Aaron, you have made a very good purchase. Francottes , IMO, are wonderful shotguns and undervalued in the market. Once you get inside of your Francotte you will find very nicely finished parts, typical of most high end European shotguns.
I would suggest that you contact Bob Beach at Griffin & Howe and get a letter on your gun. The cost is $60 but it makes the Fox and Parker letters look poor in comparison. You can also get on the Griffin & Howe website and check your serial number to see if it is in the records.
I own two Francottes, a grade 45 (Eagle) and a sidelock. I bought the Eagle grade from a large chain store (you can guess who that might be) and beat on them for six months for a better price. The gun looked "tired" for better choice of words. The wood on the gun looked gray, the bluing was not good, the checkering was worn, and the trigger guard was a lovely shade of plum. The metal was perfect otherwise with great bores and screws etc. I planned to restock the gun but other work got in the way just as it might you. In any case I refinished the wood, recut the checkering, added a leather covered pad, and reblued the barrels and trigger guard. The gun now looks wonderful.
Doug
Last edited by Doug Mann; 11/23/17 01:35 PM.
