My opinion of rank among the various eras and importers of Darne guns:
1.The guns produced by Bruchet are the top of the list. The importers include Geoffroy Gournet, The Drumming Stump, Inc, and Loren Thomas Ltd. The guns will be marked Darne, or Bruchet. These were typically full custom guns, built to order, from an era when the price was secondary to quality. The engraving that adorns a typical R15 from the Bruchet era is a style called Rosace, and it covers 100% of the guns action. To see a Bruchet era R15, engraved by Ariel Recrux, Guy Ripamonte, or Pitiuet (Bruchet guns R15 and higher are typically engraver signed) compared to a James Wayne era R15 is to begin to understand why price can vary so widely on the same model of gun. My opinion is that nobody had the skill to use the two story barrel boring machine to polish the barrel bores lengthwise like Paul Bruchet did, and I would give a nod to guns produced while he was still in charge of the company, pre 1997, or so.
2.Guns built between 1900 and about 1935, which I lump into a group I call "pre-war". This was an era when labor was cheaper than materials, and the engraving and wood could be spectacular. An example of a gun produced in this era is the V22 advertised by Galazon. I'd like to see the barrel flats of the gun, as I suspect the gun may actually be a V20, as that model was always game scene engraved. Many dealers have no idea what grade of gun they have, or call them higher than they actually are, because few customers have any idea what they are looking at. The problem with this era is the odd stock dimensions sometimes seen, short chambers, and tight bores and chokes. The bore IS the choke in a Darne, and just opening up the last few inches usually doesn't change pattern very much.
3. Guns built post war, and not typically having an importers name on them. You have to start paying close attention in this group, although wonderful examples do exist. The 1950s were hard times in France, and there was plenty of upheaval in the firearms industry.
4. Stoeger imports. They imported and cataloged the guns for almost a decade, 1964-1973, and the stuff brought in earlier was typically much better than later offerings. One usually got a plastic buttplate, as that was most expedient, but, there would have been many options available from the factory. They were trying to inventory guns to sell right now, and although other grades and myriad different options were available from the factory, they typically stocked R10s (BIrdhunter) R15s, (Pheasant Hunter Deluxe) and V19s (Quail Hunter Supreme) in the shorter, 25 1/2" barrel lengths that were all the rage in that era, with a semi-pistol stock. There was a definite effort to sell what they had in stock as opposed to getting what one wanted, and although I am told it was possible to order a custom gun from Stoeger, I am just as sure very few people ever did.
5. The guns imported by James Wayne, under the name FIrearms Center Inc, in Victoria TX. There exists a lot of not well fitted and bland wood and uninspired engraving in guns that were imported in the era of 1973-1978 by this outfit.
There are guns that break the rules. I owned a V20 that was produced in 1910 that had gamescene engraving of pheasants that more resembled space invaders of some sort, and caused me to wonder what year the pheasant was introduced to France. The gun was signed "Bernaud" and was accurately dated by his lousy (at the time) engraving, because he was quite elderly in 1910, and still working, and not doing his typical work. I'd bet there are some James Wayne guns that are nicely stocked and engraved-but I haven't seen any. And one thing I haven't seen is poor quality metal smithing of a gun, regardless of era-they all seem to work pretty dang good and lock up tight no matter how lousy the decoration and wood might be.
There are other things to know, like, this list ONLY applies to guns marked Darne with the typical D that has a styled tail that goes around the name, any other name on the gun, or a gun with block letters on the opening lever spelling DARNE falls under a different set of rules, but, this is what you get for free. I'm not going to go into grading a Darne, as enough has been written about that subject that if you get sold an R13 by a dealer who tells you it is a V21, you are an idiot, and deserve it. That wasn't always the case, but, times have changed. I still enjoy getting calls from excited folk who have stumbled onto, or, inherited a really neat gun and they want to know a little more about it, and are genuinely interested in their old sliding breech gun. So, feel free. I'm in the book.
Best,
Ted
