Hi everyone

Just discovered Nitro Express and love it. I am a SxS shotgun fan and am considering, with my gunsmith, a DR built from a shotgun action.

The shotgun I am considering using is an H.Pieper (Belgian)12 gauge sidelock. The original design uses a patented monoblock and has a couple of damascus tubes. The tubes are so-so, the stock is a disaster but the action looks pretty good to me. It's circa 1895. It needs a serious restoration but my interest in DR's has lead me to believe it might be a better expenditure to convert it to a DR than to restore something that won't ever be worth much anyway (not that I'm in it for profit).

I've noticed as I've read the threads on here that 12, 16 and 20 gauge actions have all been used, it sounds like, successfully. I got the following note from my gunsmith about 12 gauge conversions and would be interested in any comments.

"Most 470 nitro double rifles are built around a beefed up 20gauge frame. The firing pin spacing will ultimately tell us what the gun will weigh. If we were to use a 12 gauge, the firing pin spacing would necessitate using a pair of barrels which would be very thick walled, therefore the overall weight of the gun would be excessive for anything under 577 Nitro Express. Or we would have to use very tapered barrels with wide ribs, but then it would look odd. And as we use smaller calibers, then the wall thickness increases which increases the weight. Nobody needs to be carrying around a 16lb 375."