Bill,
We have no way of knowing what was done to the sliding breech before it became someones engraving project. Was it annealed? I doubt you can engrave a curved surface without annealing cyanide case hardening. Was it disassembled? Who did that work? Was it re-hardened after it was engraved?
You might think the "parts gun" comment is too harsh, but, it really isn't. We have no way of knowing what was done, and, if it will hold together if it is shot.
I have seen Darne guns that have been blued (they were never blued at the factory) where the entire sliding breech went into the blue tank without being disassembled. The results were a disaster.
There was a single model of Francisque Darne, built post WWII, that was factory blued. I've never seen one. I have a catalog picture of one.
But, I have seen too many blued R10s over the years.
Don't buy them.
The front stock on an R10 USUALLY looks just like the one on a Halifax. Usually. But, you could get whatever you wanted, and I do have an R10 that has the typical graded R front wood. I suspect it was ordered as a heavy gun, as it has longer, heavy wall barrels, with tight chokes, full ribs top and bottom (not typical on an R10), sling swivels, and the butt stock is not hollowed, the only R10 I've ever seen with that treatment. Someone went out of their way to spec it like that, but, I don't know who or why.
As Darnes go, this one is big.
Best,
Ted
