doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com French 16ga any information

Just bought this French 16 listing says no maker. I always thought this action was called/ made by Brueil, but not sure since he was a barrel maker? Will have more information when arrives but looked like a no brainer to me. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Great Grab. That Wood is Stellllllarrrr..... Looks to be the quintessential St. Étienne Anson & Deeley Body Action w/ 1/2 pipe side frame reinforcement. My hope it that it has the feather weight tubeset....


Hochachtungsvoll,

Raimey
rse

I do wonder the date where the mechanics @ St. Étienne fully adopted the Anson & Deeley Body Action...... It is the pinnacle of platforms. The trouble w/ the cheaper Blitz Platforms, and others, is that the trigger pull becomes heavy over time & is difficult to regulate.


Hochachtungsvoll,

Raimey
rse

I've been doin' a lot of diggin' as of late on the origins of proof rules/law & the French under the Order of the Committee of Public Safety in Paris dated I Vendémiaire of the year III of the French Revolutionary calendar(September 22, 1794) established and was the basis, along with the St. Étienne rules, of the Liége rules. The mechanics in St. Étienne apparently like to apply their mark to their wares, whilst the mechanics @ Liége preferred to peddle >>Trade Guns<< devoid of any marks less the name of the firearms merchant/retailer atop the barrel(s). Said >>Trade Guns<< in Liege were exempted, included, exempted, included depending on the law @ the time. That's what they wanted to ship their wares to a jumping off point without any names to their customers like in Portugal and Portuguese Colonies like Brazil who highly favoured the small bore(68 bore/gauge they referred to as 32 Bore but was actually a 410. Remember their bore diameter was per Kilo or the French weight unit) for Jungle / Bush Hunting.

This too was about the time that the French established the Prime Meridian going thru Paris......



Hochachtungsvoll,

Raimey
rse

Really nice looking gun. Will need pictures of water table, barrel flats, the usual advertisement do-dad stamps on the barrels, any maker stamps, etc. Assume the barrels are the French standard 27.5" (70 cm) and the chambers the mostly usual 2 1/2" (65 mm) (If the gun has been in the USA, check to see if chambers were lengthened, a common occurrence).

The checkering on the half-pistol grip is very French - it is skip line checkering creating a Scottish tartan effect. Wingshooter many years ago said it was called "quadrille Scottish" In fact that would be "quadrillage écossais" - the term for Scottish tartan - in French and used to describe the checkering on stocks.

Chokes likely will be Full/Full unless it has been in the States for awhile.

since you mentioned Jean Breuil, here are a couple of barrels you can reference - note: one of them is chambered for 70mm:



Here is a post 1955 Jean Breuil for sale on Naturabuy:
https://www.naturabuy.fr/FUSIL-CHAS...s-bon-Categorie-C-XXe-item-12482127.html

Thanks she has 27.5 inch barrels skt1 x skt2 and weighs 5 10 per listing. Is an extractor gun. I just have been very impressed with these french doubles ( obviously look for decent quality) lately. This one is stocked to my specs and should be a dandy quail/ grouse gun. Will post pics when in hand. Thanks again

https://www.doublegunshop.com/forum...=+poids+plume&Search=true#Post635699

I think the term for which I was searching is plume something....


>>De ses exploits, nous pourrions tenir un roman, nous nous contenterons d'aborder sa plus grande gloire : l'invention du canon plume.<<

Hochachtungsvoll,

Raimey
rse

"Canon Plume" (Feather barrel) was a registered trademark of Didier-Drevet which pretty much eliminated the lower rib.



Roll tide (with some trepidation).

The present low appreciation of the many simpler (yet well-made and sturdy) French shotguns is indeed a sad thing. Abroad, only two to three famous names are well-known and rewarded with a corresponding price esteem. But even Darne and Charlin (not really uncommon in France herself) can be gotten for a pittance, compared to their intrinsic value.

Simple French and Belgian 16ga boxlock doubles are not bought at all any more, regardless of price; here, dealers and gunsmiths get them from estates, together with the other guns, and either destroy them, or send them off in bulk to Eastern Europe if they have the appropriate connections (10 to 25 €uros each, depending upon condition).

Carcano

Believe it or not 16ga Francotte knock abouts in great condition still sell for over 2k here in the US. I was surprised to see this one listed for 25% of that.