JC,
It's possible that the F might be a proxy for "fini" in "Fusil fini" i.e not the barrels only. However there is no way to be sure until the proper "decret ministeriel" is unearthed, which would be no small feat.
It is interesting to observe the immediate adoption by the Manufacture of the St Etienne proofing.
At that very time, other makers (such as Bernard) were using a legal loophole to avoid proofing entirely, but the Manufacture was a very early adopter of the early nitro powders and of the corresponding proofs. The first R model (1897) appears at the same time of the first PX stamp (1896). Certainly, the geographical proximity had to be useful in establishing such a close collaboration.
On a slightly different subject, Mournetas states that the first
Hercule steel barrels show up in 1900, which means that everything before that was in Damas Eclair, even on the R models.
Oh and by the way, Geno's gun would be from 1903, not 1899.
Best regards,
WC-
