doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Charlin take down

I have neither a Darne or Charlin. What I have is a Halifax (License Darne). It has this silvery part in the channel, but on this gun it definitely is not the Main Spring, but simply a bbl latch. The forward end has to be depressed before the bbls can be removed as Ted described, by Bumping.
The Mainsprings on this gun though,which I was under the impression is essentially a Darne R, are housed within the breech block. I have never made an attempt to disasemble the block, but highly suspect the main springs are coil type surronding the strikers.

Your Halifax is basically an R model Darne. But, you have missed an important clue as to the operation of your gun. The part you refer to as a "barrel latch" lies directly under a pretty serious cam that moves in the breech block with the opening lever. If you remove the breech block from your Halifax, you can watch the movement of the cam, up and down, in relation to the position of the opening lever.
The cam, in the closed position, comes down with great leveraged force upon the back part of the spring (it is a tempered spring, by the way, and the two forks at the front are the part most often broken by amatuer gunsmithing on a Darne-if you need a spare, I have a few around, squirreled away from my decade as the importer on visits to the factory) with the pin in the center acting as the fulcrum to force the forks at the front into matching slots in the barrel. This also is an interference fit. It must be broken in order to take the gun down.
V and P model Darnes, and, Charlins, are of a different design than the R, and take down a bit differently.
The springs that drive the strikers are indeed coil springs. These are NOT "main springs" in a Darne R design. The arrangement is somewhat similar to that in a Mauser bolt gun.



Best,
Ted

Ted
Yes I did mistate the function of that part. I would though still refer to the striker springs which "Fire" the gun as the Mainsprings & refer to this one as the bolt spring. The front of this spring does have to be depressed prior to removing the bbls & I was simply forgetting that it does indeed apply tension to the bolting.
Maybe Darne called them diferent or perhaps its just your terminology, but to me the Firing Springs are the Main ones & I knew this part had nothing to do with driving the strikers.

Oh my, does that bring back memories! years ago I traded a beat up Model 12 20 for a Charlin, which I thought was a Darne (Darn) from a pawnshop in Ukiah California...After puzzling on it for a while, I resorted to a bottle of Good Red, from Parduccis, which was within walking distance. That dint work, so a couple of days later took it to the local "Gunsmith" What the hell is that?, says he. Decided it dint need to come apart anyhow. Cleaned the tubes, shot it badly for a couple of years. Then found a guy, Bob Enright, a custom stocker, who in 30 seconds did what Ted said. I have his picture, on the wall in the shop, and light candles to it periodicly.....My daughter has the gun now and shoots it well..

Miller,
I'm pretty sure someone in France would have given me that name to call the part. I can't remember. I have seen numerous Darnes with a broken "Bolt spring", to use your terminology, which, renders them useless. Darnes with broken "Firing Springs", again, using your term, soldier right along.
Here in the states, I guess we can call them whatever we want to.
Last Dollar,
If I had a dollar for every time someone called me, with some problem they brought upon their own Darne or Charlin, themselves, usually involving a quest for unnecessary maintenance or lubrication, I would literally be a rich man. You, figuring "it didn't need to come apart" may be the most intelligent statement I have ever seen a lay person type about a sliding breech gun.
Bravo, my man. Bravo indeed.


Best,
Ted

Ted, you obviously know these guns. Any idea why this Charlin "fits" and the three Darnes I have owned over the last couple of decades always seem too short? This one is 14.5 to a horn butt plate and feels exactly like that LOP. I have, with pads, created 15" LOP's on the Darnes and they still seemed short.

This gun is in nearly new condition with game scenes either side and a eight "birds" on the barrel flats. The few Charlins I have encountered were very plain and well used.

Joe,
I have decided, after perhaps 30 seasons of using Darne guns, that the semi-pistol grip stock, most often seen, will not work for me. The photo I posted shows the two factory stocked, left handed Darnes I am aware of, that reside here in the new world-I was responsible for both of them. Both have dimensions that SHOULD be nearly perfect for me, however only the 12 gauge R10 (my personel Darne) fits me. I was quite capable of missing everything that flew with the stunning 20 gauge R15, as was another left-handed poster who purchased it from me. We don't know what, for sure, was wrong with it, for us. I was bloody hell on birds and clays with a late 1970s R15 20 gauge, that had 30" barrels, cartoonish engraving, and blond wood, that I sold in a classic moment of complete bird gun stupidity. I should add, that it should not have fit me, but, quite obviously, did.
I was fitted at the factory for the 12, and I believe the fitter, Herv� Bruchet, got that one perfect. He didn't tell me how he did it. The numbers of the stock dimensions from that gun were not different than the left handed 20 gauge, but my performance was. I also think there is more to a Darne stock than a simple list of dimensions. In particular, the length of the wrist and angle of attachment of the wrist, to the gun, seem critical, almost hyper-critical.
If, Mr. Taylor, you are able to hit things that fly with that Charlin, without too much thinking on your part, I suggest you keep it. If not, don't.
It likely fits somebody.


Best,
Ted

Took it out this afternoon at our county clays course and broke 40 which is a very good round for me. You may be right with regard to stock configuration. All my Darnes had semi-pistol grips. and the Charlin is a straight grip. Haven't measured the bores yet, but would guess it is around IC and full. Lovely gun, dark figured stock, and it shoots. For sure a keeper. Many thanks.

Do enjoy. I owned a Charlin, photos of which can be found in The Double Gun Journal, issue 2, volume seven, summer of 1996. Photos of yours would be nice.
I shot the gun OK, but, the high comb, which was a bit thin, was painful, at the shot to my high (and, handsome) nordic cheekbone.
We thusly parted ways. A friend, who is a bit more Neanderthal in appearance, has made good use of it.

Best,
Ted

I enjoy my Charlin from the late Thad Scott and do alright at skeet with ic/mod. I think it has something to do with the carved in cast-off but who knows. Ted may recall the photo I posted several yrs. ago taken using the "fat lady on the beach" perspective. Showed the "pocket" on the comb at face and the butt "recurving" to the left. Old Guff Thomas had a theory about a differential in POI barrel to barrel based on a sharply cranked grip. I think a lot of cast-off was supposed to provide a sort of built-in lead on left to right crossers particularly when used the left barrel. I have a gun with stock cranked way out to the right like that and don't shoot it as well as I shoot the Charlin. Somehow the butt "returning" to the left feels better. I probably have to crawl or incline my head slightly to cheek it but I don't have to lean over the comb (just into that little pocket) to get eye centered and it does seem natural to me. A sliding breech gun is always a conversation piece at the range and some are wary of the spear end of that sliding breech block despite the over-center toggle which, according to Ted IIRC, actually tightens under the back pressure of firing. I've never had the toggle lever lift on mine.

jack