Hello Raimey, Mike, and Pete...
First off, thank you all for your taking the time to respond to my thread and to post your research. Thank you Pete for jumping into the thread and for explaining the meaning of the anchor mark. What about the other anchor with the "Z?" Any ideas as to what this signifies? And what about the Imperial eagles (not the proof stamps, but the etchings on the shotty barrels)? Any idea as to whether this signified anything in particular?
Mike, man do I feel stupid! I looked right past the mention of the chamber in your question and was still hung up on the question regarding the rifling of the barrel. The chamber appears to bottleneck (maybe by 1mm) where the rifling begins. I now understand a bottlenecked chamber would indicate a necked-down cartridge that might narrow down the possibilities... Thank you as well for the wealth of information regarding cartridge possibilities. I am not far away from you - just down the coast in San Diego. Any gunsmiths in the area you would recommend?
Raimey, thank you once again for your exhaustive research. How did you find the Google book reference? I had search time and again on "Monopol" and Francotte but never found that link... I will take the casting into consideration. Regarding the rough circle stamp, there does appear to be a "K" to the naked eye, which dissolves into uneven textures under a loupe. However, I'm not certain I am seeing the "K." I'll take photos of both the mark and the rifle chamber tomorrow for your consideration.
Cheers,
Chris
