imitation of a high-grade gun.  Lots of little Belgian gunmakers used to slap names on guns that sounded like famous gunmakers.  Names such as W. Richards or WW Green to make people think they were buying high quality Westley Richards or WW Greener shotguns.  These old guns usually were made with damascus barrels, which won't hold up to the pressures of smokeless powder loads and were not especially safe when new.

Your gun was a cheap Belgian knock-off of the guns made by the well respected Baker Forging and Gun Company.  In their 1897 catalog, Sears sold Theodore Baker shotguns for 1/3 less than the price on the Baker Forging & Gun Company products.

If I'd found it, I'd just clean up the outside, use Shooter's Choice gun cleaning solvent, and if necessary use 0000 steel wool to get the worst of the rust off the outside metalwork.  Remove the stock and forearm and give them a good cleaning with something like Murphy's Oil Soap, and after cleaning, I'd sand it down lightly with 0000 steel wool, and rub in several coats of linseed oil, or even mineral oil.  Just use a standard shotgun cleaning rod and jag to clean the bore, and put a good coat of oil in the bore to slow the rust.

Depending on how the metal work looks after cleaning the rust off, you can either give it a good rub down with mineral oil and hang it over the fireplace, or you can try using some cold blue to make it look newer.  Personally, I'd not bother, I'd just clean it, oil it and hang it up.

Doc

Answer 4

first of all do you have a shotgun licence,the gun is only fit to be hung on the wall,it will only be proofed for black powder,and it sounds quite worn,i dont think its worth much money,maybe 50 or 60 pounds

Answer 5

That "loose action" in a double means it's off its face, and that puts it solidly in the realm of wall-hangers. Restoration would be a huge project, so go buy a couple of new SxS's for what you save from not doing it.

Answer 6

The first thing you do is take it to a competent Gunsmith for a safety evaluation, then see if it is repairable if it needs repaired.* Most are repairable.* Let him tell you what and if you can shoot it.* It could be quite valuable regardless of what some people have been telling you.*

Answer 7

I'm not qualified to answer the first part of you question but can answer the last part. Under no circumstances should you fire this shotgun unless its looked over by a competant gunsmith. Some of those old shotguns used Damascus barrels and are not safe for use with modern ammuntion.....

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Damascus_B...

Damascus or twist-steel barrels are made by layering alternate strips of steel and iron then welding them together. The strips are then twisted until they resembled a s***w, three of these wound strips are then welded together, wound around a steel mandrel, then welded and hammered into a barrel tube. Laminated steel barrels are a bit different. They start with a ball of steel and iron that is then hammered into long strips and twisted, then, like their Damascus cousin, wound around a mandrel, welded and hammered into a barrel tube. Inherently, these barrels are quite strong, and many best-quality Damascus barrels pass nitro proof. However, because of the iron content and welded manufacture, twist barrels have a propensity for rusting within the barrel material. Added to that is the fact that these guns were primarily used with non-corrosive priming, and are therefore potentially honeycombed with weak spots. While there are first-quality Damascus Parker and Purdey barrels that can be shot with modern ammunition, most if not all are not up to the task.