doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com A Darne 16 for sale in England...

Hi guys,
Thought you might be interested to read this, coming soon in a small auction here:

Darne No 3 Halifax Model 16 bore side by side double trigger slide action non ejector, 3/8 & 3/4 chokes, 2 1/2" chambers, 27" barrels, SN 53539 (bore size .668 both) 14 1/4" stock. £30-50

These are rarely seen here. Will have a look at it on Thursday.

HB

Interesting.

I happen to catch the advertisement for some cereal that is streamed something something murders, and wouldn’t you know he was holding a highly engraved sliding breech shotgun in his hands during the advertisement.

Midsomer murders maybe?

Perhaps someone else noticed it.

It was indeed midsomer murders. My guess is as to why they used a Darne is that the great majority of actual English guns have been exported to the US and the balance are under lock and key and they didn’t know anybody who owned a key.

I take a look at the Gunstar English gun sale sight a few times a month, and there is typically a Darne or two listed for sale. Often, they have English proof applied, but, I always wonder why, as French proof is higher to begin with, and both countries are signatories to the European proof laws, hence, it wouldn’t need to be repeated unless the gun was modified or out of proof.

Damn if I know.

A number 3 Halifax is likely from the 1930s, the Halifax was a bit of a loss leader, and you can get a feel for how hard times were in France by how many grades of Halifax there were-one grade means good times, up to three, man, it sucks to live here. Pretty much a keeper’s gun, regardless of grade, missing the monobloc of the R grade guns, lower grade wood and engraving as well. Many have lived hard lives wherever they ended up.

Let us know what you find.

https://www.gunstar.co.uk/Shotguns-for-sale?sstr=Darne

Best,
Ted

I LOVE my Halifax #3 16 bore!!!

I have a 2 1/2” chamber 12 gauge Halifax No. 3 I am partial to myself.




Best,
Ted

Here is the picture from the auction site.

I sniffed around on that website and couldn’t find the guns. Everything else but. The gun looks to be decent enough in the single photo.

Probably worth more than 50 pounds, anyway. Perhaps not in Olde Blighty, however.

Best,
Ted

Look in the menu for Timed Auctions and then Sporting Goods.

Well, I went along to the auction viewing and had a good look at the 16 bore Darne. This is the first one I have handled, and it is certainly an unusual mechanism. Someone had ground off the front sling swivel, plus inletting a gold shield where the rear swivel hole had been. Makes it look more 'English' I suppose. Otherwise it was pretty good.

Barrels were clean and bright. I don't know how the barrels come off so could not see any proof marks. It certainly is a light-weight gun, easy to carry all day. This one had a huge amount of cast to suit a right hander. I will let you know what it sells for.

HB

Final report:

The Darne 16 bore Halifax model sold for £140 or US$200 plus 15% fees, so someone now will own an interesting gun for informal shooting.

HB