Who made my Verney Carron 475 No.2 Nitro Express

Hello Folks,

I recently acquired this 1929 Verney Carron 475 No.2 Nitro Express Double Rifle. I'm wondering who really made it.

Here are the specs:

Verney Carron .475 No.2 Nitro Express
Built in 1929
Weight = 10 lbs
LOP = 14-3/8"
Barrel Length = 25-3/4"
Rear Sights = 1 Stand 2 Folding on Matted Quarter Rib
Extractors
Hinged Front Trigger
Chopper-lump Barrels
Rib Extension with Scott's Hidden 3rd Bite
Reinforced Frame
Bushed Firing Pins
Reinforced Comb
Unknown Letter Monogram on Bottom of Stock Behind Grip
Unknown Silver Crest Inlay on Bottom of Stock
Silvers Style Red Recoil Pad

Markings as follows;

Left Barrel Top marked - .475 No.2 Nitro Express - Cordite - 85 Grains - 480 Grain
Right Barrel Top marked - Verney Carron - Liege
Both Barrel Bottoms marked - .475 No.2 Express - B.BLINDEE
Left Barrel Bottom marked JF - with Eagle's Head Stamp (Jean Falla)
Left Side Action marked - Verney Carron, Liege
Bottom Rib under the Forearm marked - 500 GUNS INDIANAPOLIS,IN
Various Belgium Proofs with an h 1929 Date Code

Either this rifle was hardly ever used, or incredibly well cared for, because the action is tight as a Bank Vault (so tight it takes an effort to open and close) and the Chambers and Bores are Mirror Bright. Close examination shows period Re-Blackened Barrels and Cleaned Action.

I've made contact with Verney Carron in France with the help of Ken Bush, who has forwarded pictures in hopes that VC may have some additional information. However, it is somewhat doubtful because most all of their records were lost during WWII. If nothing else, I'm hoping to find out if this rifle was "made by" Verney Carron, and proofed in Liege, or if it was "made for" Verney Carron by a Belgium maker. Or perhaps Verney Carron had a sister Company in Belgium.

As always, your comments and insights about this rifle and its markings are most welcome. I would especially like to know if anyone recognizes the Unknown "Letter Monogram" on Bottom of Stock Behind Grip, or the Unknown "Silver Crest" Inlay on the Bottom of the Stock.

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Joseph Cap found protection for the schutzmarke of the Eagle's head. Falla wasn't registered w/ the Liege proof facility until 1931 but I have my suspicions that Jean Falla married Cap's daughter & acquired the business. Falla was probably an apprentice of Cap. Odd that it has pins & screws. Does it have the proverbial V-C stop? With the Acier Diamante, it is probably a in-house V-C offering. Lovely side-frame reinforcement. Need to task Jani on that crest.

Cheers,

Raimey
rse

Hello ellenbr,

Thanks for the reply.

I don't know what the "proverbial V-C stop" is - can you explain?

V-C stop:



http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=335882&page=2

Cheers,

Raimey
rsae

Hello ellenbr

Thanks for the reply.

I see the "stop". My rifle does not have this. However, it looks like the lever was a Helicobloc lever that has the name "stippled-over" but they left the pattern at the bottom untouched.





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And, I finally made it to the range today to test this wonderful rifle. As you may be aware, I subscribe to the 75% rule for regulating my rifles. That is 75% velocity of the regulation load using the same bullet weight, will generally regulate the same as the full load. Since the regulation load for this rifle is 2200 fps with a 480g bullet, 75% velocity would be about 1650 fps with the same bullet. I didn't have any 480g bullets, but was able to acquire some 500g Hawk bullets in .482 dia. Here is the very first target I shot with this 75% load. You should have seen my smile - no buyer's remorse for this rifle.




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I shot 20 shots with varying amounts of 3031 powder; 70g, 75g, 80g, and 83.5g, which was the full load as recommended by the former owner. I shot 10 pairs total and groups ranged from 5/8" to 4-11/16". On this next target, I shot a pair of full loads on the same target as the 75% loads. As you can see, there was not a lot of difference in regulation from the 75% load to the full 100% load. And the 75% practice load is a lot more fun to shoot, being only 40.9 ft/lbs of recoil, instead of 70.2 ft/lbs. Tomorrow I will shoot it again, with some AR5744 loads.

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Perhaps, of interest to the forum members is my cooling tube. This improvised device really cuts down on the waiting time between shots strings. I shoot 4 rounds (2 pair) and insert the barrel into the cooling tube. This rig cools the barrels down to ambient temperature in about 3 - 5 minutes; about the time it takes me to step through the chronograph readings, record the shots in my notebook, and walk the 50 yards down-range to measure the holes in the target. This devise was made up using a 110 volt 2-speed fan, attached to various rubber plumbing adapters, and then attaching it to a 28" long piece of 4" diameter flexible plastic drainage tube. Total cost was about $35 including the fan. Lucky we have power at our range, otherwise I would have made one to run off my car battery.

All is very interesting & I continue to hold that it is an in-house V-C product. I don't seem to recall having seen that much "peening" on the toplever? I'll have to look.....

Cheers,

Raimey
rse

Hello ellenbr

Thanks for the reply.

If you find something about the top lever, please let me know.

Wonderful groups! Did you shoot that off a rest or sticks?

Hello fallschirmjaeger,

Thanks for the reply.

I use a set of 3-leg shooting sticks.

Have you examined the extension rib workings to determine whether it is a Scott screw grip or just a plain lug without screw assistance?

Sorry, I don't know what you mean. ? ?

But, here are some close-up pictures of the action.

Lever at rest - lever slightly pulled.

Hello All,

I have an update for my Verney Carron .475 No.2 NE. I found a very nice "Vintage" Hard Case for my "Vintage" rifle. It appeared on Ebay a few months back. It had a "make-an-offer" option, so last week I made an offer that the seller accepted. He told me that the case belonged to his Father and that the gun it contained was sold a long time ago. His Father's initials are on the top. He said the case was from the 1920's or 30's, so that period fits the date of my VC rifle. In addition, the case was "French" with an original "Gastinne Renette" - "Paris" label. I don't know anything about him, but when I "Googled" the name, I found several photos of some find guns that he produced.

As I've done with many other vintage cases, I reconfigured the inside to fit the VC rifle. I even added an original "VC" label to dress it up a bit.

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