I have an old Bouquin 16 gauge SxS shotgun in great shape. I'm trying to determine what the proof marks mean, and whether this gun can be shot.
Going in order:
#1 Belgian provisional blackpowder proof for breechloading gun
#2 Barrel measurements for bore and choke
#3 'Star over W' Looks like an inspectors mark
#4 Another blackpowder proof
#5 'Star over AB'
#6 Inspectors mark
#7 16 gauge marking
#8 "Definitive black powder proof"
#9 'Star over AB'
#10 'Star over V'
#11 Numeral '2'
A Couple of questions... Proofs #5 and 9 elude me... Are they inspection marks? The look like they are a star over the top of the letters A and B run together.
This gun has 2 9/16 chambers in 16 gauge. The barrels are not Damascus (don't show any of the signs of being so). Any idea where I could take it to determine any shootability? I'm a machinist, so I'd be interested in lengthening the chambers to 2 3/4 and shooting 16 gauge target loads if possible...
Thanks for looking.
Going in order:
#1 Belgian provisional blackpowder proof for breechloading gun
#2 Barrel measurements for bore and choke
#3 'Star over W' Looks like an inspectors mark
#4 Another blackpowder proof
#5 'Star over AB'
#6 Inspectors mark
#7 16 gauge marking
#8 "Definitive black powder proof"
#9 'Star over AB'
#10 'Star over V'
#11 Numeral '2'
A Couple of questions... Proofs #5 and 9 elude me... Are they inspection marks? The look like they are a star over the top of the letters A and B run together.
This gun has 2 9/16 chambers in 16 gauge. The barrels are not Damascus (don't show any of the signs of being so). Any idea where I could take it to determine any shootability? I'm a machinist, so I'd be interested in lengthening the chambers to 2 3/4 and shooting 16 gauge target loads if possible...
Thanks for looking.