doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com How to ID my Halifax

I have searched every site I can find and haven't been able to determine the model of my gun or figure out how to determine its age. I would love any and all help.
Description:
It is about 42 1/2"
Sliding breach
One piece stock with engraving
Safety is on right side
Has sling swivel mounts
Rib between barrels is engraved
No circle with D stamped anywhere
Engraving on breach, loading end of barrel, on winged handle to lift and slide breach,trigger guard.
The serial number is 55958
Appears to be 16 ga.
Beautiful condition, I purchased it about 25 years ago from a guy that needed to get his car fixed. I've just kept it in a soft gug case and made sure it never got any rust on it and have never shot it.
I can take a pic of it and send it to someone that may be able to help in id this gun for me.
Any ideas of todays value?
Our the Halifax guns worth holding onto for grandkids etc?

Thanks Ron Chisler


On

Try this site.

http://www.gournetusa.com/forum/default.asp

They have some Halifax owners on it and study sliding breech guns

I did a little more checking. Your Halifax is the "model" of shotgun for Darne shotguns from France. Here is a site that will show you the series and other info on your gun.

http://www.doublegunshop.com/darne.htm

There are marks stamped under the barrel that equate to the series of the gun. The guys over on the Gournet site should be able to tell you the year it was produced based on its serial number in the Darne forum.

Lowest grade of the Darne's less ornamentation, engraving and wood is not as good as higher grades. Excellent, extremely strong shotguns, although not very common.

Do not attempt to disassemble unless you know what you are doing. If something breaks they are expensive to repair.

I have a little 28ga R-15 model that is a delight.

Hello Ron and welcome,

Halifaxes were the "lower grade" Darnes. Their quality leaves nothing to be desired and not all of them are "plain Janes". Their mechanics
are the same as the Darne R series.

Surely you will get lots of information at the mentioned site.

Here are some photos of my Halifax for your reference.It is 12 bore with 65mm chambers.




Best,

JC

HH, not to put your gun down, but the Darne type guns are not of great value except in the highest grades. Some people like them a lot, but they are not really very popular. This is a salable gun at a modest price. It is not a hidden gem to show with on Antiques Road Show. It is a very robust gun if you decide to use it - tougher than "old nails."

Thanks for all of the replies. Cabela's had a bring your gun in for appraisal day so I took it in and the appraiser currently owns a couple of Darnes and he just sold another. He checked it out and told me if I wanted to sell it I should ask $2K for it and don't sell it for less than $1,500.00.
The one he sold this year went for $25,000.00 but he said it was the high end model.
He also asked if I use it, I told him that I have never shot it and he said it is a sweet shooting gun and go try it out.

The appraiser might be a little high with his prices. Further, at the point a guy ponies up 25 large for a used Darne, he would be FAR better off starting with a new one, that had been built to fit him.
If you use your old Halifax, do go to one of the ammunition suppliers that can offer 2 1/2" low pressure 16 gauge ammunition-this is NOT the same as low brass ammunition you get from KMart. A Darne 16 with standard, American, off-the-shelf ammunition will beat the hell out of you, and the gun will be just as effective with the low pressure stuff.
Noted above, don't take the gun apart, and don't use a tool other than your finger or a plastic Bic pen end to depress the forked spring, down in the area between the rails, to remove the barrels. If you break one of the forks off, you have a broken Darne, which is pretty much worthless, and you need to get a new spring from France, or, from me. They are expensive. Don't say I didn't warn you.
For most of the production span, there was only one grade of Halifax, but, in the 1930s two grades were built. The higher of the two (No. 5, the No. 4 was the lower grade) has a bit of engraving. You will find the grade of the gun on the barrel flats.
You paid extra for a plume rib and a semi-pistol grip stock on a Halifax, so, most of them don't have that. Most of them have conventional, brazed barrels, but, I've seen a few that were monoblock construction.
Might be a good idea at this point to have a strip and clean done, along with an expert evaluation of any problems in the gun you might not see. Kirk Merrington is your man for that, here in the USofA. Google him up.
Best,
Ted