i was at a turkey shoot a guy was selling his doublebarrel for 300 he said it's a 13 Gauge?

I'm not sure if there was a question there or not. However, if you want to know if there is such a thing as a 13 gauge shotgun, my answer is yes there is such a thing. I have never heard of a cartridge gun being a 13 gauge but muzzleloading shotguns came in all sorts of gauges. I think I have, at one time or another, seen all kinds of gauges in muzzleloaders. Apparently, the maker just made what either he or his customer wanted. Since no cartridge had to fit the gun, he was limited only to his or his customer's whim. Once cartridges came out, the gauges had to be standardized so the cartridge manufacturers could make properly fitting shells. After that, you were limited to 10, 12, 16, 20 , 28 gauges and the .410 bore. There may have been a few other cartridges which lasted only a short time such as the 4 gauge and the 8 gauge but these were the main ones for which cartridge guns were made.

If the shotgun that the person offered for sale was an original and was in decent condition, you missed a great deal on a collector's item. If you know his name and he still has it for sale, grab it and then either keep it for your own collection, or if you are not a collector, sell it at a great little profit to a gun collector.

That brings up an old argument on the black powder forums.

Most folks are of the opinion that 13's were either underbored 12's (very common) or overbored 14's (far less common). I've never seen a marked 13 nor has anyone that I know.

If it was indeed from 1850, it was a black powder muzzle loader. They're as great to shoot as any other muzzle loader if that was what you intended to buy.

If it were in pretty decent condition, I think I'd have gone for it just to see for myself.

That's plausible. There was no standardization to speak of, and not much need for it, since there were no shells to fit into chambers. Even in the age of self-contained shells, the 32 ga. and 9mm were once fairly commonly available for a while. And now the 16 is teetering towards obsolescence. In compensation, we have 12 bores with chambers nearly to the end of the barrel, or so it seems.

From what CIH said it sounds like it may be true.* Never heard of a 13 gauge myself, however a person can learn something new everyday that he didn't know existed at some point in History.* You could type in 13 Gauge in search and see what information comes up if any.*

If it was a muzzleloading percussion shotgun, it might've been a nice deal. Since they didn't use cartridges back then, a gunsmith could make any size shotgun barrel he wanted, and there'd be no trouble finding ammunition for it. Unfortunately, anything that old is going to likely be a Damascus barrel, and after aging and the advances in powder, it's going to be pretty much entirely useless now. It's only going to be worth something to collectors, now.

You would be buying a wall hanger, not a shooter. That old and that gauge you would not want to fire unless your insurance was paid in full. Buy a 870 pump 12 gauge and rest easy.

Never heard of a 13 ga.

never head of it. buy a good 12 gauge, there the best and u can actually buy ammo for em!

arent veggies alive too? ur so cruel to plants, lol.

Gauge

Soldier armed with a shotgunMain article: Gauge (bore diameter)

The caliber of shotguns is measured in terms of gauge or bore (the British English term). The gauge number is determined by the number of solid spheres of a diameter equal to the inside diameter of the barrel that could be made from a pound of lead. So a 10 gauge shotgun has an inside diameter equal to that of a sphere made from one-tenth of a pound of lead. By far the most common gauges are 12 (0.729 in, 18.5mm diameter) and 20 (0.614 in, 15.6 mm), although .410, 28, 16, and 10 (10.4 mm) gauge and 9mm (.355 in.) and .22 (5.5mm) rimfire calibres have also been produced (although 10, 12, 16, 20, 28, .410, and .22 are the only legal hunting gauges/calibers in most U.S. states).

The .410 bore (10.4mm) is unusual, being measured in inches, and would be approximately 67 gauge

never herd of one,

But I think everyone should report Swan Crazy Dot for her answer, answers like that are uncalled for.